The San Diego County Board of Supervisors should call for a special election rather than appointing someone to fill the vacated District 1 seat, a candidate said Tuesday.
Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre said residents of the South County district should be allowed to choose the new supervisor.
“The last time a vacancy occurred, the board rightly chose to hold a special election and South County should not be treated any differently,” Aguirre said in a news release. “The people, not politicians, must choose their leaders.”
Nora Vargas announced on Dec. 20 that she wouldn’t serve a second term despite winning re-election to the seat in November. She cited “personal safety and security reasons.”
Almost two years ago, supervisors approved a special election to fill the District 4 seat, after former Supervisor Nathan Fletcher departed in the wake of sexual harassment allegations.
There are multiple options to replace Vargas, including holding a special election, appointing someone or doing both.
The county announced Monday that a special board meeting to address filling the District 1 seat is scheduled for noon Jan. 14.
Aguirre announced her candidacy on Dec. 30. Published reports indicate that three others plan to run: two Chula Vista officials, Mayor John McCann and Council member Carolina Chavez, along with San Diego City Council member Vivian Moreno.
Aguirre, elected as Imperial Beach mayor in 2022, said other District 1 hopefuls should also urge the board to approve a special election.
“We may be opponents in this campaign, but we should stand together for South County,” she said. “Our people deserve a leader chosen by them, for them, especially given the county’s history of short-changing our community.”
Terra Lawson-Remer will continue as acting chair of the board, after a vote Tuesday to pick a new leader failed. Vargas, the first Hispanic woman to serve on the board, had been the prior chair.
