In a county of 3 million people, the future hangs on just a few thousand voters.
Slightly more than 66,000 people voted in the April 8 primary election to fill a vacant South County seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
If an equivalent number votes in the July 1 runoff between Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre and Chula Vista Mayor John McCann, just 2 percent of San Diego County’s residents will determine the future of county government.
How did so few voters gain so much power? When District 1 Supervisor Nora Vargas abruptly resigned late last year for unexplained reasons, she set in motion a special election to replace her that, like most off-year elections, has been mostly ignored by District 1 voters. Fewer than one-fifth of the district’s eligible voters turned out in April.
Why does it matter? Aguirre, a Democrat, and McCann, a Republican, have very different views about some of the county’s most consequential issues. And the one who wins will shift the partisan balance of power on the Board in their party’s favor.
Our South County reporter, Jim Hinch, has been talking to the candidates. In a new piece, he broke down what’s at stake.
Homelessness, the cost of living, crime and public safety, the county’s budget deficit – the fate of these and other crucial issues hangs in the balance.
More on the podcast: San Diego County Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer joined our hosts for the latest recording of the VOSD Podcast. Lawson-Remer dished on the county budget and what’s at stake with the District 1 race.
Listen to the full episode here.
Another City Leader Suggests Leaving, or Killing, Water Authority
In this week’s Politics Report, Scott Lewis collected a exchange of quotes between San Diego City Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera and Daniel Denham, the general manager of the San Diego County Water Authority, that anyone who cares about water politics will find stunning. Elo-Rivera suggested the city should consider dissolving or otherwise leaving the Water Authority as it raises rates to pay off the deals that it made to secure diverse sources of water, largely at the behest of the city of San Diego’s representatives.
The Politics Report is for Voice of San Diego’s donors but this one is open to the public and you can read it here.
Bob Filner Died
Bob Filner, the indefatigable politician who served as a member of congress and then mayor of San Diego before accusations of sexual assault and harassment forced him from office, died April 20.
As a young activist, Filner landed in jail while participating in actions with the Freedom Riders, including former U.S. Rep. John Lewis. Over his career, he relentlessly annoyed opponents and rivals and even his allies, operating from a theory of “creative tension” he once described to our reporter as the only nonviolent way to make change.
“People don’t change unless there’s tension,” Filner said. “Status quo. Nobody thinks about anything, right, if you don’t create the tension. But if you don’t do it creatively, then they hit you or they shoot you. You gotta make them think about it.”
As San Diego mayor, he made a lot of people uncomfortable, challenging the way the city did almost everything and causing chaos and paralysis in city government. He redesigned the entry to Balboa Park, abruptly eliminating the parking lot in the middle of the Plaza de Panama and he made transactional deals with anyone who wanted to get the city’s support for their projects.
He didn’t even make it a year on the job, however. He had made so many women uncomfortable with his sexual advances, abuse, assault and harassment that the scandal that erupted and continued burning with each of their testimonies led to a recall effort, legal actions and political movements against him on the City Council.
He quit a mere nine months into the job and later pleaded guilty to one count of felony false imprisonment and two counts of misdemeanor battery. He disappeared from public life surfacing only briefly in 2016 to contest some of the conclusions about his time here in an interview with Lisa Halverstadt. He was 82.
Convicted Businesswoman Released by Trump Returning to Prison
A federal judge on Friday sentenced an El Cajon businesswoman to a year in federal prison for masterminding an elaborate fraud prosecutors said commenced just weeks after President Donald Trump commuted her first term in prison for a different fraud.
U.S. District Court Judge Cynthia A. Bashant sentenced Adriana Camberos to a year and one day in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release plus forfeiture of millions of dollars in ill-gotten gains as punishment for illegally redirecting goods intended for sale in Mexico to the U.S. market and selling them at a markup.
The judge also sentenced Camberos’ brother, Andres Camberos, to a year of home detention followed by three years’ probation and forfeiture of ill-gotten gains for his part in the scheme.
Both siblings also must pay restitution to companies they defrauded. Judge Bashant estimated victims’ losses at more than $25 million.
Our South County reporter Jim Hinch has been reporting on the siblings’ case because Chula Vista Mayor John McCann helped to free Adriana Camberos from her first prison term by asking for clemency on Camberos’ behalf in 2020.
As Hinch reported last week, both Adriana and Andres Camberos went on to become involved in Chula Vista public affairs.
What now: Adriana Camberos’ lawyers said she would appeal both the verdict in her case and the sentence. A lawyer for Andres Camberos said he was likely to appeal too.
“I never thought I would be in a courtroom again,” Adriana Camberos said in a statement she read at Friday’s hearing. “I’m mortified.”
Sacramento Report: Insurance Companies in the Hot Seat
Two lawsuits in Los Angeles allege that 25 major insurance companies, including State Farm, conspired to limit coverage in fire-prone areas of California, forcing homeowners onto the state’s high-risk FAIR plan.
The lawsuits claim this strategy allowed insurers to shed risk while maintaining profits, leaving homeowners with inadequate protections.
FAIR plan policies have quadrupled in San Diego County since 2020.
An industry group denied the allegations and said the lawsuits misrepresent the challenges facing California’s property insurance market.
Meanwhile, Consumer Watchdog also sued the state over a $500 million surcharge to cover wildfire losses, calling it a bailout for the industry. A bill to stabilize the FAIR Plan is advancing after passing the Assembly floor earlier this month.
On another front: Republicans are seizing on a DUI case involving a man who killed two teens to push for tighter cooperation between local law enforcement and ICE. State Sen. Brian Jones cited the case while renewing his push to roll back sanctuary laws.
In economic news: Gov. Gavin Newsom announced California has surpassed Japan to become the world’s fourth largest economy.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
Grossmont Union Board Moves Layoff Forward – Community Launches Recall
For months now, Grossmont Union High School District board meetings have been raucous scenes. They’ve featured packed rooms of community members furious with the district’s plan to eliminate dozens of district positions, including nearly every librarian. District officials insist the layoffs are necessary because of a multi-million dollar budget deficit. Opponents – including Trustee Chris Fite – argue the layoffs far exceed what’s needed to close the deficit.
The agenda for Thursday’s board meeting featured a welcome sight for angry community members – an action item titled “consideration of rescission of layoffs.” Despite the glimmer of hope, the motion failed to garner support.
Community members mounted a new kind of opposition, however. Outside of the Grossmont High School theater where the board meeting was taking place, organizers were touting a freshly created effort to recall four of the district’s five trustees. The effort is something of a long shot, but organizers are cautiously optimistic.
In Other News
- The popular San Diego-based fast food chain Jack in the Box plans to close 200 locations across the nation. (Union-Tribune)
- Advocates are pushing for San Diego Sheriff Kelly Martinez to comply with the county’s sanctuary policy approved late last year, limiting cooperation with ICE. However, when it comes to county jail policy, the Sheriff’s Department says she has autonomy as an elected official. (KPBS)
- The Union-Tribune reports that East County now has 24 new residential treatment beds for Medi-Cal patients that provider Genesis Recovery hopes can eventually serve as much-needed detox beds once the state signs off. Our Lisa Halverstadt has written extensively about the region’s detox shortage. For now, the county has just 100 detox beds for Medi-Cal patients.
- Student visas were reissued to three out of four SDSU students who had their visas revoked earlier this month. (CBS 8)
- Protesters in Hillcrest pushed back against San Diego’s first proposed trash fee, saying it is unaffordable for residents. (FOX 5)
- The former chief administrative officer for the county of San Diego, Walt Ekard, died April 25. He was a soft-spoken man but a giant figure in San Diego public affairs, who was well known for his excellence as a manager and his singing voice at the annual Taxpayers Association awards. After retirement, he served the city of San Diego in a similar role when scandal began to consume the attention of former Mayor Bob Filner. SDSU has set up a scholarship in his honor.
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch, Jakob McWhinney and Alina Ajaz. It was edited by Scott Lewis and Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.