Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre was sworn in Tuesday as the newest member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, following her nearly eight-point victory in the July 1 special election.
In her inaugural speech at County Administration Center's west lawn, the District 1 representative said she is "ready to lead" on pressing issues ranging from the South Bay sewage crisis to more housing.
After taking the oath administered by her husband, Delio Bacalski, Aguirre told an enthusiastic crowd, "We did it guys, we did it!"
"The working people of South County made their voices heard," and demanded a government "where the focus is on working people — not the wealthy and well-connected," Aguirre said.
"I wasn't supposed to be here — I'm just a surfer girl who wanted clean water," she added. "This seat doesn't belong to me — it belongs to us."
Aguirre said voters want a county that "takes on the sewage crisis, poisoning our water and airs, instead of pretending it's someone else's problem."
The slow status quo isn't working, and "to the people of District 1, I hear you loud and clear," Aguirre said. "I didn't come to the county to sit back. I came here to fight back."
Along with open, clean beaches, Aguirre said she will fight for food assistance, help workers and advocate to ensure that District 1 "gets its fair share of housing, parks and safe streets it deserves."
"I'm ready to fight for it every day, in every way, with everything I have," she added.
Aguirre said that while living in Mexico, her grandfather rented horses for a living, while her grandmother sold popsicles to support eight children.
"I'm the proud the daughter of immigrants who came to America and worked long hours busing tables so I could have a better life," she said.
Aguirre spoke about her educational and career journey, which includes serving as mayor of Imperial Beach and addressed the crowd in Spanish at times.
When some said Imperial Beach was too small to be taken seriously, "I said, `Watch us,"' Aguirre said, highlighting the $600 million approved by Congress that she and other elected officials pushed for.
While progress has been made to improve air and water quality, it's not enough, Aguirre said. She added that her fight for working families in District 1 includes pushing for more housing "so buying a home and giving your family a better life is a reality and not just a fantasy."
Aguirre said residents needs a county "that stands up for our values - - not (President) Trump's agenda."
Citing recent federal immigration agency raids in the San Diego region, Aguirre said, "No one should be kidnapped in a parking lot on their way to work. That's not public safety, that's chaos."
She added that the county must also take action as health care comes under threat from Washington, D.C. "I won't stop until the toxic sewage crisis is fixed for good," she said. "I've been fighting this for years."
"This is our new day in the South Bay," Aguirre said as she concluded her speech.
The brief ceremony included a spiritual blessing by Barona tribal leader Bobby Wallace, an invocation by Father Hung Nguyen of Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, and a mariachi performance by Mariachi Nueva Tradición. Tina King, president of the San Diego College of Continuing Education, served as emcee.
In a statement released on election night, Aguirre said District 1 residents "now have a fighter at the county Board of Supervisors who will hold the line against the Trump administration."
"Voters spoke loud and clear: clean up the sewage crisis, lower costs and stand up to the chaos, cuts and intimidation coming out of Trump's Washington," she said.
The Tuesday ceremony was attended by the full Board of Supervisors, numerous county officials, regional city mayors, City Council members, education leaders and other dignitaries.
Aguirre beat Chula Vista Mayor John McCann 53.9% to 46.1% — a difference of nearly 7,000 votes. Only around 21% of registered voters turned in a ballot for the special election to replace former Supervisor Nora Vargas — who resigned suddenly shortly after winning re-election last year.
District 1 consists of three cities — Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and National City — plus 15 neighborhoods in San Diego, including East Village, Mountain View and San Ysidro, and six unincorporated communities, including Bonita, East Otay Mesa and a portion of Spring Valley.
Aguirre is a Democrat. The Board of Supervisors technically is a nonpartisan governing body, like all local government boards in California, but her election tips the favor back in the favor of Democrats. In the seven months between Vargas' resignation and Aguirre's swearing-in, the makeup of the board was split between two Democrats — Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe — and two Republicans, Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond.
Born in San Francisco, Aguirre has called Southern California home since 2001 and has been Imperial Beach's mayor since December 2022.
Last week, Aguirre announced her leadership team: Paul Worlie will be chief of staff, Aida Castañeda deputy chief of staff, Lyle Pavuk director of policy, Paola Martinez Montes director of community engagement, Diane Castañeda director of communications and Brenda Arguelles executive assistant.
"My top priority is delivering real results for working people — from cleaning up the sewage crisis to lowering costs — and that starts with a team that knows the community and is ready to fight for our families," Aguirre said.
"This leadership team brings deep local roots, a proven track record of getting things done and a clear commitment to South County and working people. Together, we're ready to hit the ground running to make sure South Bay finally gets its fair share from the county government it deserves."
Earlier in Tuesday's regular meeting, the board unanimously voted 4-0 to certify the results of the July 1 special election.
Afterward, Aguirre's fellow supervisors welcomed her, with Vice Chair Terra Lawson-Remer calling her "an inspirational leader, a person of great principle, great vision."
Supervisor Jim Desmond said he looked forward to working with Aguirre "hopefully on common sense solutions at the county."
Editor's note: Paul Worlie is married to Nancy Worlie, who is the chief content officer at KPBS. The KPBS news operation maintains editorial independence from all KPBS executives.
