California Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher quits GOP POLITICS

FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2012 file photo, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego, speaks during the Assembly session at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Fletcher says he's leaving the Republican Party to become an independent barely two months before voters in the nation's eighth-largest city decide whether to elect him mayor. (AP Photo/Rich Pedroncelli, File) less FILE - In this Jan. 30, 2012 file photo, Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, R-San Diego, speaks during the Assembly session at the Capitol in Sacramento, Calif. Fletcher says he's leaving the Republican Party to ... more Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Photo: Rich Pedroncelli, Associated Press Image 1 of / 1 Caption Close California Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher quits GOP 1 / 1 Back to Gallery

California Assemblyman Nathan Fletcher, a San Diego mayoral candidate whom the state GOP has considered one of its most promising future leaders, said Wednesday that he is fed up with the "petty games" of hyper-partisan politics and has abandoned the Republican Party to become an independent.

Fletcher, 35 and a decorated Iraq war veteran, becomes the only independent lawmaker in Sacramento. He told The Chronicle in an interview that he and his wife - Mindy Tucker Fletcher, the 2000 presidential campaign spokeswoman for George W. Bush - re-registered as "decline to state" voters on Wednesday.

The decision, he said, follows "a long track record of frustration with the partisan environment" hobbling politics in California, a climate that "doesn't allow a focus on solutions and doesn't allow you to work with the other side if you think they're worthy."

It's a bold move for Fletcher, who with Republican Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy of Bakersfield had been viewed as among a handful of potential Republican candidates for high-profile statewide races, including U.S. Senate and congressional seats.

The move also represents an ominous sign for the California Republican Party, which has seen its voter rolls decline as it tacks increasingly to the right in the solidly blue state.

Fletcher, who earned the wrath of some Republicans by working with Gov. Jerry Brown and other Democrats on key tax issues, said he has "always been willing to step up and do what my conscience told me was right."

Since his election to the Assembly in 2008, Fletcher set himself apart from other GOP lawmakers by supporting gay rights measures, such as San Francisco Democratic state Sen. Mark Leno's FAIR Education Act that requires school textbooks to recount the contributions of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people; and with his emotional 2010 speech on the Assembly floor about his opposition, as a veteran, to the military's now-defunct "don't ask, don't tell" ban on openly gay service members.

His experience in the armed services played a large part in his decision to leave the GOP, Fletcher said this week.

"Going to war changes you," he said. "You feel a sense of obligation and to say, 'I need to make my life count,' " he said. Saying he has developed "a low tolerance" for the kind of infighting that goes on in the halls of Sacramento, Fletcher added, "I did not fight a war to come back and play games."

Problems in GOP

Some political observers said Fletcher's move is a sign of increasing problems for the state GOP. Republican registration lags 13 points behind Democratic in California, where independents represent more than 1 in 5 voters. The GOP does not hold a single statewide office, and the governor's office and both houses of the Legislature are held by Democrats.

"The GOP in California has believed that voters will come around to them," said Adam Mendelsohn, a veteran GOP strategist and former communications director for moderate Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. But increasingly, he said, political developments in the state suggest that "the only way the GOP achieves any relevance is if they come around to the voters."

But GOP conservative activist Jon Fleischman, whose popular Flashreport.org website has been vociferous in its criticism of Fletcher's moderate politics, said Wednesday of the assemblyman's defection: "If this is a divorce, then he filed the papers."

Fleischman said Fletcher sought the endorsement of his party in the San Diego mayoral race two weeks ago and "someone else got it" - conservative Republican Carl DeMaio. The San Diego councilman is openly gay, Fleischman said.

No matter how Fletcher "wants to frame it, a lot of people are going to look at it as sour grapes," Fleischman added.

Future implications

The move to become an independent doesn't preclude Fletcher from seeking higher office someday - and could help him build a base. Pollsters say the state's growing bloc of independent voters view partisan politics unfavorably and that the state's new top-two primary system - which advances the two candidates with the most votes, regardless of political party, to the general election - could further sideline the GOP.

One party strategist who has known Fletcher for years said the legislator was warned about the implications that becoming an independent would have on his political future.

"It was discussed that if you do this, you will be taking yourself off the list" for U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer's seat "or other congressional seats," said the strategist, who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Speaker not surprised

Assembly Speaker John Pérez, D-Los Angeles, who said he knows Fletcher well and has enjoyed working with him, was not surprised by the assemblyman's decision. Pérez said Fletcher has "consistently been willing to work to find common ground not just with me but with all of his colleagues."

Several Sacramento watchers said that while Fletcher's decision to go independent depletes the ranks of moderate Republicans in the capital, it is unlikely to shake up the political calculus there. Fletcher had appeared increasingly estranged from staunch GOP legislative conservatives and rarely went to his party's caucus meetings.

On Wednesday, Fletcher said his focus was on his mayoral campaign.

"I care a great deal for my city," he said. "Republican voters and Democratic voters should know nothing has changed in terms of my positions and my principles. Now, I'll be an independent for them."