Aguirre Cements Democrats’ Control of County Government 

The voice of South San Diego County returned to county government on Tuesday as newly elected South County Supervisor Paloma Aguirre took her oath of office and immediately set to work implementing her and fellow Democrats’ political agenda. 

Aguirre, previously mayor of Imperial Beach, won a July 1 special election to fill the supervisorial seat vacated by former Supervisor Nora Vargas, who resigned in December for unexplained reasons. 

Aguirre’s arrival at the five-member Board returns county government to Democratic control. Following Vargas’ departure, the Board had been deadlocked between two Democratic and two Republican supervisors. 

Aguirre’s husband, Delio Bacalski, administered the oath of office Tuesday morning before a raucous, overflow crowd outside the front entrance of the County Administration Center in downtown San Diego. 

“We did it guys, we did it!” an ebullient Aguirre exclaimed to an audience of San Diego power brokers, union members, campaign supporters and South County community leaders. 

In a brief but spirited inaugural address, Aguirre promised “a new day for the South Bay. Not just because there’s a new voice on the Board of Supervisors, but because the working people of South County made their voices heard.” 

She promised swift action on a range of campaign priorities, including fast-tracking proposals to resolve the ongoing sewage crisis in the Tijuana River, expanding a county housing trust fund to boost affordable housing, adopting a countywide tenant protection ordinance to shield renters from eviction and negotiating a countywide project-labor agreement to lock in union jobs. 

She also vowed to fight stepped up federal immigration enforcement efforts and use county resources to shield recipients of Medi-Cal and other government benefit programs from recently adopted federal budget cuts. 

And she gave a preview of what supporters describe as her relentless, action-oriented style of governing. Summarizing her proposals to address the sewage crisis, she turned her attention to county bureaucrats who will be tasked with implementing new policies. 

“Every county department is on notice,” she said. “Our sewage crisis demands urgency and results. I’m not interested in more delays, blame or excuses.” 

Following a brief reception during which Aguirre was mobbed by supporters, she and other supervisors assembled in the Board’s soaring meeting chambers to conduct business. 

The three Democrats on the Board – Aguirre, District 3 Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer and District 4 Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe – moved swiftly to cement their majority and flex their political muscle. 

They elected Lawson-Remer Board Chair on a party line vote and named Montgomery Steppe and Aguirre Vice Chair and Chair Pro Tem. 

They approved a list of committee assignments that awarded plum positions to Democrats and relegated the Board’s two Republicans – District 2 Supervisor Joel Anderson and District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond – to mostly regional boards and alternate positions. 

Aguirre won assignments on committees overseeing regional planning, border affairs and shoreline preservation. She also will represent the county at the San Diego Association of Governments, the County Air Pollution Control District, the San Diego County Water Authority and the little-known but powerful Local Agency Formation Commission. 

Following the committee assignments, Democrats moved forward on efforts to shield county residents from the effects of federal immigration enforcement and cushion the blow of anticipated cuts to federally funded benefit programs such as Medi-Cal, in-home care services and food stamps. 

Democrats directed county staff to develop a training program that would help small business owners protect their and their employees’ constitutional rights during immigration raids. 

And they approved plans to keep public benefits recipients informed of cuts or changes in federal programs such as food stamps that, for some families, are essential for day-to-day survival. 

Aguirre scored her first legislative win when the Board approved a proposal to extend a county declaration of a state of emergency at the Tijuana River due to the sewage crisis. 

Continuing her efforts to persuade Gov. Gavin Newsom to declare his own state of emergency at the river, Aguirre added to her proposal instructions to send state officials a series of recent studies showing the economic and health impacts of sewage-related air and water pollution in South San Diego County. 

“There’s quite a bit of scientific and empirical evidence that this crisis can’t be ignored,” she said. The Board approved her proposal unanimously. 

Speaking at the reception after Aguirre’s swearing-in, Lemon Grove Mayor Alysson Snow said even residents and elected officials outside Aguirre’s district were, as she put it, “relieved to see her getting elected.” 

“It was a big deal for us,” Snow said. “Lemon Grove relies heavily on the county.” 

Snow said Lemon Grove contracts with the county for a range of services, including law enforcement, and often follows the county’s lead on housing and homelessness policy. 

Lemon Grove’s mostly working-class residents would benefit from “Paloma’s dedication to working-class issues,” Snow said. “Having someone in the county who understands the needs of Lemon Grove is huge.” 

Aguirre said she looked forward to bringing the needs and voices of her district’s working-class residents into the halls of power in San Diego. 

“I wasn’t supposed to be here,” she said in her inaugural address. “I’m just a surfer girl who wanted clean water in my town…But here I am. And I’m not alone…South County is ready to fight. I’m ready to lead. And we’re just getting started.” 

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