Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre will cap her nearly eight-point victory in the July 1 special election by being sworn in to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
At 9:30 a.m., Aguirre, county staff and supporters will take to the County Administration Center’s west lawn.
The brief ceremony will include a spiritual blessing by Bobby Wallace, Barona tribal leader, an invocation by Father Hung Nguyen from Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, and a mariachi performance by Mariachi Nueva Tradicion. Tina King, president of the San Diego College of Continuing Education, will emcee the event.
Aguirre plans to deliver a short speech after the ceremony.
In a statement released on election night, Aguirre said District 1 residents “now have a fighter at the county Board of Supervisors who will hold the line against the Trump administration.”
“Voters spoke loud and clear: clean up the sewage crisis, lower costs and stand up to the chaos, cuts and intimidation coming out of Trump’s Washington,” she said.
“I’ve spent my life, from organizing in forgotten neighborhoods to standing up as a small-town mayor, fighting for working people and to fix the sewage crisis, and I’m not going to the county to back down – I’m going to double down and deliver.”
Aguirre beat Chula Vista Mayor John McCann 53.9% to 46.1% – a difference of nearly 7,000 votes. Only around 21% of registered voters turned in a ballot for the special election to replace former Supervisor Nora Vargas – who resigned suddenly shortly after winning re-election last year.
District 1 consists of three cities – Chula Vista, Imperial Beach, and National City – plus 15 neighborhoods in San Diego, including East Village, Mountain View and San Ysidro, and six unincorporated communities, including Bonita, East Otay Mesa and a portion of Spring Valley.
Aguirre is a Democrat. The Board of Supervisors technically is a nonpartisan governing body, like all local government boards in California, but her election tips the favor back in the favor of Democrats.
In the seven months between Vargas’ resignation and Aguirre’s swearing-in, the makeup of the board was split between two Democrats, Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe, and two Republicans, Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond.
Born in San Francisco, Aguirre has called Southern California home since 2001 and has been Imperial Beach’s mayor since December 2022.
Last week, Aguirre announced her leadership team: Paul Worlie will be chief of staff, Aida Castañeda deputy chief of staff, Lyle Pavuk director of policy, Paola Martinez Montes director of community engagement, Diane Castañeda director of communications and Brenda Arguelles executive assistant.
“My top priority is delivering real results for working people – from cleaning up the sewage crisis to lowering costs – and that starts with a team that knows the community and is ready to fight for our families,” Aguirre said.
“This leadership team brings deep local roots, a proven track record of getting things done and a clear commitment to South County and working people. Together, we’re ready to hit the ground running to make sure South Bay finally gets its fair share from the county government it deserves.”
