As a lifelong resident of the South Bay, I鈥檝e seen plenty of political double talk. But few things have been as blatantly dishonest 鈥 or insulting 鈥 as Paloma Aguirre鈥檚 recent behavior.
Let鈥檚 start with the facts: Aguirre wants to represent us on the county Board of Supervisors, where one vote could be the difference in whether San Diego families are hit with a billion-dollar tax hike. That鈥檚 not an exaggeration. Her supporters on the board have already signaled support for a countywide sales tax increase. If elected, Aguirre would become the deciding vote. Her record and her allies leave little doubt 鈥 she鈥檒l side with them. And we鈥檒l all pay the price.
But here鈥檚 the kicker: while she鈥檚 setting herself up to raise taxes on the rest of us, she refuses to pay her own.
Public records show that Aguirre continues to be delinquent on her property taxes. Not only did she fail to pay on time, she racked up additional interest this June, meaning she hasn鈥檛 even enrolled in a payment plan, despite claiming otherwise in a recent ABC 10 debate. When confronted about her unpaid taxes, Aguirre didn鈥檛 apologize or explain. Instead, she lied.
She said she had 鈥渢aken care of it.鈥 That鈥檚 simply not true. If she had a payment plan, interest wouldn鈥檛 continue to accrue. But it has. In fact, the county has documented that her tax bill is still growing. So which is it? Has she taken care of it 鈥 or is she just hoping voters won鈥檛 notice?
This is more than a mistake. It鈥檚 a pattern. And it鈥檚 disqualifying.
Aguirre wants us to believe she cares about working families. But while the rest of us struggle with inflation, housing costs, and skyrocketing utility bills, she鈥檚 refusing to pay her own share into the same system she now wants to oversee. The height of hypocrisy is demanding tax hikes from working families while dodging your own responsibilities behind closed doors.
Let me be clear: if you鈥檙e not paying your own taxes, you have no business trying to raise mine. Aguirre鈥檚 behavior isn鈥檛 just irresponsible 鈥 it鈥檚 dangerous. If she鈥檚 willing to mislead the public about something as basic as paying taxes, what else will she lie about? How can we trust her to manage a multi-billion-dollar county budget when she can鈥檛 even manage her own bills?
The worst part is she thinks she can get away with it. She thinks South Bay voters won鈥檛 notice that she鈥檚 trying to distract us with lawsuits and empty talking points. But we see through it. We see through the flip-flopping. We see through the lies. And we see a candidate who is more interested in power than in doing what鈥檚 right.
On Election Day, South Bay voters will have a clear choice: a candidate with a long record of helping South Bay residents, or someone who lies to South Bay residents. A candidate who protects and helps working families or one who exploits them.
Aguirre may think we鈥檒l forget about her tax problems. We won鈥檛. Because families here are struggling. And we can鈥檛 afford another politician who says one thing and does another.
We deserve better. That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 voting for John McCann.
Angelica Camargo, a Tijuana-born Chula Vista resident and registered Democrat, is a bilingual mother of three and longtime UCSD employee who became engaged in local issues after seeing the impact of homelessness near her home.