South County Report: Supervisor Race Takes Shape 

It’s a new year—and, just like that, an uncertain political future for South San Diego County. 

Supervisor Nora Vargas’ abrupt – and, so far, unexplained – resignation last month threw her South County district into political tumult. (Our coverage is here in case you missed it.) As chair of the five-member Board of Supervisors, Vargas was the most powerful elected official in San Diego County and the symbolic political leader of her district, which stretches from downtown San Diego to the U.S.-Mexico border. 

Vargas attributed her resignation to unspecified “safety and security” reasons. She had faced an unrelenting barrage of vitriolic personal attacks online and in person from political opponents from the moment she was elected. Rumors are flying about other possible reasons—but rumors aren’t news, and I’m not focusing on them. 

Instead, I’m starting my coverage of this race by talking at length with each of the candidates vying to replace Vargas on the Board. So far, four local politicos have jumped in: Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, Chula Vista Councilmember Carolina Chavez, Chula Vista Mayor John McCann and San Diego City Councilmember Vivian Moreno. 

I’ll also be digging into what’s at stake in the race and identifying the major interest groups supporting each candidate. My goal is to give voters the information they need to make an educated decision. I need your help. Email me at jim.hinch@voiceofsandiego.org with tips, questions or just to tell me what matters most to you in this race. 

One more thing. This race is important. In California government, county supervisors wield immense power. Supervisors in Los Angeles County have been called the “five little kings” because they exert vast influence over wide territories. It’s the same here in San Diego. Every aspect of your life—housing, healthcare, public safety, the environment—is affected by county government. With the board currently split evenly between Democrats and Republicans, South County voters hold the county’s partisan future in their hands. Your vote matters. 

Immigration Leaps to Forefront 

My first conversation, with Paloma Aguirre, will appear tomorrow. Today, the race to replace Vargas is already making news. Both Aguirre and McCann are out of the gate declaring their opposition to one of Vargas’ final signature policies: A controversial new rule, adopted last month, that limits county cooperation with federal immigration authorities. 

Both candidates told me this week they consider the law a “mistake” that could compromise public safety by making it harder for federal authorities to deport undocumented immigrants convicted of crimes. 

“I do not support mass deportation. I do not support stripping naturalized citizens or asylum seekers from their rights,” Aguirre said. “But I think you also have to be realistic.” 

Said McCann: “If you support law enforcement, you want to make sure murderers, rapists and violent criminals are taken out of your community.” 

The policy drew national attention and was widely seen as a preemptive response to a possible anti-immigrant crackdown promised by incoming President Donald Trump. That Aguirre, widely considered the most progressive candidate seeking to replace Vargas, is already voicing skepticism suggests the policy’s future may be in doubt. You can read all about it here. 

Fast Start for New Councilmembers 

Chula Vista’s two new City Councilmembers are wasting no time acting on their campaign promises. 

“It’s the honeymoon period,” said Cesar Fernandez, newly elected to represent District 4 in the city’s southwest. “I will be releasing a 100-day plan…this week.” 

Fernandez said he expects his initial efforts on the council to focus on “workforce development, a walkable Chula Vista and all of it with constituent engagement behind it.” 

He said he plans to meet with local school districts and community college leaders to discuss developing training programs that could position students to land jobs at the new Chula Vista Bayfront project currently under construction in and adjacent to his district. 

“I want our constituents in all of Chula Vista to have first access to training and to be able to apply to those jobs and work in the city they live in,” Fernandez said. 

Fernandez said he’ll also be seeking to improve streetlighting and sidewalk conditions in his district. And he’s planning a series of community forums that would enable residents to meet with city leaders to ask questions and share concerns. 

Fernandez said he’s also gearing up for one of the less pleasant aspects of public service: Facing angry or just opinionated members of the public who lash out at elected officials during public meetings. “As disrespectful as it gets, you’ll find me with a pen in my hand ready to write down a problem that needs to be solved,” Fernandez said. 

More Police, Possible New E-Bike Rules 

City Councilmember Michael Inzunza, whose District 3 encompasses the city’s southeast corner, said his initial focus would be on what he termed “public safety.” 

He said he would seek to boost the number of police officers patrolling Chula Vista’s streets by up to half a dozen officers. “How we do it is yet to be determined,” Inzunza said. “Either by hiring new officers or increasing the number of” officers on patrol. 

Inzunza said he spoke with thousands of residents during his campaign, and a top concern for many was crime and police response times. “The idea is to increase police presence citywide from east to west,” he said. 

Inzunza said he would also advocate for a new police substation to be built in his district. And this week he said he planned to ask City Manager Maria Kachadoorian to consider researching possible new rules governing young people’s use of e-bikes. 

Inzunza said he had heard concerns from residents about students riding the bikes after school at high speeds on sidewalks and getting into accidents. He said Chula Vista could consider new rules similar to a policy in Poway, where students under age 18 and their parents are required to take an online safety course before receiving permission to bring their e-bikes to school. 

“The goal is to educate youth,” Inzunza said. “We want to make sure students are safe.” 

Possible Tenant Protections Advance in Imperial Beach 

Paloma Aguirre let slip one piece of non-campaign news during my conversation with her on Monday. She said she and Imperial Beach Councilmember Jack Fisher followed through on their promise last month to hold a series of listening sessions about a possible new tenant protection ordinance in the city. 

The issue arose after residents of an aging apartment complex packed a City Council meeting to beg for help after a new corporate owner bought the building and threatened to evict tenants to make way for a comprehensive remodeling project. (That story is here in case you missed it.) 

Aguirre said she and Fisher had spent much of the Christmas holiday meeting with tenants, landlords and others with a stake in city housing policy. She and Fisher then drafted a new tenant protection ordinance (“right on Christmas Eve, I think,” Aguirre said) and plan to present it to the City Council next week for discussion. 

“We had a number of tenants that were suffering and being affected,” Aguire said. “And we had a large number of landlords, small mom and pop landlords, that had concerns as well.” Aguirre declined to give details about the proposed ordinance, citing disclosure rules. But she pointed to similar ordinances in San Diego and Chula Vista, where officials in recent years tightened rules governing evictions in an effort to keep lower income tenants in their homes. 

“We need to do a little bit of all of the above,” Aguirre said. “We need to keep people housed and we need to be able to put people in affordable housing.”