The Morning Report
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This week, the County Board of Supervisors decided how to replace soon-to-be-ex Supervisor Nathan Fletcher. The board announced a special election, which will take place on Aug. 15. If no one captures more than 50 percent of the vote, then the contest will go to a general election on Nov. 7.
However, Fletcher’s position is not yet vacant and we’ve heard no word from him since he resigned as MTS chair following allegations of sexual harassment and assault and announced he would resign from the Board in May. His office says he’s been at a treatment center with no outside contact.
So, if Fletcher’s resignation comes to pass, this special election will be triggered. San Diego City Councilwoman Monica Montgomery Steppe and Janessa Goldbeck, a marine veteran and LGBTQ+ advocate, have announced their candidacy.
On the podcast this week, hosts Scott Lewis, Andrew Keatts and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña discussed the board’s decision and how they came to it.
Now, the Democratic majority is over and the board is split on party lines. With Fletcher gone, there are two Democrats and two Republicans and a lot of work to be done — such as passing the county budget. With Fletcher’s seat presumably vacant for several months, it’ll have to be a bipartisan deal.
Also on Deck
The federal government’s looming expiration of an order under Title 42 — which says the government can act in emergencies to protect the country from things like Covid-19 — may have major implications for San Diego. This order allowed Border Patrol to turn away asylum-seekers or relocate them to their origin country. On the pod, our hosts discuss the responses from city and county officials who may have to deal with an influx of people in our region very soon when the order expires. One key issue San Diego experienced in the past is migrants’ impact on homeless shelters and services.
Big changes are coming to San Diego Unified. Education reporter Jakob McWhinney joined the show this week to talk about his latest story of how the district’s area superintendents were let go — and its impact on some stakeholders.