District 1 San Diego County Supervisor race kicks off

Good Morning, I’m Debbie Cruz….it’s Monday, March 10th.

We’ll meet the candidates in the race for District 1 San Diego County Supervisor. That’s coming up. But first... let’s do the headlines….

The next phase of San Diego’s Pure Water Project has begun. The project aims to create a reliable local water supply.

The next step of the Pure Water Project is construction at Friars Road between Napa Street and Seaworld Drive.

The eastbound lane will be closed until fall of this year.

Follow the signs in the area to find a detour route and expect delays.

A San Diego 8th grader is headed to the 2025 Scripps National Spelling Bee.

Duaa Ouznali from Bright Horizon Academy won the San Diego County regional spelling bee last week.

“Droshky” was the word that clinched her national’s spot. That’s a public carriage used in Russia.

The national spelling bee runs from March 27th to the 29th.

Ballots are on the way to registered voters for the District 1 county supervisor primary election.

Early voting begins March 10th ahead of the April 8th election.

If you need help making an informed decision … The KPBS Voter Hub is available to assist. The one-stop-shop for all things election launches today (Monday).

There are guides on how to cast your ballot, explainers on the candidates, a candidate-matching quiz and the latest news on the District 1 election.

From KPBS, you’re listening to San Diego News Now. Stay with me for more of the local news you need.

NEXT MONTH, SOUTH BAY VOTERS WILL BE CASTING THEIR BALLOTS IN A SPECIAL ELECTION FOR COUNTY SUPERVISOR. SOUTH BAY REPORTER KORI SUZUKI SAYS THE TOP CANDIDATES ARE FOCUSED ON A RANGE OF ISSUES, INCLUDING AFFORDABILITY, IMMIGRATION AND THE CROSSBORDER SEWAGE CRISIS.

The election is for the District 1 seat on the San Diego County board of supervisors. The district represents the South Bay, which includes Chula Vista, National City, Imperial Beach and parts of San Diego. That seat has been vacant for two months now. That’s because, in December, County Chair Nora Vargas suddenly stepped down. We still don’t know why she resigned. That decision has left voters in the South Bay without a county representative. It’s also split the board along party lines – leaving two Democrats and two Republicans. But in April, voters in the South Bay will finally get to choose a new supervisor to represent the region. Top of mind is the sewage crisis. It's the biggest environmental and public health emergency in the nation right now. Paloma Aguirre is the mayor of Imperial Beach. She’s a Democrat and a candidate for the open seat. She says the crossborder sewage flows polluting the Tijuana River Valley should be a top priority for the county. We know now because of the request that I made to the centers for disease control coming down and assessing the families that 70% of our families in South County have a family member that has become ill or have become ill themselves.  Aguirre says she wants county public health officials to look closer at how the sewage crisis is affecting students in South Bay schools. She says she would also push for the county and the city of San Diego to consider forming a joint powers authority that would focus on treating the river. Another priority for Aguirre is how expensive it is to live in San Diego County. She wants to improve wages and benefits for county staff. And explore new protections for renters across the region. I think that that's something in partnership with the rest of the board that I want to look into because like I said, housing production is one of the multi-pronged strategy to begin addressing this high housing crisis and prevent homelessness. It's not just housing production period. Aguirre has been critical of some recent decisions by the Board of Supervisors on immigration – including a new policy that strengthened the county’s sanctuary laws. She wants the county to focus more on funding legal aid programs to help people facing deportation. And other services for new immigrants and refugees. We need to put our money where our mouth is. So the county needs to increase the resources that nonprofits need to provide enough services, especially around legal council. The county should be focused on county services. Immigration is a federal issue. Another leading candidate is John McCann, the mayor of Chula Vista. McCann, a Republican, thinks the county should be cooperating with federal immigration authorities. We need to be able to allow our jails when there is a warrant to be able to give that to the federal government. Uh we need to be able to work collaboratively on public safety issues with our federal law enforcement and that only makes our immigrant community safer as well as our community as a whole safer. McCann also wants the county to prioritize the homelessness crisis.  He says the county needs to review its spending and consider building a new set of shelters. As Mayor of the city of Chula Vista, I have taken the regional lead to get homeless off the streets. In 2016, we created the homeless outreach team with nonprofits in our police department. Then we built the 65 tiny homes villages with wrap around services so people could go in and get permanent housing. Like Aguirre, McCann also wants to address the cost of living in San Diego County. His plan is to oppose raising taxes and other fees. He’s critical of the board’s recent decision to explore a new sales tax to offset potential cuts to federal funding. The county needs to go through and look at how they can become more efficient and work uh more effectively. Two other leading candidates in the race, Vivian Moreno and Carolina Chavez, did not respond to interview requests by KPBS’ deadline. Moreno is a San Diego City Councilmember and a Democrat. She represents the neighborhoods of San Ysidro, Nestor and Barrio Logan. In campaign statements, she says she wants to make housing more affordable and improve public safety. Chavez is a City Councilmember in Chula Vista – and also a Democrat. She represents the northeast quadrant of the city. In campaign statements, Chavez says she wants to focus on job creation, funding law enforcement and expanding supportive services for unhoused people. There are also three other candidates on the ballot: Louis Fuentes, Lincoln Pickard and Elizabeth Efird]. They haven’t raised significant funds and have a limited campaign presence. The special election will take place on April 8th. Unless one person wins more than 50 percent of the vote, the top two candidates will move on to a runoff election in July. Mail-in voting begins this week. Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.

YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT THE ELECTION AND REGISTERING TO VOTE AT KPBS.org/voterhub.

“STAND UP FOR SCIENCE” WAS THE THEME FOR RALLIES ACROSS THE NATION FRIDAY, INCLUDING HERE IN SAN DIEGO. REPORTER TANIA THORNE SAYS HUNDREDS SHOWED UP FOR A RALLY AT UC SAN DIEGO.

Hundreds of UC San Diego faculty, staff and students came together for the Stand Up for Science rally…. Part of a nationwide movement. The reality is that San Diego has a lot of science community, a lot of biotech industry. Christian Cazares is a postdoctoral researcher in the Cognitive Science Department at UCSD. He says in the midst of federal cuts -, scientific research - needs to be spared. If you know anybody with Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, autism or any type of cancer, their health and maybe your future health if you're affected by this, conditions will deteriorate as we will be unable to find cures for this condition and we will be unable to provide treatment. He says this rally is only the beginning, and science supporters will continue pressuring UCSD leadership and congressional representatives for support. Tania Thorne, KPBS NEWS 

SAN DIEGO IS CONSIDERING AN INCREASE TO THE CITY'S CANNABIS BUSINESS TAX TO HELP CLOSE A BUDGET DEFICIT. METRO REPORTER ANDREW BOWEN SAYS CITY STAFF ACKNOWLEDGE THE MOVE COULD BACKFIRE.

San Diego taxes cannabis retailers at 8% of their gross receipts. That's already the highest in the county. But the city treasurer's department is asking for an increase to 10%. And it admits the move could reduce revenue by pushing more consumers to the illicit market. Kimberly Simms is a cannabis attorney. She says a tax hike could also push more business to suburbs with lower taxes and more shops to choose from. Why would I pay 10% tax when I could now go to my La Mesa dispensary and they only impose a 4% tax? So we're not being competitive with the cities around us and I think, again, I think it's short-sighted. The City Council is scheduled to vote on the cannabis tax increase Monday afternoon. Andrew Bowen, KPBS news.

CHULA VISTA IS PREPARING TO WELCOME THE LONG-AWAITED GAYLORD PACIFIC RESORT – THE MASSIVE HOTEL THAT WILL SIT ON THE CITY’S BAYFRONT. OVER THE NEXT FEW WEEKS, SOUTH BAY REPORTER KORI SUZUKI SAYS, THE COMPANY BEHIND THE RESORT IS KICKING OFF A SERIES OF JOB FAIRS AHEAD OF ITS GRAND OPENING.

Hundreds of people were lined up at Southwestern College on Friday  morning. To apply for jobs at the new Gaylord Resort and Convention Center, which is set to open in Chula Vista in just a few months. Marriott, the parent company behind the new hotel, says they’re looking to hire 800 new staff members – everything from baristas and chefs to accountants and IT specialists. It's just exciting to be here. Rebecca McKinnor works in the culinary department at Petco Park. She loves cooking food from Italy and Korea – and her mom’s home state of Yucatán in Mexico. She’s excited about the idea of working at a resort, something she’s never done before. I want to be like a lead cook. Maybe even try for sous chef, you know? Maybe I'm just shooting my shot, but I don't shoot it then how will I know, right? The Gaylord project has been almost 25 years in the making for the city. John McCann is the mayor of Chula Vista. It's been a great team effort. We've had several mayors, several council members, all working together. Uh we've had the business community, the environmental community, all working together and it's great to be able to now finally say the Gaylord Hotel Resort will be open May of this year. Four more job fairs are planned over the next two weeks. In Chula Vista, Kori Suzuki, KPBS News.

That’s it for the podcast today. Find more San Diego news at KPBS.org. I’m Debbie Cruz. Thanks for listening and have a great Monday.