County of San Diego Board of Supervisors | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Type | |
| Type | |
Term limits | Two terms |
| History | |
| Founded | 1850 |
| Leadership | |
Chair | |
Vice Chair | |
Chair Pro Tem | |
| Structure | |
| Seats | 5 |
.svg) | |
Political groups | Nonpartisan (de jure) Democratic (3) Republican (2) |
Length of term | Four years |
| Elections | |
| Two-round system | |
Last election | July 1, 2025 (Special) |
Next election | June 2, 2026 |
| Website | |
| County of San Diego Board of Supervisors | |
TheSan Diego County Board of Supervisors is thelegislative and executive branch of thecounty government ofSan Diego County, California. Though officiallynonpartisan, threeDemocrats and twoRepublicans currently comprise the Board of Supervisors.
Between 1995 and 2013, the same five people, all Republican, held seats in the Board of Supervisors:Greg Cox, Bill Horn, Diane Jacob, Ron Roberts, and Pam Slater-Price.[1] In 2012, DemocratDave Roberts won the seat from the retiring Slater-Price, who endorsed his candidacy.[2] However,Encinitas mayor Kristin Gaspar, a Republican, unseated the lone Democrat in 2016, whose campaign was harmed by a workplace scandal.[3] In 2018,Nathan Fletcher defeated formerSan Diego County District AttorneyBonnie Dumanis to take Ron Roberts' seat, returning a Democrat to the Board of Supervisors.[4]
In the2020 election, the Democrats won control of the Board of Supervisors for the first time in decades asNora Vargas andTerra Lawson-Remer won elections in their respective supervisory districts.[5] Meanwhile, Republican formerstate senatorJoel Anderson narrowly defeatedPoway MayorSteve Vaus, a fellow Republican, to succeed the retiring Jacob.[6]
Nathan Fletcher, the supervisor representing district 4, resigned in 2023 amid sexual misconduct allegations, prompting a special election in whichMonica Montgomery Steppe was elected to his former seat. Montgomery Steppe is the first Black woman to serve as a supervisor in the county's history, and her inauguration marked the first time a majority of the supervisors were women.[7][8][9]
Nora Vargas was re-elected to another term in November 2024, but on December 20, she announced that she would not be taking the oath of office in January 2025 "due to personal safety and security reasons."[10][11] As a result, the Board of Supervisors was split between two Democrats and two Republicans. A special election to fill Vargas' seat was held on April 8, 2025, with a runoff scheduled for July 1st betweenPaloma Aguirre, Mayor of Imperial Beach and John McCann, Mayor of Chula Vista.[12] During this period the role of chair remained vacant, as the board failed to agree on a replacement.[13] Following Aguirre's victory in the runoffTerra Lawson-Remer was elected as chair in July 2025.[14]
Following Proposition B's passage bySan Diego County voters in 2010, county supervisors became limited to two terms of four years. The proposition did not immediately affect incumbent supervisors, whose current and previous terms did not count.[15]
In accordance with Article II, Section 6 of theConstitution of California, members of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors are officiallynonpartisan.[16]
| District | Supervisor | Party | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Paloma Aguirre | Democratic | |
| 2 | Joel Anderson | Republican | |
| 3 | Terra Lawson-Remer | Democratic | |
| 4 | Monica Montgomery Steppe | Democratic | |
| 5 | Jim Desmond | Republican | |
As of the term beginning January 2021, the Board of Supervisors has the following nine committees.[17]
| Committee | Chairs | |
|---|---|---|
| Affordable Housing Solutions Ad Hoc Subcommittee | Terra Lawson-Remer | Joel Anderson |
| Child and Family Strengthening Advisory Board | ||
| COVID-19 Issues Ad Hoc Subcommittee | ||
| County Administration Center Building Occupancy/Waterfront Park | ||
| Multiple Species Conservation Program Review/North County Multiple Species Conservation Program | Terra Lawson-Remer | Jim Desmond |
| Polinsky Children's Center/San Pasqual Academy | ||
| San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station Fuel Removal | Jim Desmond | Terra Lawson-Remer |
| Schools Subcommittee | Terra Lawson-Remer | |
| Summit on Aging | Joel Anderson | |
San Diego County supervisors voted narrowly to support lawsuits aiming to overturn a federal rule that blocksMedi-Cal funding for nonprofit clinics that also provide abortion services, includingPlanned Parenthood. The rule, part of H-R 1, would prevent these clinics from being reimbursed for a wide range of basic health services. Local officials emphasized that more than 32,000 county residents rely onPlanned Parenthood for essential care like cancer screenings, birth control, and other preventive services.Medicaid patients nationwide are unable to receive any services fromPlanned Parenthood under this restriction.[6]
Members of theSan Diego County Board of Supervisors | ||||||||
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