SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Tomorrow is the last day that Chairwoman Nora Vargas will be in office. This comes after she announced she would not be taking the oath of office despite winning a second term.
It was on December 20th that Chairwoman Nora Vargas abruptly announced her resignation citing personal safety and security concerns as a reason.
Now all eyes go to that empty district one seat, representing more than 600,000 people in the South Bay dealing with a bi-national sewage crisis.
“You know, San Diego, politically, is such a great town because the hits just keep on coming,” said San Diego Political analyst John Dadian.
On Tuesday, the board has several options on what to do to fill the position.
One is directly appointing a successor, which political analysts say it may not be realistic, since it would turn the power to either the remaining Democrats or Republicans on the board.
They could also hold a special election, which would come with a price tag.
“So I assume it's going to be what we call a standalone election that it'll be the only item on the ballot, and that's when it gets expensive because you're only going to that district, etc. You have to go to every registered voter in that supervisorial district. Again, a lot of people don't realize a supervisorial district is bigger than a congressional district,” said Dadian.
It would be the second special election for the board in less than two years.
The registrar of voters told 10News, when Supervisor Nathan Fletcher was replaced, it cost $4.8 million, including the election held in August of 2023 and county’s share of the November general election.
There are several local officials hoping to take her place, including Councilwoman Vivian Moreno.
“The residents are my bosses. They say how high, and they say how low. They tell me what I need to focus on,” said Moreno.
Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre also vying for the seat.
“Well, I think I have a demonstrated track record of being reasonable working across the aisle, working in with finding common ground. The South Bay has a lot of big issues that we need to tackle, not just from the cross border pollution crisis, but also around homelessness around housing, about putting food on the table and keeping a roof over our heads,” said Aguirre.
Chula Vista Councilmember Carolina Chavez is also in the running, and Chula Vista Mayor John McCan is considering the position.
