The latest count of votes Tuesday night had Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre with an insurmountable lead Tuesday evening in the race to fill a vacant South County seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
Aguirre had a six-point lead over her opponent, Chula Vista Mayor John McCann as of 11 p.m.
It’s done: The county reported 9,500 votes left to count Tuesday night. Aguirre held a lead of 4,519 votes. That means McCann would need more than 7,000 of the remaining votes to go his way, or 73.8 percent of them. The count reported so far had him at more than 46 percent.
That means Aguirre, a Democrat, is on track to become the next County Supervisor representing South San Diego County’s 640,000 residents.
“I’m incredibly grateful,” Aguirre said in a brief interview at a raucous election night party at Novo Brazil brewery in Imperial Beach. “It’s early but results are looking favorable.”
If elected, Aguirre said she was eager to get to work fast-tracking a five-point plan she recently advanced to resolve the ongoing sewage crisis in the Tijuana River. She said she also would seek to shield San Diego residents from the effects of anticipated federal budget cuts to healthcare and social service spending.
“I’m fighting for immigrants, workers, people working hard to put their kids through school and put food on the table,” she said.
McCann, attending his own watch party at a restaurant in Otay Ranch, said he was monitoring results and was not ready to concede the race.
“This is the first of many [election] returns,” he said in a statement shortly after results were announced. “We feel like we are in a competitive position. My campaign was always about making life more affordable, reducing homelessness and fighting taxes. I’m proud we pushed hard on all those fronts and I will continue to deliver on each of those issues.”
Though ballots remained to be counted, a who’s who of San Diego Democratic and union politics celebrated what they believed to be an imminent victory at Aguirre’s watch party on Tuesday, chanting, “Si, se puede!” and “Paloma! Paloma!”
“I’m very excited,” said District 4 Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe. “This is encouraging and gives us hope after today’s Senate vote on Trump’s Big Beautiful Bill. We have the best chance of providing a barrier for the residents of San Diego County against the actions of the federal government.”
Aguirre sounded a triumphant note in a speech to supporters. “This was a collective, people-powered movement, and we’re just getting started,” she said. “We’re done with a county government that doesn’t represent our community.”
Voices of the Voters: Our reporters spent the morning speaking with voters in District 1. We learned that campaign messages resonated with many of them and that some were just looking forward to the race being over. Read our Voices of the Voters here.
Post-Budget Reflections: Many Things Happened
Yesterday marked the start of a new fiscal year, officially putting a cap on one of the most tumultuous budget seasons San Diego has ever seen.
The process was notable not just for its sprawling cuts, but also because of the unique power dynamics that played out between Mayor Todd Gloria and the City Council, who spent weeks trading vetoes while attempting to do math from the dias.
Needless to say, it was very demoralizing for pretty much everybody involved.
Still, many of the most headline-grabbing proposals didn’t pan out in the end. Fire pits, for instance, were spared after weeks of back and forth between beach-goers and public safety officials. Weekday lake access, too, was saved at the last minute. As for libraries, well, it’s complicated — but not as bad as it could’ve been.
With that, here’s our (incomprehensive) list of which cuts penciled out in the end, and which didn’t.
California Just Massively Reformed CEQA
People have tried — and failed — for years to reform CEQA. That all changed Tuesday, when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law a fairly massive overhaul of the law.
The new reforms will allow builders to bypass CEQA requirements when building housing in dense, urban areas and for certain commercial projects.
CEQA, in theory, is great. It forces new building projects to follow strict environmental requirements. But, as many have pointed out, the law has been weaponized by people with non-environmental agendas to slow and stop building projects.
CEQA, so the criticism goes, has played a major role in California’s housing crisis.
Newsom strong-armed the legislature into accepting the reforms. He is considering a presidential run in 2028 and “was hellbent on proving that he’s the kind of Democrat who can be part of the solution,” the LA Times wrote.
For a good explanation of the commercial exemptions to CEQA check out this CalMatters story. High-tech manufacturing plants are now among those that will be able to get around CEQA requirements.
Song of the Week
moondaddy, “Bystander”: The latest single from moondaddy, “Bystander,” showcases all of the band’s greatest strengths. Washy synths? Check. Shimmering guitars? Check. Potiker’s swoon worthy croon? Double check.
Read more about the Song of the Week here.
Like what you hear? Check out moondaddy at Casbah on Wednesday, July 2 alongside fellow song of the week recipients Omo Cloud, In Mazes and klurax.
Do you have a “Song of the Week” suggestion? Shoot us an email and a sentence or two about why you’ve been bumping this song lately. Friendly reminder: all songs should be by local artists!
In Other News
- The Caltrans district representing San Diego won a $39.6 million state grant to convert some of Interstate 805’s carpool lanes into toll lanes. (KPBS)
- Leaders of San Diego County’s largest medical provider, Sharp HealthCare, on Monday announced they would lay off 315 employees and cut the pay of some top executives. The layoffs amount to about 1.5 percent of Sharp’s workforce. (Union-Tribune)
- The San Diego Police Department will increase parking enforcement in coastal areas like Mission Beach, specifically focusing on large vehicles
The Morning Report was written by Jim Hinch, Jakob McWhinney and Will Huntsberry. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña.