By Tammy Murga
SWAT-style immigration raids across the nation, including at a popular San Diego restaurant. A county budget with a multimillion-dollar projected deficit. And looming federal funding cuts.
National and local issues drove scores of voters to cast their ballots in person Tuesday, the last day to vote in the race for an open seat representing hundreds of thousands of people in San Diego County鈥檚 First Supervisorial District.
Their options were much narrower than they鈥檇 been in the special election鈥檚 crowded primary in April: John McCann, the Republican serving as mayor of the county鈥檚 second-largest city, Chula Vista, or Paloma Aguirre, Democratic mayor of California鈥檚 southernmost coastal city, Imperial Beach?
For Ed Cervantes, who dropped off his ballot at the MAAC Community Center in Chula Vista, the choice was clear. Cervantes is president of the Latino American Political Association, which endorsed McCann.
鈥淲e鈥檝e lived in Chula Vista for 15 years and we鈥檝e seen it change, and John has had a lot to do with it,鈥 he said. 鈥淎s the more experienced candidate, he鈥檚 going to be able to do more for the entire South Bay. Paloma manages a city with 10% of the population of Chula Vista. So, no comparison.鈥
Chula Vista just opened a billion-dollar bayfront hotel and convention center, is building dozens of new homes and is soon to complete a state-of-the-art library that could offer higher education courses.
McCann has not stood in the way of that growth, several Chula Vista residents said on Tuesday, adding that that鈥檚 largely why they supported his mayoral bid in 2022 and believe he will help the rest of District 1 grow if elected.
Mary Pappagianis, a lifelong Chula Vista resident who said she prioritizes the environment in her votes, is not all too convinced.
She said that throughout the years McCann has been in office, the city has allowed too much unchecked growth she believes is not 鈥渉armonious with the environment.鈥 And she says Aguirre has a clearer vision to pursue the fight against the Tijuana River sewage crisis.
鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 vote for her if I weren鈥檛 feeling confident about her,鈥 said Pappagianis.
The decades-long sewage crisis came up several times as a priority for voters in South County who spoke with The San Diego Union-Tribune on election day.
Among them was Amelia Cruz, an 18-year resident of San Ysidro. She said Aguirre had stepped up as the stronger advocate for those directly impacted by sewer gas odors and other pollutants stemming from the Tijuana River.
As Cruz stepped out of her car outside the vote center at the San Ysidro Senior Center, nearby poll workers couldn鈥檛 ignore her stubborn cough.
鈥淚 think I鈥檓 going to get asthma,鈥 she said in Spanish. 鈥淭he stench is horrible, and we can鈥檛 take it anymore. If she (Aguirre) can just help end this, then I鈥檓 happy overall.鈥
Moments later, Grecia Hilario Ordaz stopped by to cast her ballot. It was an exciting moment for someone who had become a U.S. citizen just a year and a half ago.
鈥淚鈥檓 exercising my vote, and I think it鈥檚 more important than ever to promote the Latino vote,鈥 she said.
Immigration was a top reason she wanted to participate in this special election, she said 鈥 especially after the raid of a South Park restaurant in June by heavily armed immigration officers.
鈥淣ationwide, right now, it feels like we鈥檙e being persecuted,鈥 said Hilario Ordaz. 鈥淚 support deportations of criminals, but not of hardworking people. I think Paloma understands that, and she鈥檒l stand by that more than McCann.鈥
Throughout the campaign, Aguirre has repeatedly criticized intensifying federal immigration enforcement, while McCann has largely declined to weigh in.
Whichever candidate joins the now-split Board of Supervisors will help determine how San Diego County should use its limited authority to challenge or cooperate with federal authorities, as advocates call to expand protections for immigrants.
They may also get a chance to revisit a failed effort to expand a $5 million legal aid program for detained immigrants. McCann has called to slash the program as one way to help reduce a projected budget shortfall.
For Chula Vista resident Barry Preston, cutting government spending is a priority, and he believes McCann will focus on doing so if elected supervisor.
District 1 voters overwhelmingly chose voting by mail. By Tuesday afternoon, more than 66,000 mail ballots had been counted, and more than 1,300 voters had voted in person, election officials said.
Though election officials said they cannot predict voter turnout, it鈥檚 typically lower in special elections. Turnout was roughly 18%, said Antonia Hutzell, a spokesperson for the county Registrar of Voters.
Election results must be certified by July 31 鈥 but the registrar expects the outcome to be official sooner than that, she added.