Ballot Cheat Sheet and Cover

Ballot Cheat Sheet

Take this with you to the polls!

Visit tinyurl.com/sampleballotSD to see your

San Diego County voter information pamphlet.

Measure A (Y/N) Candidate Names

Measure B (Y/N)

Prop. 1 (Y/N)

Prop. 2 (Y/N)

Prop. 3 (Y/N)

Prop. 4 (Y/N)

Prop. 5 (Y/N)

Prop. 37 (Y/N)

Prop. 38 (Y/N)

Prop. 39 (Y/N)

Prop. 40 (Y/N)

Prop. 41 (Y/N)

Prop. 42 (Y/N)

Prop. 43 (Y/N)

Prop. 44 (Y/N)

Prop. 45 (Y/N)

Introduction and San Diego County

If you’re reading this, it’s quite possible you waited until

the last minute to research candidates, measures and

propositions on the November ballot.

Or maybe you’re reading this well in advance!

Either way, we’ve got you covered.

Voice of San Diego’s inaugural No BS 2026 Voter Guide is for the voter who wants to cut

through the noise. We cut through the bs on the titles of different local and state measures, too. You’ll see the no-bs

version first, then how the supporters are selling it.

Note: We focused on the races and proposals with the highest stakes for San Diego County. Our friends at KPBS

and CalMatters have more complete guides.

The information in this guide is accurate as of Sept. 30. Political circumstances may change in the coming weeks.

San Diego County

San Diego County government handles public and environmental health, welfare programs and food assistance throughout the county, plus land use and public safety in unincorporated areas that aren’t part of cities. The county has five elected supervisors who provide policy direction and a chief administrative officer who oversees county staff and operations.

Board of Supervisors District 5 In plain English: The person who represents Escondido, Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos and unincorpor- ated areas like Bonsall, Borrego Springs, Fallbrook, Pauma Valley and more on the County Board of Supervisors. Jim Desmond is termed out and running for Congress.

If you want to keep a Republican in the District 5 supervisor seat, vote for San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones, a veteran North County politician whose approach to housing helped San Marcos lead much of the region in meeting state-mandated housing targets.

Want to give Democrats their first-ever 4-1 supermajority on the Board of Supervisors, allowing them to pass major budget decisions without Republican votes? Vote for Democrat Kyle Krahel, a first-time candidate and former leader of the County Democratic Party.

County Measures and Treasurer/Tax Collector

Measure A: Makes County Supervisors More Powerful

How they’re selling it: “A Transparent, Accountable, Modern County Government” In plain English: A proposal to change the San Diego County constitution, to transfer some power from hired staff over to supervisors.

If you think elected county supervisors need more power and information to do their jobs, vote yes. This will arm supervisors with more tools to manage county bureaucracy and even require them to sign off on major hires. If you are concerned about sitting supervisors being eligible for a potential third term (right now they only get two) and think elected leaders shouldn’t play a role in hiring or firing top county officials, vote no.

Measure B: Countywide Half-Cent Sales Tax Increase How they’re selling it: “Measure to Fund San Diego County Health & Safety Services” In plain English: A proposal to increase sales taxes by a half cent.

Vote yes if you support increasing the sales tax on retail purchases by a half cent to protect health care and food assistance from the Trump administration and Congressional food cuts. Proponents also promise to solve the Tijuana River sewage crisis with a new plan to collect and treat the sewage on this side of the border. The money would also support public safety and child care. Vote no on Measure B if you can’t stomach another tax on citizens and think county government should make cuts rather than take on more responsibilities.

Treasurer/Tax Collector

In plain English: This is an executive management position that requires public finance know-how and significant oversight. This official coordinates the collection of property, hotel and cannabis taxes, manages county investments and disburses funds to school districts. They get their name on property tax bills and a seat on the county employees’ pension board.

If you’d favor a certified public accountant and outsider focused on correcting inefficiencies and making it easier for taxpayers to pay, vote for Republican Shirley Nakawatase. Nakawatase, who is endorsed by the local Republican party, served as treasurer for the corporation the county uses to finance buildings and equipment and once chaired the San Diego-Imperial Counties Developmental Services, which operates the San Diego Regional Center.

If you’d prefer the current appointed leader already working to modernize the county’s property tax system who thinks there’s more to do to protect seniors from scams, support Democrat Larry Cohen. Cohen, who is endorsed by the local Democratic party, previously served as chief of staff to U.S. Rep. Juan Vargas and was Vargas’ top adviser on the House committee overseeing banks, pensions and securities legislation.

City of San Diego

City of San Diego City Council, District 2 Clairemont, Midway, Mission Beach, Mission Bay Park, Old Town, Ocean Beach and Point Loma.

If you want to add diversity of perspective and a former Republican to an all-Democratic council, who wants to pursue wholesale reform at the city, stop taxes and fees and cut staffing levels to ease the budget crisis, vote for Richard Bailey. If you want a Democrat, long-standing leader in Clairemont and current deputy city attorney who opposes fees and wants to improve public transit in the area and build more affordable housing, vote for Nicole Crosby.

City Council, District 4 Alta Vista, Broadway Heights, Chollas View, Emerald Hills, Encanto, Greater Skyline Hills, Jamacha, Lincoln Park, Lomita Village, Mountain View, North Bay Terraces, O’Farrell, Oak Park, Paradise Hills, Ridgeview, South Bay Terraces, Valencia Park and Webster.

If you favor experience in city government, want to keep parks and libraries open and a councilmember who is willing to challenge his peers and the mayor, vote for incumbent Democrat Henry Foster. If you think Foster and the city have allowed too much development without infrastructure to support it and you want to give someone who hasn’t run for office before a chance to bring a new perspective to a City Hall that needs radical reform, vote for Democrat Martha Abraham.

City Council, District 6 Kearny Mesa, Mira Mesa, Scripps Ranch, Sorrento Valley and University City.

If you want an independent-minded representative, like the way the district is going, and want a councilmember who pushed to reduce the mayor’s power, vote for incumbent Democrat Kent Lee. If you think City Hall is failing the district and you oppose the city’s new fees, bike lanes and high-density housing projects in the district, vote for Republican Mark Powell.

City Council, District 8 Barrio Logan, Egger Highlands, Grant Hill, Logan Heights, Memorial, Nestor, Ocean View Hills, Otay Mesa East and West, San Ysidro, Shelltown Sherman Heights, Southcrest and Tijuana River Valley.

Democrat Antonio Martinez serves on a school board that’s spiraled into a fiscal crisis and has past experience as a Congressional staffer. He is endorsed by The San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, San Diego Young Democrats and local firefighters union.

Democrat Gerardo Ramirez has experience at city hall, working for current Councilmember Vivian Moreno as her chief of staff, and has called for a “tough love approach” on homelessness. He is endorsed by the Municipal Employees Association, the police union, the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce and Assemblymember David Alvarez. He’s also gotten money from a PAC funded by Sempra Energy (SDG&E's parent company) as well as major oil and pharmaceutical companies.

South County

South County

Chula Vista Mayor If you like the current direction of the city, with high- profile bayfront developments and more housing on the city’s east and west sides, vote for incumbent Republican John McCann. If you think Chula Vista is getting too expensive and you want a mayor whose campaign is funded primarily by labor unions and who names affordable housing as his top priority, vote for Democrat Francisco Tamayo. A vote for Tamayo, who has weathered scandals at the school district he leads, would create a five-Democrat lock on the City Council. McCann has served as a check on the Council’s current four- member Democratic majority but some say he is too close to business interests.

National City Mayor The recent retirement of long-serving Mayor Ron Morrison has created a vacuum atop City Hall. Four candidates are vying for the job.

The two candidates with the best chance of winning, Marcus Bush and Jose Rodriguez, are both Democrats. They used to be friends. Now they’re fierce opponents. Rodriguez has support from San Diego County’s organized labor movement and says he’ll boost home ownership opportunities and solve the city’s budget crisis by finding new sources of revenue, including a possible business tax hike. Bush says he will continue Morrison’s legacy by working with a cross-section of residents, including business interests, to solve the city’s problems. The other two candidates are political newcomer Jacobb Castrejon and National City Treasurer Ruble Mitchell Beauchamp.

Imperial Beach Mayor If you like the current direction of the city and think a low-key, pragmatic approach is the best way to solve the city’s problems, vote for incumbent Mitch McKay, a conservative-leaning independent. If you think the city needs to take a more activist approach to the Tijuana River sewage crisis and find new ways to generate revenue, vote for Democrat Karl Bradley, a retired school construction manager. If you want a mayor who works for a labor union and is backed by San Diego County’s organized labor movement, vote for District 4 City Councilmember Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez, a Democrat.

North County and East County

North County

Measure S: Oceanside Temporary Half-Cent Sales Tax Increase How they’re selling it: “City of Oceanside Half-Cent General Transactions and Use (Sales) Tax” In plain English: A proposal to increase sales taxes by a half cent until 2037.

Vote yes if you support raising Oceanside’s retail sales tax by a half cent to fund road repairs, maintenance and major infrastructure projects–although the money from the tax would go into the General Fund and isn’t restricted to a specific use. Vote no if you believe Oceanside residents are already taxed enough after voters renewed Measure X in 2024 (a separate half-cent tax increase that will expire in 2036), and that the city should work within its current budget.

East County

El Cajon Mayor

If you want a mayor with serious conservative bona fides who has rankled opponents with calls for police to cooperate with ICE, vote for Republican incumbent Bill Wells. If you want the city to take a radically different direction and embrace more progressive politics, vote for Democratic Socialists of America-backed Alexander Kraft.

Grossmont Union High School Board

In plain English: The people elected to make decisions for the Grossmont Union School District.

If you’d like to turn the page on decades of conservative- controlled governance at Grossmont Union High and the high-profile controversies stoked by the trio of long-term incumbents, vote for the slate of union-backed challengers. If you’re happy with the direction of the district, and feel the controversies have been overblown or were ginned up by liberal groups, vote for the incumbents.

Incumbents: Area 3 – Gary Woods. Area 5 – Jim Kelly. Challengers: Area 3 – Jeneé Littrell. Area 4 – Steve Mull. Area 5 – Pete Mergens.

Schools, Bonds and State Seats

A Tax on Your Property so San Diego Unified Can Keep Building Things

How they’re selling it: “San Diego Unified School District School Repair, Student Safety No Tax Rate Increase Measure” In plain English: A $3.5 billion taxpayer-funded loan for the San Diego Unified School District. If passed, the bond would be the fifth approved by voters since 2008 – totaling more than $15 billion. It would levy a tax on homeowners of $32 per $100,000 of a property’s assessed value. Importantly, district officials say this new tax would not increase the total amount property owners pay. Instead, as past bonds are exhausted, this new one will slide into their place, district officials say. So, while this wouldn’t be a tax increase, per se, right now your rate is set to go down. This is a de facto tax extension – increasing the total amount taxpayers have to pay down, and thus lengthening the amount of time they’re on the hook for these taxes.

If you’re in favor of a new property tax that would fund San Diego Unified’s efforts to add new facilities to schools, completely renovate them or even build affordable workforce housing, vote yes on the district’s latest bond. If things like a recent Grand Jury report on the confusing nature of the district’s bond program and the repeating priorities listed on the district’s past four bonds have made you lose trust in its ability to responsibly spend taxpayer money, vote no.

State Seats

State Superintendent of Public Instruction

In plain English: The person is responsible for evaluating California’s myriad education programs and advocating for new policies.

If you think San Diego Unified’s politically progressive and labor-friendly policies have put the district on a good path, vote for Richard Barrera, the longtime board member often viewed as the architect of those changes. If you think California’s schools need a conservative voice at the helm who seeks to take a tougher stance on issues like transgender student athletes and deemphasizing subjects like ethnic studies, vote for Chino Valley Trustee Sonja Shaw.

State Senate 40th District

In plain English: The 40th Senate District includes the cities of Escondido, Poway, San Marcos, Santee, San Diego neighborhoods of Carmel Mountain Ranch, Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernado, Scripps Ranch, Sorrento Valley and unincorporated communities of Alpine, Bonsall, Dehesa, Fallbrook, Rainbow, Ramona and more. State Sen. Brian Jones is termed out.

Former San Diego City Attorney Mara Elliott is likely your candidate of choice if you support cutting red-tape to spur housing development and curbing street homelessness. The Democrat recently backtracked her support of taxing billionaires in California. If you’re in favor of rolling back California’s sanctuary laws, would like tighter voter restrictions, and fewer taxes, vote for Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane.

Insurance Commissioner and State Propositions

Insurance Commissioner

In plain English: This person regulates insurance companies operating in California including auto, homeowners (wildfire), commercial, life and health insurance. They make decisions that affect whether people can remain in their homes and whether their homes retain value. The position has become more critical as wildfires wipe out homes and insurers flee the state’s increasingly expensive and volatile market.

If you want a Bernie Sanders-backed person in charge of regulating insurers who believes the state should pay for disaster insurance for anyone who can’t find or afford it, vote for Jane Kim. If you want a Democratic Party- establishment-endorsed candidate who thinks the state shouldn’t pay for people’s disaster insurance, vote for Ben Allen.

State Propositions

Prop. 40: Billionaire Tax How they’re selling it: “Imposes one-time tax on certain taxpayers.”

If you think California’s approximately 250 billionaires should pay a one-time, first-of-its-kind 5 percent wealth tax to support Medi-Cal, with a much smaller portion of funds for schools and food assistance, vote yes. If you are wary of one-time solutions to long-term financial challenges and are concerned California will chase off its most lucrative tax base, vote no.

Some unions that would otherwise support a wealth tax oppose this due to its narrow focus on funding healthcare, rather than education and other areas of need.

Prop. 41: Billionaire Tax Poison Pill #1 How they’re selling it: “Prohibits new state taxes that exclude revenues from state spending limit. Requires Audits for New State Special Taxes.”

If you support Proposition 40 and don't think California should be required to audit taxes put on the ballot to support specific causes, vote no. If you oppose Proposition 40 and want more oversight of these kinds of ballot initiatives, vote yes.

If both Proposition 40 and Proposition 41 win a majority of votes, the measure with the most “yes” votes will pass.

Prop. 42: Billionaire Tax Poison Pill #2 How they’re selling it: “Prohibits New State Personal Property Taxes and Certain Retroactive State Taxes.”

If you support Proposition 40 and want the state to be able to tax financial assets (such as bank accounts, stocks and retirement accounts) as well as non-real estate personal property (such as vehicles and art), including taxes that target wealth retroactively, vote no. If you don't support Proposition 40 and want to limit taxation mostly to real estate assets (which are already limited by Prop 13) and income, vote yes.

If both Proposition 40 and Proposition 42 win a majority of votes, the measure with the most “yes” votes will pass.

State Propositions and Congress

Prop. 43: Make it Harder to Pass Special Taxes for Cities and Counties

How they’re selling it: “Limits voters’ ability to raise revenues for local government services.” In plain English: California has long had a law that required special taxes (taxes earmarked for a specific goal) to be approved by two-thirds of voters. But years ago, a California Supreme Court ruling effectively exempted citizens initiatives from this threshold. Since then, supporters of new special taxes have been able to collect signatures and support campaigns to pass taxes sometimes without the explicit support of the government that would collect them. But those independent initiatives only need a majority of voters to pass. This proposition would close that loophole.

If you think all taxes to support special projects or goals in a city or county should have to earn the support of two- thirds of voters to be implemented, vote yes. If you think the status quo is fine where independent groups can collect signatures and put a special tax on the ballot and a majority of voters is all it should need to pass, vote no.

Prop. 45: Building Stuff Faster with Less Time for Environmental Review

How they’re selling it: “Modifies environmental review for certain projects.” In plain English: Governments would have a year to review environmental impacts of a proposed project. Anyone who wants to sue over environmental impacts gets a month to do it after it’s approved and has to resolve it in under a year. And developers can keep building during that timeframe.

If you think developers should be allowed to speed-up building “essential” projects – which can mean pretty much anything, including housing, clean energy, police stations, roads, potentially data centers but not high- speed rail – by putting deadlines on when people can sue over environmental impacts, vote yes. If you’re fine with those projects taking several years to build so governments can look at all possible environmental risks, vote no.

Congress

U.S. Representative 48th Congressional District

If you support strong immigration enforcement, want to see fewer renewable and clean energy policies and would like a pro-business candidate, vote for Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond, who has the support of President Trump. If you’d like your representative to be an advocate for immigrants, LGBTQ+ rights and support investigations into and opposition to the Trump administration, Democrat Marni von Wilpert, a San Diego city councilmember, should have your vote. She’s supported by the city’s police union.

Thank you for reading!

You can find more election coverage and explainers at

voiceofsandiego.org

Reporters: Mariana Martínez Barba, MacKenzie Elmer, Lisa Halverstadt, Jim Hinch, Will Huntsberry, Nadia Lathan, Tigist Layne, Jakob McWhinney & Bella Ross Editors: Scott Lewis, Andrea Lopez-Villafaña & Will Huntsberry Cover & Graphics: Adriana Heldiz Designer: Bella Ross