SAN DIEGO — Days after his stunning announcement that he was ending his state Senate campaign to seek treatment for post-traumatic stress and alcohol abuse, San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher has been accused in a lawsuit of sexual harassment and sexual assault.
The civil litigation was filed late Tuesday by a former employee at the Metropolitan Transit System, the public agency that operates the San Diego trolley and bus network. Fletcher was chair of its board of directors from 2019 until he resigned Tuesday.
Grecia Figueroa is a former television journalist who worked at MTS from 2019 until she was terminated last month — on the same day, she says, that Fletcher announced he was running to succeed Sen. Toni Atkins in representing the 39th District after she is termed out next year.
"She received no warning, no opportunity to speak with her supervisor or anyone else at MTS, and she was required to leave immediately without gathering any of her personal belongings," the lawsuit alleges.
Figueroa accused Fletcher of stalking her social media profiles and initiating a flirtatious relationship that she worried could end her career because of his role as chair of her agency's board.
She said Fletcher kissed her in an MTS conference room and groped her several times against her will. Her lawsuit includes several text-message exchanges to support her allegations.
"I could ditch security guys to go for late night walk but couldn't be gone long," Fletcher said in one text message to Figueroa. "Or we could try to plan another night but not such short notice."
Fletcher, who is now seeking treatment out of state, issued a statement Wednesday acknowledging a relationship but broadly denying the lawsuit's allegations without specifying them.
He said he was committed to repairing damage to his marriage to Lorena Gonzalez, the former state Assembly member who now serves as chief officer of the California Labor Federation.
"I have not done the things they are alleging, but I did violate the basic trust and loyalty of my marriage and set a terrible example for our children," he said.
Neither Figueroa nor her attorney immediately responded to requests for comment Wednesday.
Fletcher became the first Democrat elected to the county Board of Supervisors in years, when he defeated former District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis for the open seat in 2018.
The election victory represented a major turnaround for a county board that had been dominated by Republicans for decades. It was also a turnaround for Fletcher, who had served two terms in the state Assembly as a Republican before twice losing races for San Diego mayor.
In a statement released on Twitter Sunday night, Fletcher announced that he was bowing out of the state Senate campaign to focus on in-patient treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder and a persistent drinking problem.
Fletcher is a United States Marine Corps veteran who has openly talked about the horrors he witnessed in combat, as well as PTSD and the difficult childhood he suffered.
His statement Wednesday said Fletcher is in treatment outside the state of California.
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