Gina Jacobs, a Democrat and a diversity, equity and inclusion business and community partner for the Port of San Diego, is challenging Joel Anderson for his seat representing District 2 on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. She was born and raised in University Heights. The San Diego Union-Tribune asked Jacobs and the other candidates for supervisor for their priorities, plans and positions if elected. Their responses have been lightly edited for style and clarity. Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate? As a parent, working professional, public employee for over 10 years — with a decade of experience working in the private sector — and local San Diegan, I experience many of the same challenges as my neighbors and the broader San Diego community. We all deserve to live in a community that is safe, be able to afford housing and have shelter, and have a voice in our local government. We deserve a representative who will make sure the government works for us and will ensure each of us has equal access to resources. I will be your advocate and ensure that your needs are addressed and incorporate you in identifying solutions that fit your community. What are the top 3 issues facing this district and the county generally? Housing/homelessness: We need to increase stipends for those who are on the verge of becoming unsheltered and increase inventory of transitional and affordable permanent housing. Fire safety: District 2 includes many communities that have been impacted by wildfires over the past decade and even more communities that are being impacted by rising homeowners insurance due to fire-danger zones and/or limited options for homeowners insurance. The county can partner with insurance companies and support residents in maintaining defensible space around their property and on county land. Fentanyl/drug crisis: Substance-use disorders are our most common chronic illness in our community. We need to continue to fund programs that focus on harm reduction, increase access to naloxone, addiction treatment options, support law enforcement efforts and continue to educate youth and their caretakers on the dangers of substance abuse, including what signs and symptoms to look out for. What are the first 3 things you would do in office if elected or re-elected? Community listening sessions to identify the most pressing issues in each community throughout the district. Compile feedback from sessions and determine whether or not a proposal, policy, initiative or other efforts are in place to address the issues and/or whether the board needs to develop a proposal or policy. Meet with the community to provide status updates on the issues brought forward and create a continual feedback loop between the community and my office. Do you support Measure G, the half-cent county sales tax increase that would fund transportation? Why or why not? No. I would like to see a plan that is a better balance of the funds going towards public roadway infrastructure improvements and public transportation. We need to first improve the infrastructure of our public roadways, and then we can address connectivity and improvements of public transit. What more should the county do to combat the region’s housing crisis? Stipends for families, seniors and working professionals to help them stay in their homes. Partner with builders/investors to build more housing and require them to include a higher percentage of affordable or subsidized housing in developments. Address zoning throughout the county, as most lots are zoned for single-family. In order to increase the housing supply, we need to increase the number of units zoned for each lot. Educate and engage the community on the seriousness of the housing crisis and get residents involved in identifying solutions. We will not be able to combat the housing crisis without community support. What are your plans for addressing homelessness in San Diego County and in this district specifically? San Diego County has the fourth-largest population of people experiencing homelessness in the U.S. Older adults are the fastest-growing segment of this population. We need to expand county staff and resources to troubleshoot the root causes of homelessness first and then determine a solution that is the best fit for each individual. In addition, the county can address zoning issues to allow for more housing, increase and expand subsidies, partner with finance institutions to address limitations impacting the production of affordable housing and encourage communities to be more open to affordable housing developments and other creative housing solutions. How should public safety and civil liberties be balanced when it comes to homelessness enforcement, behavioral health policy and surveillance? Do you support Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent move to clear encampments? We need to recognize that a large majority of the homeless population are seniors, veterans, women and youth, and they do not have mental health and/or substance use issues. They simply cannot afford housing in San Diego. Criminalizing them because they can’t afford housing doesn’t help. It actually makes it worse, because if they have a criminal record, it will be even harder for them to get a job and housing. I do not support Gov. Newsom’s recent move to clear encampments, as it doesn’t address the root cause of homelessness but merely kicks the can down the road. Recent flooding has brought new attention to how the effects of climate change can disproportionately impact poorer neighborhoods and communities of color. How should the county combat this? The county should allocate more funds and resources to update failing infrastructure, frequently clean water channels to ensure debris doesn’t build up and to improve the ecosystem for wildlife, conduct community sessions to better understand the challenges community members are experiencing locally and acknowledge the impacts that redlining and structural racism have had on these communities. San Diego County jails have had a persistent problem of people dying in them year after year. What more should the county do to keep people in its custody safe? The county has taken several steps to improve the safety for incarcerated people. They have increased screening of incarcerated people during the intake/booking process, increased screening of sworn staff coming into the facility, set up a dedicated mail-processing facility that screens all mail for narcotics and contraband, increased medical care for those with opioid and alcohol addiction, trained sworn staff to better screen for medical symptoms and have Narcan readily available and enhanced mental-health resources available to incarcerated people to address substance abuse and suicidal tendencies. We need to continue to support these programs with increased funding and resources. What are your plans for improving transportation options and reducing vehicle emissions in this district and countywide? Many residents in District 2 have long commutes to work and school, which creates congestion on roads and highways during peak commute times. We need to first address the infrastructure that supports higher utilization of electric vehicles, such as increasing the number of charging stations and carpool lanes for EVs, increasing the number of park-and-ride lots as well as carpool/vanpool options and extending public transit, biking and other sustainable modes of transit. Second, we need to incentivize use of EVs and the other sustainable transit options for residents, especially those that have long round-trip commutes.