One North County race could shift the balance of power on the Board of Supervisors
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Good Morning, I’m Lawrence K. Jackson….it’s TUESDAY, MAY 26TH>>>> [ WITH THE PRIMARY ONE WEEK AWAY, WE TAKE A LOOK AT THE RACE FOR THE COUNTY’S DISTRICT 5 SEAT ]More on that next. But first... the headlines….#######
COUNTY SUPERVISORS LAST WEEK NARROWLY APPROVED OF A COUNTY CHARTER OVERHAUL
THE UNION-TRIBUNE SAYS THAT IT NOW FACES A FINAL PROCEDURAL VOTE ON JUNE 25TH
THAT VOTE DECIDES WHETHER IT WILL LAND ON YOUR NOVEMBER BALLOT
IF APPROVED, IT WOULD REWRITE HOW OUR LOCAL GOVERNMENT FUNCTIONS AT THE COUNTY LEVEL
A MAIN COMPONENT OF THE CHARTER WOULD ALLOW SITTING AND FUTURE SUPERVISORS THE ABILITY TO SERVE THREE, FOUR-YEAR TERMS...
CURRENTLY, SUPERVISORS CAN ONLY SERVE TWO, FOUR-YEAR TERMS
IT WOULD ALSO ALLOW SUPERVISORS TO HIRE THEIR OWN ANALYSTS TO STUDY AND PROVIDE REPORTS ON THINGS LIKE COUNTY PROGRAMS AND FINANCES
ADDITIONALLY, IT WOULD LET SUPERVISORS HAVE A SAY ON THE HIRING AND FIRING OF COUNTY MANAGEMENT POSITONS
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SAN DIEGO COUNTY SAW A SLIGHT DECREASE IN UNEMPLOYMENT RATES LAST MONTH...
ACCORDING TO DATA FROM THE STATE’S EMPLOYMENT DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT, THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IN THE COUNTY WAS FOUR POINT ONE PERCENT
A BIT LOWER THAN MARCH AND JUST SLIGHTLY BELOW RATES SEEN ONE YEAR AGO
THE COUNTY'S UNEMPLOYMENT RATE IS ALSO LOWER THAN THE STATES ... WHICH RIGHT NOW SITS AT FIVE PERCENT
AS FAR AS A BOOST IN EMPLOYMENT, PRIVATE EDUCATION AND HEALTH SERVICES LED ALL SECTORS
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SEAWORLD HAS OFFICIALLY REPLACED FIREWORKS WITH DRONES
THEIR FIRST SHOW WAS THIS PAST FRIDAY WITH NIGHTLY SHOWS RUNNING THROUGH AUGUST NINTH
SEAWORLD SAYS THAT THEIR "OCEAN OF DREAMS" DRONE SHOW FEATURES SIX HUNDRED SYNCHRONIZED DRONES
THE TWELVE MINUTE-LONG SHOW TAKES INSPIRATION FROM MARINE LIFE AND OCEAN CONSERVATION EFFORTS AND FEATURES SHARKS, DOLPHINS, SEA OTTERS, ORCAS AND MORE
SEAWORLD PARK PRESIDENT TYLER CARTER SAID THE PARK IS THE FIRST AND ONLY CALIFORNIA ATTRACTION TO OFFER A NIGHTLY DRONE SHOW
From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now.Stay with me for more of the local news you need.
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CALIFORNIA'S PRIMARY ELECTION IS ONE WEEK AWAY... AND A RACE IN NORTH COUNTY COULD CHANGE THE POWER DYNAMICS AT COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.... WHERE DEMOCRATS CURRENTLY HAVE A 3-2 MAJORITY.
NORTH COUNTY REPORTER ALEXANDER NGUYEN LOOKS AT THE CANDIDATES FOR THE DISTRICT 5 SEAT.
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D5SUPES 4:17 SOC
The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is supposed to be nonpartisan. But party politics have always played a role in the board’s decisions.
Before 20-20, the five-member board was a conservative stronghold. Democrats took over when Nora Vargas and Terra Lawson-Remer won seats that year.
The 20-26 election could give Democrats a 4 TO 1 supermajority, further shrinking Republicans’ influence in county politics.
Two Democrats, two Republicans and an independent are vying to replace Republican Jim Desmond in District 5. Desmond is termed out and is running for Congress to replace Darrell Issa.
GFX MAP OF D-5 SUPERVISOR DISTRICT
The district covers the northernmost expanse of San Diego County, from Oceanside to Ocotillo Wells to the east and Escondido to the South.
For the Republicans, the two candidates are …
NATPOP 8294 23;01;33;00 → 23;01;37;23
“Mayor John Franklin, city of Vista. I'm running for county supervisor in the fifth district.”
… and San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones. Jones declined an interview for this story.
She is endorsed by Carl DeMaio’s Reform California PAC. Franklin is endorsed by Valley Center Republicans.
The Republican Party of San Diego County is not endorsing either candidate.
Franklin says he’s running because downtown San Diego problems are becoming North County problems.
SOT 8294 23;02;01;11 → 23;02;09;27
CG: JOHN FRANKLIN // District 5 Supervisor candidate
“They've come to Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, that's going to even Fallbrook and Valley Center. We have a homeless problem that we can solve in this county if we choose to.”
On the Democratic side, there’s a former deputy chief of staff and district director for Congressman Mike Levin.
NATPOP 8302 00;04;22;05 → 00;04;26;28 “My name is Kyle Krahel, and I'm running for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors for District 5.
And a former chair of the La Jolla Band of Luiseño (loose-en-yo) Indians.
NATPOP 8300 23;42;34;09 → 23;42;37;16 “My name is Norma Contreras, and I'm running for county supervisor.”
Krahel is endorsed by the San Diego Democratic Party. He says he’s running to make housing more affordable … so regular workers can live where they work.
SOT 8302 00;04;42;13 → 00;04;55;15
CG: Kyle Krahel // District 5 Supervisor candidate
“Our nurses, our firefighters, our teachers can't afford to live in the communities they serve. And I want to try to make that better by making sure that housing is more affordable, that we control the cost of energy, that we make sure water doesn't keep going up.”
Contreras says she’s running because there needs to be a diverse voice representing North County. She says she is that voice because she is of Hispanic and Native American descent.
SOT 8300 23;43;14;06 → 23;43;22;09
CG: Norma Contreras // District 5 Supervisor candidate
“We have a lot of Hispanics. We have eight tribes in the North County, and so there needs to be some representation.”
The fifth candidate for this seat is a public health professional who is running as an independent.
NATPOP 8299 23;32;35;14 → 23;32;41;05 “My name is Sasha miller, and I am running for San Diego County Board of Supervisors, district five.”
She says she’s running because of the major affordability crisis in North County.
SOTT 8299 23;33;00;03 → 23;33;11;28
CG: Sasha Miller // District 5 Supervisor candidate
“People should be able to afford shelter, housing, medicine without stressing themselves and really choosing one basic necessities of life over the other.”
All the candidates agree affordability is a major issue, but differ in their approach to solving it.
Contreras wants to stop raising taxes and get rid of outdated laws that burden regular citizens.
SOT 8300 23;46;02;16 → 23;46;17;14
“We want to make sure that outdated policies and laws are updated to benefit the people, and not just the city or the county, and then also working to find sustainable housing for our low income.”
Franklin says building more housing, including single-family homes, is key to solving the affordability issue.
SOT 8294 23;15;36;14 → 23;15;53;29
“We're spread out, we're bucolic, we're semi-rural, we're suburban, and that is what we want to stay. We need a supervisor for North County that will fight for low density. And that's what I'm a fighter for. We've got to build the housing. We've got to build homes that people can raise their families in.”
Krahel agrees more housing is the answer. But says the county should also create more affordable housing of its own.
SOT 8302 00;05;19;14 → 00;05;33;22
“The county also needs to play more of a role in making sure that we are both permitting more housing and also providing its own housing, whether through public private partnerships for more affordable housing at all kinds of levels, whether it's very low all the way up to moderate.”
Miller also supports expanding public housing but opposes urban sprawl.
SOT 8299 23;33;55;24 → 23;34;19;13
“That means having walkable communities. That means not building single-family homes that cost 700,000 800,000. For example, in Oceanside, there is a plan to build 600 single-family homes.[CUT] So to increase seven sprawl to cut into our our native lands, our native environments, [CUT] to build housing that really only a small percentage of people can afford.
The primary election is June 2nd. To learn more about the candidates, visit KPBS’ Voter Guide at kpbs-dot-org slash voter hub. AN/KPBS News
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CITY LEADERS ANNOUNCED A MAJOR DEAL LAST WEEK THAT LOWERS THE TRASH FEE AND RESTORES FREE PARKING TO BALBOA PARK. IT’LL HAVE SIGNIFICANT POLITICAL IMPACTS...
IN THIS WEEK’S WHY IT MATTERS SEGMENT, VOICE OF SAN DIEGO’S SCOTT LEWIS EXPLAINS HOW IT CAME TOGETHER AND WHAT IT MEANS NOW.
TRASHFEE (vosd) TRT 1:05 SOQ “why it matters”
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The new deal will put the trash fee for those households in the city of san diego that get city service at almost $39 per month for the big can, slightly lower than what they pay now but much lower than the $55 they would have paid starting next year.
The deal came after San Diego City Council President Joe LaCava met with former Mayor Kevin Faulconer during a trip to Washington, DC. Faulconer now leads the Lincoln Club, a conservative political organization that was collecting signatures to repeal the fee entirely.
After some negotiations, the Lincoln Club insisted on one other prize to secure agreement: repeal paid parking at balboa park.
Now, it has effectively neutralized the two most controversial issues in city politics – the one animating campaigns in the city, most prominently Richard Bailey’s, in his race for City Council District 2.
And it also protects others, like Councilmember Raul Campillo. He did not like the fee but also was reluctant to support repealing it. Now he doesn’t have to.
It was the most significant compromise in the city of San Diego in decades. For Voice of San Diego, I’m Scott Lewis and that’s why it matters.
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THE COUNTY’S MOBILE CRISIS RESPONSE TEAMS ARE SET TO LOSE STATE FUNDING. HEALTH REPORTER HEIDI DE MARCO SAY THE TEAMS RESPOND TO MENTAL HEALTH EMERGENCIES IN SCHOOLS AND COMMUNITIES.
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SCHOOLCALLS 1 trt: 51 SOQ
SOT: SOLANO MOBILE CRISIS.mp4
00:00:55:17 - 00:01:00:07
..experiencing hallucinations, not on medication
The county says Mental health teams like these have responded to more than 600 calls in San Diego county schools over the last 18 months.
Under Governor Gavin Newsom’s budget proposal, mobile crisis response would no longer be a mandatory statewide Medi-Cal benefit beginning in 2027. It would shift the cost to counties.
Dr. Charmi Patel Rao is a youth psychiatrist. She says the response youth receive during a mental health emergency can have lasting effects.
DR. CHARMI PATEL RAO
Unfortunately when youth and families experience that the response is traumatizing…then they may avoid seeking help in the future.
The county says to keep the mobile crisis response teams it would have to cut another program.
Heidi de Marco, KPBS News.
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KPBS HAS BEEN BRINGING YOU STORIES ABOUT SAN DIEGANS FOCUSING ON ENVIRONMENTAL SOLUTIONS IN THEIR COMMUNITIES.
A PROFESSOR AT THE UNIVERSITY OF SAN DIEGO IS TEACHING HER CLASS ABOUT THE TIJUANA SEWAGE CRISIS.
ENVIRONMENT REPORTER TAMMY MURGA SPOKE WITH THE PROFESSOR ABOUT ACTIONS HER STUDENTS ARE TAKING.
TJCLASS 1 1:12 SOQ
The Tijuana River sewage crisis is a multi-faceted problem.
Sarah Federman teaches conflict resolution at the University of San Diego. She says it can all feel overwhelming for those wanting to help.
Enter her Peace Studies students.
TJCLASS 1A 00:13
“We're a school of peace studies, so you might think, well, it's not a war, right? But we study conflict resolution and how to get different groups to work together across difference to solve a problem. and we really want to take advantage of our location and also give back to where we live”
To get people working together, the students first identified a need.
The students found a lot of dense scientific data about harmful chemicals found in the Tijuana River.
Elise Free is one of the students in the class. She says they wanted to make the studies and data easier for people to understand.
TJCLASS 1B 00:09
“Understanding what's in the water and what's in the sediment is one of the first steps we can take to figuring out what actually needs to be done to treat the water and to prevent it from getting worse.”
The students are developing an index showing where the chemicals come from and the harm they pose to public health.
They plan to share their information with businesses releasing those chemicals to help prevent further pollution. Tammy Murga, KPBS News
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That’s it for the podcast today. As always you can find more San Diego news online at KPBS dot org. I’m Lawrence K. Jackson. Thanks for listening and subscribing; by doing so you are supporting public media and I really want to thank you for that. Have a great day!
