S1: Welcome in San Diego , it's Jade Hindman. On today's show , we've got details on the next district one county supervisor. This is KPBS Midday Edition. Connecting our communities through conversation. The special election for district one County supervisor is finally coming to a close. I'm here with our South Bay reporter , Cory Suzuki , who's been following this consequential election and what the outcome could , could actually mean for the future of San Diego politics. Cory , always great to have you on. Hi.
S2: Hi. Thanks for having me.
S1: All right. So the polls closed at 8 p.m. last night. Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre took the early lead and is now expected to be sworn in to the Board of Supervisors. So break down the results and what we know so far.
S2: Yeah that's right. So there were two candidates in this race , Democratic mayor of Imperial Beach , Paloma Aguirre , and the Republican mayor of Chula Vista , John McCann. Aguirre won 53.2% of the votes that we've that have been counted so far. And McCann has won about 46.8% , just under 47%. That's out of 70,000 ballots or so far , according to the Registrar of Voters. The registrar is still counting some ballots , and from what we know now , this has not been a blowout race. Ajit has a pretty significant lead , but it is still relatively close. But it's enough of a lead that KPBS has called the race. And McCann also this morning called Aguirre announced that he called Aguirre to concede. Wow.
S1: Wow. Well , leading up to the race , you did a lot of reporting on where the candidates stand on the issues.
S2: And I think time will sort of be the the best guide to to knowing what voters were thinking about as they cast their ballots in this election. I will say that there are a couple of things that I think you can , you can point to very clearly about Aguirre's record. The first one is that she's been a leading voice on the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis as mayor of Imperial Beach. She has strongly supported taking more aggressive action to help neighborhoods dealing with the crisis and dealing with air pollution and other public health impacts. She's also strongly supported measures to help renters and to prevent people from being displaced. People who are experiencing the rising cost of living in San Diego. And then she's helped work across ideological lines to unify sometimes split City council and Imperial Beach to. But for a local election. This race has also become really connected to national politics and specifically a couple of things the Trump administration's immigration crackdown , which is becoming increasingly invasive. The cuts that Republican lawmakers in Congress are looking to in terms of safety net programs like Medicaid and Snap. A campaign really made this strong effort to tie McCann , her opponent , to these policies and to underscore similarities they saw between McCann's campaign , things that McCann was talking about in terms of immigration , in terms of his his his priorities for county spending and trying to to draw connections there between what he was saying and what his supporters were saying and what we're seeing from the white House and from Republicans in Congress right now.
S1: And I know you spoke with Aguirre over the phone last night. Here's what she had to say about how national politics and looming cuts to safety net programs might have swayed voters minds.
S3: They're very worried because at least 140,000 residents of district one depend on these types of programs , and that the county we have an opportunity to fight back.
S1: Well , remind us the importance of this election and the role that a county supervisor plays in local politics.
S2: Yeah , and just to note , we did reach out to McCann and his campaign multiple times last night. Did not hear back. Um , fundamentally , this is a local race. I mean , but but this is one that will affect all of San Diego County. The county government operates many state and federal partnerships , like Medicaid , which is known as Medi-Cal and California , and like Snap or Cal Fresh. Um , it also includes election operations , parts of the local justice system like county jails and the sheriff's department. The county government provides government services , municipal services , services , and unincorporated areas , and parts of the county also make major decisions on things like public health measures , transportation planning , and local immigration policy. And when it comes to the Board of Supervisors , that five member board oversees the county government. Officially , the board is nonpartisan , but in reality , party politics play a major role in how the board votes. This special election was triggered earlier this year after one of those supervisors , Democratic County Chair Nora Vargas , stepped down suddenly , leaving the board split between two Democrats and two Republicans. And Aguirre's election yesterday means that Democrats will now have a majority again. Mm.
S1: Mm. Well , the campaigning has now come to a close. But one of the things that I noticed is that things got pretty personal between the candidates. In recent months , Aguirre and McCann both had very heated claims about one another. You fact checked many of those claims. What did you find out ? Yeah.
S2: That's right. There were definitely a lot of claims flying around in this race , for sure. Both candidates were making different accusations about each other. Aguirre , again , I think trying to work , working to tie McCann to the white House as much as she could in the eyes of voters. And McCann trying to hit Aguirre on her financial record and her stance on things like using the county's reserve funds to to support um , county programs. Uh , I will say , I mean , I don't think this is necessarily something that was 100% different from other political races. I mean , a lot of political races get heated and get personal. But I think in some ways , this is what this shows is the need for journalists and for other independent news sources who can step in to help verify which of those facts , which of those those claims are facts and which of those claims are misleading , so that people who are casting their ballots have a clear sense of what is true and what is maybe being spun in a direction.
S1: You know , another thing is that community members and political experts were really worried about low voter turnout , with this being a local race and a special election.
S2: County officials are , like you said , still tallying the final votes , but the rate of registered voters who turned out right now is hovering around 19% , and that's not likely to change too much , according to the registrar , from what we know last night. That is higher than the primary election , where turnout was just under 18%. So we're already surpassing that number. But that is much less than , say , in November , the November election , when national races , when the presidential election was happening , voting in district one neighborhoods topped at least 50% in most cases , and in some cases , some places. Some parts of the district were closer to 90 or 100%. So I mean , that's a that's a really that's a really large change , a very , very significant margin when you think about 18 or 19% compared to that. According to the registrar , it's also looking like the election was more representative of whiter and wealthier areas and less so for poorer areas and neighborhoods where people are more likely to identify as with communities of color , which is also a prediction that political experts that I talked to said is unfortunately often the case with special elections.
S1:
S2: The San Diego Democratic Party issued their congratulations to her the Sierra Club chapter of San Diego. And Aguirre has this long history of environmental work. And so I think a lot of environmental advocates are looking to this as a victory. Um , and then local democratic political leaders in other cities and on on other in other government positions have been weighing in to city council members in Carlsbad and La mesa have issued their congratulations. And State Senator Steve Padilla just this morning issued a statement congratulating Mayor Aguirre as well on her her victory. So it's still early , but there are a lot of people starting to sort of react to the decision.
S1: Given some of those reactions. I mean , you know , now the district one has its its county supervisor.
S2: I think the biggest one and the most important to voters in this election in the South Bay and other neighborhoods in San Diego and unincorporated communities like Spring Valley and Lincoln Acres , those communities will finally have a democratically elected representative at the county level. Now , also , the Board of Supervisors has five members , meaning they will have now a tie breaking vote on many issues , especially one where ones where party politics play a big role. Um , the county government is facing a budget deficit like we mentioned earlier. They're going to have to chart some major decisions on spending priorities and policy decisions like the Tijuana River Valley sewage crisis and like immigration policy. So big decisions there. And then also this will have an impact for Imperial Beach and Chula Vista to Chula Vista. Um , this means McCann will continue to be mayor. And I'm really interested to see what this means for his continued governing of the city. His love for Chula Vista , I think , really came through in this race and has played a big role. But his entire city council , also for Democrats other than the mayor , all endorsed Daggett. So I am , I think will be really curious to see what that looks like , what what their relationship looks like moving forward as he steps back into the mayoral role in a full , fuller way. And then in Imperial Beach. This will likely trigger some big changes in local politics and electoral process , maybe for for both mayor and and potentially a new city council member. If the city council decides to appoint someone to serve as an interim or holds a special election. So there could be some big changes coming in that city too.
S1: All right.
S2: I mean , Aguirre has been such an outspoken advocate for neighborhoods around the Valley. So I think a really big outstanding question is what that's going to mean for them , for people who have put there , either have voted for her and have put their faith in her to to to make some change or voted for McCain and are now going to be looking to see what Aguirre does next. And then also on things like immigration policy and safety net programs , will the Board of Supervisors decide to continue the Immigrant Legal Defense Fund , for example , which provides free legal support to people facing deportation in San Diego County ? Aguirre has made some big promises. And of course , moving from an election to actually governing means more limitations and hard decisions. So I think we'll we'll have to wait and see really what what comes next. But I think there are some big questions ahead for , uh. For. For mayor Aguirre. Now county supervisor Aguirre. Soon. Absolutely.
S1: Absolutely. It'll be interesting to see how things unfold. And , of course , we'll be following your reporting. I've been speaking with KPBS South Bay reporter Corey Suzuki. You can see the latest election results and other related coverage on KPBS. Corey , thank you so much.
S2: Thank you so much. Thanks for having me.
S1: That's our show for today. I'm your host , Jade Hindman. Thanks for tuning in to Midday Edition. Be sure to have a great day on purpose , everyone.
