Early results in Tuesday’s primary indicate Chula Vista Mayor John McCann and Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre will head to a runoff election for the District 1 San Diego County Supervisor seat.
McCann leads with 43.58% of the vote, followed by Aguirre at 31.62% and San Diego City Councilwoman Vivian Moreno at 13.00%, according to the San Diego Registrar of Voters, with 15.4% of ballots counted.
“Now, the stakes couldn’t be higher. This runoff is a clear choice between Democratic values that put working people first, and a Trump Republican agenda that would be a complete disaster for all of San Diego County,” Aguirre said in response to her likely advancement to the runoff election.
Born in San Francisco, Aguirre has called Southern California home since 2001. Imperial Beach mayor since December 2022, she has been outspoken on the U.S.-Mexico border sewage pollution problem, which has closed beaches and caused serious health issues for some residents.
Aguirre said she’ll “get the county off the sidelines” by funding infrastructure, demanding Superfund designation from the Environmental Protection Agency and “treating this as the public health emergency it is.”
McCann, a Navy veteran and Chula Vista native first elected as that city’s mayor in 2022, said on his website that Chula Vista’s wildfire response has “demonstrated his ability to protect residents in times of crisis.”
McCann’s platform includes increased funding for law enforcement, and “fighting to lower the cost of living by cutting government waste, opposing unnecessary tax hikes, and blocking burdensome policies like the mileage tax and (San Diego Association of Governments) tax.”
In response to the border sewage problem, McCann said he has “been actively working with local, state and federal officials to secure funding for infrastructure improvements, hold responsible parties accountable and push for long-term solutions to stop the flow of toxic waste into our waters.”
The other candidates are Chula Vista Deputy Mayor Carolina Chavez; energy consultant Elizabeth Efird; business owner and former Imperial County Supervisor Louis Fuentes; and marketing firm associate Lincoln Pickard.
Former San Diego County District 1 Supervisor Nora Vargas announced in late December that she would not serve her second term — despite winning re-election in November.
“Due to personal safety and security reasons, I will not take the oath of office for a second term,” she said in a statement at the time.
With a population of 650,000 residents, District 1 contains three cities: Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and National City. It also holds 15 neighborhoods within the city of San Diego, including East Village, Mountain View and San Ysidro, and six unincorporated communities, including Bonita, East Otay Mesa and portion of Spring Valley.
If no candidate receives a majority of the votes on Tuesday, a runoff will take place July 1. The winner will fill the vacant seat until January 2029.
The Registrar’s office can confirm when an individual ballot was received at sdvote.com.
Updated 10:22 p.m. Tuesday, April 8, 2025
City News Service contributed to this article.
