On Homelessness, Supervisor Race Is a Tale of Two Cities

Here’s a remarkable political fact: One of voters’ top-ranked issues in the race to fill a vacant South County seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors has played virtually no role in the hotly contested campaign. 

An ABC 10News poll released earlier this month found that San Diego County’s homelessness crisis ranked behind only the rising cost of living as voters’ most pressing concern in the race. 

Yet, neither Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre nor Chula Vista Mayor John McCann, the two candidates in the race, have made homelessness central to their campaign. 

That might be because neither candidate has a headline-grabbing track record on the issue. 

Voters, however, want to know: How will each candidate handle homelessness if they’re put in charge of San Diego County’s $8.6 billion budget? The county is the linchpin of homelessness policy regionwide. Whoever is elected on July 1 will determine how San Diego’s most powerful governmental body approaches one of voters’ top concerns. 

Voice of San Diego recently did a deep dive into each candidate’s record and their plans to reduce homelessness in San Diego County. 

We found that both candidates have made big promises and proposed very different ideas – but neither has shown an ability to make a major dent in the problem in their cities. 

Here’s a detailed look at what each candidate has said and done on the issue of homelessness, plus what it all would mean for county policy depending on which candidate becomes supervisor. 

First, what the county currently does: The county’s vast bureaucracy affects homelessness in numerous ways but three stand out: Mental and behavioral health treatment, setting encampment rules for unincorporated communities and potentially adding new shelter space. 

Both Aguirre and McCann – echoing other regional leaders, including San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria – have criticized the county for not doing enough to help cities grappling with homelessness. 

“We have put way too much money into homelessness, and we haven’t even started to see a dent,” Aguirre said in a recent candidates’ debate. “The county dropped the ball.” 

“The county seems to have millions and millions of dollars of funding that nobody seems to be able to see where the results are going,” McCann said in an interview with Voice early in the campaign. “They left it to the cities to fight homelessness.” 

In recent years, the county has focused on building a comprehensive tiered network of mental and behavioral health treatment services while leaving shelter provision and encampment policies to cities. 

The county’s treatment system includes outreach teams that respond to mental health crises on the streets and a network of crisis stabilization units where people struggling with mental health or addiction issues can find respite while they’re evaluated for further care. 

The county also plays an indirect but crucial role in many non-county-run homeless programs because the county oversees distribution of state and federal healthcare funding. Homeless services run by cities or nonprofits rely on county-controlled funds to connect clients to care and pay for many health-related services. 

Critics, including Aguirre and McCann, say the county’s focus on its mental health treatment network has caused it to neglect equally pressing needs for shelter, detox and other services that help homeless people get off the streets. 

Both candidates say they’ll improve the county’s efforts by incorporating what worked in their cities. 

Imperial Beach: Aguirre frequently boasts on the campaign trail that she reduced her city’s homeless population by more than half. 

That’s a relative claim. Because Imperial Beach is far from highways and trolley lines and has no shelters or other services for homeless people, the city’s homeless population has been vanishingly small for years. 

Of San Diego County’s roughly 10,000 homeless people, just 17 live in Imperial Beach, according to the latest regionwide count. That number is approximate, since experts say homeless populations fluctuate and efforts to tally them inevitably miss people. 

Still, the county’s annual count is the only broadly accepted measurement that enables year-to-year comparisons. By that measure, Imperial Beach’s homeless population declined by just three people over the past year. Last year, tabulators counted 20 homeless people in the city. Two years before that, when Aguirre took office as mayor, there were 25. In 2018, the year Aguirre was first elected to the Imperial Beach City Council, there were 20. 

In other words, not much has changed. 

Why does Aguirre say she reduced her city’s homeless population by more than half?  

Last year, the city’s homeless outreach specialist helped 14 homeless people access services or housing outside the city. According to a recent city staff report, those 14 people represent “more than half” of Imperial Beach’s 2024 homeless population. 

Since homelessness numbers fluctuate, there’s no way to know whether the 14 people Imperial Beach helped last year all came from among the 20 the city counted at the start of 2024. The county’s regionwide count shows that, over the course of the year from January 2024 to January 2025, the city’s homeless population declined by a total of three people. 

In response to a series of questions about the city’s homelessness programs, including a request to speak with the city’s outreach specialist, Imperial Beach Chief Administrative Officer Erika Cortez-Martinez sent Voice a copy of the recent city staff report summarizing results of the city’s outreach operations. 

Cortez-Martinez did not provide further details, saying, “Our calendars have been extremely busy.” She said Aguirre also was unavailable to answer questions. 

Aguirre’s plan: On the campaign trail, Aguirre has called out county leaders for failing to move fast enough on homelessness. But she has not questioned the overall direction of county programs. 

She has called for fast-tracking the county’s ambitious mental and behavioral health response system, including hiring 18,000 behavioral health workers to conduct outreach, staff crisis stabilization centers and help people struggling with mental health and substance use problems. 

She said she supports a proposed 70-bed county-run tiny home shelter in Lemon Grove that has been mired in delays and community opposition. Aguirre said she supports the shelter because it fills a critical need and the county can work with neighbors to ensure the shelter does not negatively affect the community. 

Aguirre also is in line with the county’s guiding principles for homeless services, known as “housing first” and “harm reduction.” Those principles prioritize long-term housing for homeless people and reducing mortality for drug users without coercing people into shelter or treatment. 

At a recent candidates’ town hall in Spring Valley, Aguirre said Imperial Beach had succeeded in helping its homeless residents because its outreach team interacts with homeless people multiple times and builds trusting relationships that eventually lead to service referrals. She mentioned thoughtful touches such as a city-provided postal address where homeless people can receive mail. 

Aguirre has said the county should field its own outreach teams to build relationships with homeless people and coax them off the streets. 

“We can’t force programs on people,” Aguirre said. “We have to put in the work so they can come into programs if they feel that’s right for them.” 

Chula Vista: McCann frequently describes himself as a “regional leader on homelessness.” By some measures, there’s truth to that statement. 

Chula Vista has South County’s largest homeless population and the region’s most robust array of homeless services. Other cities, including Imperial Beach, frequently refer homeless people to programs located in Chula Vista. 

The most recent annual count found 614 homeless people in Chula Vista. (Surveys conducted by the city have found higher numbers.) The same count found 279 in National City and 106 in Spring Valley. 

The city’s homeless services include a street outreach team, a 65-bed tiny home shelter near the Otay River, a hotel voucher program, a rapid rehousing program, rental assistance and plans to fund up to 156 units of permanent supportive housing. 

Last year, the city enacted a strict encampment ban that bars people from sleeping on streets, sidewalks or close to schools, parks and transit stops. 

Though McCann reiterated his “regional leader” claim earlier this week at the same town hall where Aguirre touted Imperial Beach’s success, the net effect of Chula Vista’s homeless services programs has been no better than regional peers. 

Chula Vista’s homeless population declined roughly 7 percent last year, the same as the countywide average. If there’s a regional leader in South County, it’s National City, where numbers dropped by more than 22 percent following the opening last year of a 162-bed shelter run by the San Diego Rescue Mission. 

Key differences between the shelters in National City and Chula Vista help to explain diverging results in the two cities – and shed light on the strengths and possible limitations of what McCann has described as his city’s accountability-based approach to serving homeless people. 

The South County Lighthouse in National City is a so-called “low barrier” shelter that accepts residents facing a wide variety of challenges. National City’s two-person homeless outreach team refers people to the shelter, prioritizing National City residents. (A portion of the shelter’s beds are reserved for homeless people from San Diego under a separate contract.) 

Residents adhere to a schedule, must refrain from using drugs or alcohol on the property and meet with counselors who help them figure out how to resolve problems that landed them on the street. The maximum stay is 30 days. Clients wanting a longer stay must qualify to enter the Rescue Mission’s year-long residential rehabilitation program near downtown San Diego. 

McCann’s plan: At a recent town hall, McCann boasted that Chula Vista’s shelter is stricter than others in the county. He called it a “high barrier” shelter and said residents are screened by city outreach workers and must promise to remain sober while at the shelter and work toward becoming self-sufficient. There is no limit on how long people can stay provided they make progress toward finding housing, employment and other markers of self-sufficiency. 

At the town hall, McCann said “hundreds of people have graduated” from Chula Vista’s shelter. According to a recent city analysis, the shelter has admitted a total of 121 clients since it opened in May 2023. Of those, 47 are still at the shelter, 37 graduated into permanent housing, 18 left for other reasons and 24 were asked to leave due to what the analysis calls “violations or other negative circumstances.” 

Stacey Kurz, Chula Vista’s director of housing and homeless services, acknowledged that the city’s shelter “isn’t always the best fit for everyone.” She said shelter rules ensure that residents feel safe and supported as they seek to regain sobriety and self-sufficiency. 

“The clients that are at our homeless village are working on becoming self-sufficient, and their journey to self-sufficiency is our number one priority,” Kurz said. 

Kurz said the city’s homeless outreach team refers people to other services, including the Lighthouse in National City or services elsewhere in the county, when they determine Chula Vista’s shelter isn’t a good fit. 

At a budget press conference last month, McCann said one of his first priorities, if elected supervisor, would be examining the county’s current homelessness programs to determine which are actually effective. 

“We need to look at what we’re spending to make sure it’s getting people off the streets,” he said. 

He acknowledged that homelessness is not a “one size fits all issue.” But he expressed a clear preference for Chula Vista’s accountability-focused approach. 

“We need to get people off drugs, off addiction, get them into mental care facilities and find a way to move them into permanent housing,” he said. “We need to provide services to these individuals but there needs to be accountability because otherwise we won’t solve the problem.” 

For the 37 graduates of Chula Vista’s shelter, those high standards have proven effective. But Kurz acknowledged that, as of late last month, the shelter was only two-thirds full – though she said sometimes the shelter is fuller. By contrast, Quiana Williamson, homeless services coordinator for National City, said there is a long waiting list for the Lighthouse shelter. 

Williamson said there aren’t many homeless encampments left in National City in areas where city employees have jurisdiction. Most have moved near highways where Caltrans has authority, she said.  

Williamson described National City’s approach as a mix of compassion and accountability. 

“We use a gentle, empathetic approach with these folks,” she said. “We offer services continually [and] provide them with clothing or something to get them comfortable [until they] agree to services.” 

At the same time, Williamson and fellow outreach worker Hector Hueso said city workers don’t hesitate to clear encampments when residents or businesses complain. 

“If they’re loitering on public property or impeding sidewalks, we remove them on the spot,” Hueso said. 

Two cities, two futures: For voters concerned about homelessness, the choice between Aguirre and McCann ultimately boils down to a choice between philosophies. 

The two candidates agree on key points. Both say the county has failed to provide regional leadership on homelessness. Both say they intend to scrutinize county programs to ensure they’re effective. Both say the county needs to provide more shelter space, do more outreach and beef up substance use and mental health treatment. 

Where the candidates differ is how they would accomplish those goals. Aguirre favors a more gradual and compassionate approach. She believes homeless people will be more willing to accept services when services are high quality, readily available and offered by outreach workers who build trusting relationships with people on the streets. 

McCann largely shares that view. But his patience is not infinite. He believes county services will be more effective if treatment providers set clear standards, hold clients accountable and prioritize sobriety and self-sufficiency. 

Since neither candidate has shown an ability to transform the situation on the streets in their city, both likely will learn on the job if elected supervisor. 

Like voters, they will look to their values for guidance and hope for better results.