Nathan Fletcher will always have to explain his past political shifts
Fletcher has faced this type criticism before -- when he shifted from Republican to independent while he was running for mayor in 2012. Two years later, running for mayor again as a Democrat, his liberal bonafides were under a microscope, and the county Democratic Party, like the
People change with their life experiences, Fletcher said. He grew up in southern
"All of those are a part of life and I think that people understand that," he said. "I'm proud of that, that shows progress, and it shows your listening and you're learning and growing."
A few weeks ago, the county
"Before
The iHeartNathan website was registered by
"It seems to be a pretty good compilation of the ideological pretzel Nathan has tied himself in pursuit of getting elected no matter what the cost. With Nathan, what you see is never what you get," Roe said. He said Fletcher moved to the left during his last year in the Assembly when he started the groundwork for his run for mayor in a city where
Tony Krvaric, the chairman of the
The website chronicles Fletcher's political career, and includes conservative positions he took between 2008 and 2012 when he served in the Assembly and his first bid for mayor in 2012. He started that race as a Republican but ended as an independent after the
The website highlights votes against a
"And now Nathan is back...his star rising again with the help of a pliant Democratic Establishment who is passing over a Latina and two African Americans who have been loyal
It includes a gallery of photos of Fletcher with prominent, out-of-state
Days after the
It holds attacks from conservatives as commendations, and highlights times where he ditched his own party and sided with
He was the first Republican in
"From the beginning he was criticized by the
"People are allowed to mature, we grow up. We're supposed to grow up, it's normal," she said. "He has never once denied his past, he has not denied his progress."
And he has been consistent as a Democrat, and has held onto progressive stances he took when he was still a Republican, Hayes said.
"Even when he was an assemblyman, he wrote bills for homeless youth, a homeowners bill of rights, veterans," she said.
Fletcher said that his political allegiances have been scrutinized before, both when he was a Republican who was attacked from inside as too liberal, as well as later from
"In religion, it's widely accepted that converts have the strongest faith. And that is certainly true of those who change parties," Fletcher said.
While he is trying to shore up support from progressives in a Democrat-heavy district, his ability to satisfy party insiders has cost him before. In 2012 when he was a Republican running for mayor he sought backing from the county
Five years ago, like he did last week, Fletcher had to defend himself, but that time, that he had to take a different tack and argue that he was, in fact, really a Republican.
Twitter: @jptstewart
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