Lawson-Remer Urges County to Take Bolder Role, Floats Public Bank for Housing

Acting Chair Terra Lawson-Remer of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors used the annual State of the County Address on Wednesday night to argue that the county should play a larger part in meeting residents' needs, including by possibly creating a public bank to finance affordable housing.

Speaking to an audience at the San Diego Natural History Museum, Lawson-Remer said that even if the federal government is stepping back from its responsibilities, "we together can still fulfill America's promise." She added: "We can wait, or we can lead. San Diego County, let's lead."

She pointed to earlier county achievements, among them the Immigrant Legal Defense Program and several improvements in behavioral health care. She then laid out new proposals: a county-run managed care plan, changes to the budget process that would permit more spending, and a one-time, small transfer fee on sales of the top 1% of properties in the county. In her words, the fee would help "break the stranglehold of our housing crisis."

Lawson-Remer said the county holds billions of dollars that could be put to work rather than left in the stock market, and that a portion could capitalize a bank for affordable housing. The amount has not been settled, and she said a "lot of work" would go into determining it. "When Washington walks away, we need to be able to act," she said.

On health, she said the county will not retreat from its initiatives, including efforts to stop raw sewage from flowing across the U.S.-Mexico border. She proposed a $10 million matching fund, drawn from reserves freed up by the budget changes, to match every grant dollar the state or philanthropic groups spend on the sewage problem. She also endorsed a bill by Sen. Alex Padilla, D-California, that would use border toll revenue to help clean up the Tijuana River Valley.

The speech drew a standing ovation from a gallery that included many elected officials. Rep. Juan Vargas, D-San Diego, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe and officials from Baja California were present. Vargas recalled hiring Lawson-Remer as a teenager when he served on the San Diego City Council, and her opposition to a proposed 10 p.m. youth curfew. "She'll work hard to do the right thing by this community," he said.

San Diego Councilmember Marni von Wilpert told City News Service she was pleased that Lawson-Remer wants to work closely with the city on shared concerns such as homelessness. Elene Bratton, a 26-year county employee and case management program manager, said the speech reflected her values. She acknowledged the county's decades of fiscal conservatism, which some see as stingy, but said she welcomed a more active county role, noting that some county employees cannot afford to live in the region. Rafael Perez, a community college adjunct professor from Sherman Heights, called the address inspiring.

The board is officially nonpartisan but split 2-2 between Democrats and Republicans. Chula Vista Mayor John McCann and Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre placed first and second in the April 8 special election for the vacant First Supervisorial District seat and will meet in a July runoff.

At last year's address, then-Chair Nora Vargas highlighted county work on housing and on assisting migrants and people experiencing homelessness. In late December, she announced she would not take the oath for a second term despite winning reelection in November, citing "personal safety and security reasons." The reasons were not made clear, though board meetings have grown more raucous in recent years, and she had been absent several times and had dealt with health issues linked to vocal cord nodules.