In an unexpected move that caught many off-guard, San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chair Nora Vargas announced her resignation barely a month after securing re-election for a second term. According to Voice of San Diego, Vargas stated "personal safety and security reasons" as the driver behind her decision—though no specifics were disclosed. The resignation of Vargas, who made history as the board's first Latina and bi-national chair, marks a pronounced disturbance within the local political scene.
The ascension of Vargas in 2020 had dramatically altered the political composition of the board, shifting control from Republicans, who had long held sway to a Democratic majority. Recently, though, she faced a wave of online animosity and other threats—this sort of poisonous fervor being symptomatic of a prevailing discord in political settings, as corroborated by data from the University of San Diego's Violence, Inequality, and Power Lab, detailing a pervasive trend of harassment directed at elected officials. Vargas’s decision to resign has primed local politicians in her district to contemplate their bids for the soon-to-be-vacated position, anticipating the board's forthcoming decision on January 6 regarding a potential appointment or special election, as Voice of San Diego reported.
Meanwhile, NBC 7 San Diego has revealed that while the San Diego County Sheriff's Office was unaware of any active threats directed towards Vargas or any other supervisor, a noted increase in contentious interactions within meetings and a decline in civility. Rachel Locke, from the aforementioned lab, provided data showing that between 66% and 75% of surveyed elected officials have been the subject of threats or harassment over the past five years—often regularly.
Additionally, the now-outgoing supervisor had her share of controversy, notably on issues like the protracted cross-border sewage pollution. Her choice to delay the superfund designation for the Tijuana River Valley spurred discontent among constituents. "The community must be engaged and fully informed on the long-term consequences of a superfund designation, including potential impacts on property values and local investments," Vargas explained during a supervisors' meeting. Despite this, Laura Wilkinson Sinton of the advocacy group Stop the Sewage underscored the complexity of such problems, telling NBC 7 San Diego, "You know, there are a lot of problems, and they're not fixed in four years."
The county's investment in private security for Vargas, which amounted to over $38,000 in October alone, and whether this is standard protocol for supervisors, remains under question. Vargas had committed to tackling significant issues such as housing, behavioral health, environmental justice, and economic prosperity before her re-election bid. With her impending departure, the evenly split bipartisan board faces the challenge of finding common ground for an interim successor, potentially setting up a snap election in the near future. Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer reaffirmed the board's dedication, assuring the public that they will "continue advancing our agenda to uplift all of our communities," as quoted by NBC 7 San Diego.
