As Donald Trump prepares to take the presidential oath of office on Jan. 20, the full ramifications of last November’s election are still coming into focus.
Thanks to a recent analysis by Voice of San Diego with our Public Matters partners KPBS and inewsource, one fact is now clear: In San Diego County, Trump did much better in San Diego County than he did four years ago — especially in some of the county’s most reliable bastions of Democratic support.
It could have implications for the next big political battle in the county: the race to succeed former County Supervisor Nora Vargas, who resigned abruptly after the election despite winning re-election decisively.
What happened: The easy answer is that Democrats or people who supported President Joe Biden in 2020 stayed home. That’s true: Trump got fewer votes here than he did in 2020 but Vice President Kamala Harris got many, many fewer votes than Biden.
But that’s not all: Trump actually gained more votes in parts of the county where Democrats might have assumed they had voters’ allegiance.
Several South County cities and communities – including Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, National City, Nestor and San Ysidro – swung markedly to the right in 2024. In San Ysidro, a border community where voters might have been turned off by Trump’s hardline stance on undocumented immigrants, the former president garnered almost 13 percent more votes than he did four years ago. Trump’s gains were similar or just a bit smaller in other South County communities.
Voice and its partners sent reporters into different regions of the county to talk to voters and learn what happened. We’ll report results of those conversations in coming days. Today is just the start.
City Nixes Another 7th & Market Development Plan
For years, the city has been on a quest to transform a lot near Petco Park and the Gaslamp Quarter.
Now, for the second time in two years, the city has parted ways with a developer with a plan for the site.
Our Lisa Halverstadt revealed that the city last month terminated talks with Chelsea Investment Corp., a Carlsbad-based developer that hoped to deliver a 405-unit affordable housing project at the East Village site.
The reasoning, according to city officials: lacking funding for affordable housing projects and the need for the developer to pay fair market value for the valuable downtown land.
Politics Report: It’s Not Just a Family Feud
Scott Lewis’ weekly Politics Report Saturday was a column about why the dispute about who should control the most significant ownership stake of the Padres is a very important one to the public.
The Politics Report is for donating members.
Read the Politics Report here.
Sacramento Report: The High Cost of Fighting Climate Change
Fierce wildfires and efforts to combat climate change are driving Californians’ electric bills to twice the national average, according to a state report released Thursday. As our Deborah Sullivan explains, skyrocketing rates have the unintended effect of making it harder to meet California’s climate goals through a transition to electric power.
“On average, residential electricity rates in California are close to double those in the rest of the nation” and second highest after Hawaii, according to the report by the Legislative Analyst’s Office, which advises the legislature on fiscal and policy issues.
The steep rate hikes burden ratepayers and “also impede the state’s efforts to meet its ambitious climate goals,” the report found. High rates discourage people from switching from cars and appliances powered by fossil fuels to electric alternatives.
Also, the fires: The growing risk of wildfires raises bills further because power companies pay extra to cover the risk of accidentally starting fires. Those costs are passed on to consumers, who then pay even more money to fund other renewable energy programs adopted by the state.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
In Other News
- A sexual harassment lawsuit filed against former San Diego County Supervisor Nathan Fletcher appears headed to trial after a judge on Friday rejected Fletcher’s bid to have the case dismissed. Superior Court Judge Matthew C. Braner said a jury needs to decide whether former Metropolitan Transportation System employee Grecia Figueroa consented to what Fletcher has admitted was an inappropriate sexual relationship. (Union-Tribune)
- As of Friday, San Diego appeared to have made it through last week’s major Santa Ana wind event with no major fires. Weaker Santa Ana winds were expected through the weekend, but forecasters expressed cautious hope the county had made it through the worst of the fire weather unscathed. Weather forecasts continue to show no rain in sight. (Union-Tribune)
- A new study by researchers at University of California, San Diego found that recreational use of the psychotropic drug ketamine shot up by 150 percent over the past decade. One doctor who prescribes the drug said the rise of telehealth had made it “a little too easy” to access the drug, which can be addictive. (KPBS)
- Solana Beach Mayor Lesa Heebner on Friday was named the new chair of the San Diego Association of Governments, which coordinates regional transportation and infrastructure initiatives. Heebner has served on the SANDAG board for 14 years. (CBS 8)
- A $27 million federal grant announced Friday will add three daily Amtrak trips between San Diego and Los Angeles over the next six years, returning rail service between the two cities to pre-pandemic levels. (Union-Tribune)