The San Diego County Board of Supervisors decided unanimously on Jan. 14 to hold a special election to fill the District 1 vacancy left when Nora Vargas abruptly stepped down weeks after winning the Nov. 5 election.
Dozens of residents of District 1, which includes the cities of Chula Vista, Imperial Beach and National City and several south San Diego neighborhoods including Barrio Logan, Otay Mesa and San Ysidro, came forward during public comment and said they preferred a special election.
The position will be a three-and-a-half year term as Vargas stepped down at the beginning of her second term.
The nomination period for candidates is from Jan. 21-28.
Voter information pamphlets will be mailed to District 1 residents by Feb. 27 and by March 10, the ballots will be mailed.
According to the staff report, the primary vote must be held within 76 to 90 days following the decision to hold a special election. A date of April 8 was chosen for the election.
The results will be certified by May 8.
However, if no candidate receives a majority of the votes in the primary election, there will be a general election held on July 1. The two candidates with the highest votes will be on that ballot.
There could be a newly elected supervisor sworn in as soon as primary election results are certified, which may be earlier than May 8.
The staff report said that a special election process will cost the county between $2 million and $6.6 million depending on whether two elections needed to be held, and which method is chosen to administer the election: through a vote center or by mail.
The Board of Supervisors decided to move forward with the vote center model, which is more expensive than voting by mail. The traditional vote center model includes drop boxes for the ballots.
The residents of District 1 deserve an opportunity to elect their next representative. We all recognize this special election comes with a cost … but the cost of democracy is invaluable.
County Supervisor Jim Desmond
“The residents of District 1 deserve an opportunity to elect their next representative,” said Jim Desmond, the county supervisor for District 5. “We all recognize this special election comes with a cost … but the cost of democracy is invaluable.”
Desmond noted that a special election was held at the end of 2023 when the District 4 supervisor, Nathan Fletcher, resigned. It cost the county $5 million. Desmond said he assumes the upcoming special election will “probably be the same or more this time around,” but affirmed that the board made the right decision in choosing to conduct a special election back in 2023.
Monica Montgomery Steppe, the winner of that vote and now the supervisor for District 4, also advocated for a special election.
“It really is painful to look at the cost of this,” Montgomery Steppe said. “But I really, really, would be very uncomfortable choosing representation for a group of over 630,000 residents.”
Vice Chair and District 3’s Supervisor Terra Lawson Remer agreed. She said the cost of this election would be a significant blow to the county’s budget but board members have an obligation to make sure the voices of District 1 are heard.
Four local officials have announced their intention to run: Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, San Diego Council member Vivian Moreno, Chula Vista Council member Carolina Chavez and Chula Vista Mayor John McCann.
Only those living in District 1 can vote.
