Paloma Aguirre, the Democratic mayor of Imperial Beach, is running for county supervisor representing District 1. The San Diego Union-Tribune asked her and all the candidates running a series of the same questions about the big issues facing South County, and their priorities and plans if elected. H ere’s what she told us. 1.) Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate? Government isn’t getting the job done. I’ll fight on working people’s side and get results. While other politicians failed to act, I’ve led the fight to clean up the Tijuana River toxic sewage crisis, securing $250 million from Washington to stop the pollution and pushing for more action at every level of government until this outrageous disaster is solved. I fight hard to make life more affordable — cracking down on rent gouging, building new homes, providing lower utility rates than SDG&E leading SD Community Power. I’m the only Democrat running who is a local mayor, so I know how to work across the aisle to get things done. I’m the only Democrat running who takes on the status quo, whether it’s inaction on the sewage crisis or downtown’s failures on homelessness. Struggling families need a fighter for change. That’s who I am. That’s why I’m running for county supervisor. 2.) What are the top 3 issues facing this district and the county generally? 1 – The cost of living is out of control and all downtown politicians offer is blame and more of the same. I’ll fight to hold the line on utility costs and actually break through gridlock to build more homes, not just talk about it. 2 – On homelessness, we don’t lack the resources, we lack leadership. We have to get people off the street and into treatment. That means adding shelters/mental health and ending programs that don’t deliver results — no more inaction and excuses. 3 – The sewage crisis is maddening. People are getting sick, beaches are closed, local businesses all over South County are suffering, and leaders won’t act. We’ve known how to fix sewage for over a century. As mayor, I’ve led this fight, secured new funding, and forced action from Washington. I won’t stop until it’s fixed. 3.) What are the first 3 things you would do in office if elected? 1 – Demand a full audit of county homelessness spending so we can focus on what’s working, end what’s ineffective, and build the shelters and treatment facilities that neither the county nor city of San Diego have delivered. 2 – Get county government in the fight on the sewage crisis — fund basic sewage infrastructure to fix this madness, push the EPA to eliminate the red tape stopping basic action. 3 – Tackle home and rent costs across the board — build enough new affordable homes that working families can actually afford, stop rent gouging, embrace pre-fab, quick-build housing. 4.) What are your plans for addressing homelessness in San Diego County and in this district specifically? I refuse to let the homelessness crisis we see in downtown take root in South County. We can’t let encampments continue — they’re a public safety risk to individuals and a fire risk to the community. We need more treatment and shelter facilities, but San Diego City Council members have repeatedly blocked solutions we need. It’s clear we need action, not more politics as usual. Acting urgently and boldly is how I’ve led as mayor of IB, and how I’ll lead as county supervisor. 5.) Recent wildfires in Los Angeles County have brought renewed attention to the potential effects on areas with high fire risk. Do you think the county should encourage development in rural unincorporated areas, and if so, how should it mitigate fire risks in them? Also, what more should the county do to combat the region’s housing and affordability crisis? No. We know what works, which is incentivizing smart growth along transit corridors and near job centers. Building large-scale developments in the fire-prone backcountry is the opposite of that. That said, all jurisdictions should do their part to solve the housing crisis — we need 171,685 new homes just to meet our regional housing needs by 2029 and 46% of South County families are paying more than ⅓ of their income on rent. I support tweaks to the county’s general plan which would allow us to more easily meet our housing production goals in the unincorporated areas. It shouldn’t just be large cities that have to do it all. 6.) San Diego County recently drew national attention for its effort to bolster its immigration “sanctuary” policies. What are your positions on immigration enforcement and goals for immigrant communities, and how should the county pursue these and respond to federal crackdowns? What is your response to the sheriff’s refusal to comply with new county policy? I stand with immigrants and oppose Donald Trump’s mass deportations. I lead a border city and I’m a first-generation Mexican-American, so neither I nor my constituents are falling for the cable news hysteria. Of course, we need to keep violent criminals — murderers, rapists, pedophiles — out of our communities, regardless of where they come from. But I will never allow local police to be turned into federal immigration enforcers targeting our immigrant community, and I’ll work with, not against, our sheriff to get it done. We can keep our streets safe without losing our compassion or common sense. 7.) Are you satisfied with the county’s handling of the sewage crisis thus far? What specific actions would you take to tackle the issue, and what relief would you seek for constituents? No. The county has dragged its feet while South County suffers. If La Jolla was being inundated with toxic sewage, they’d send in the National Guard and spare no expense. I’ve fought for action and secured $250 million from Washington to finally start fixing this disaster. But to get it done, I had to take on our former county supervisor who declared South County’s air safe against clear evidence to the contrary from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I’ll bring that same urgency to the county to finally clean this mess up with infrastructure investments and more. South County deserves better. 8.) What else should be the county’s top priorities on public health and, separately, on behavioral health? Do you support the county’s current courses of action on both, and how do you think it should improve? We all see the mental health crisis and know politics as usual is failing. The county needs to hire and train more mental health professionals to get the homeless off the street and allow our police to focus on fighting crime, not continue to be first responders to mental health emergencies. I’m the only Democrat running who is a local mayor and has actually been accountable for reducing homelessness and working directly with the county sheriff’s department. Last year in IB, we succeeded in getting half our unhoused population into housing. I’ll bring that same focus on results to the county. 9.) District 1 has borne the impacts of climate change in the form of recent wildfires and floods, as well as the health effects of climate-warming emissions. How would you improve climate resilience within the district, and how would you improve transportation options that reduce emissions? I’m different from the other politicians. I started out as a community organizer in neglected communities and advocating for clean air and water while at the nonprofit WildCoast. As mayor, I’ve made flood prevention a top priority with a Storm Event Action Plan that actually works, so our community didn’t face the same tragedies Southcrest did in last year’s tragic floods where the city of San Diego left residents to fend for themselves. On California’s Coastal Commission, I work to protect residents and businesses on the coast from sea-level rise, collapsing cliffs and coastal flooding with smart, sensible planning decisions that acknowledge climate change is real. 10.) The CaliBaja region — the combined economies of San Diego and Imperial counties and Baja California — is the largest integrated economic zone along the U.S.-Mexico border. How would you protect this cross-border economy as the presidential administration threatens heavy tariffs on Mexico, and how would you make the county friendlier to businesses, small and large? I don’t just talk about cross-border issues — I’ve worked across borders to get results. I grew up in Mexico, so I know how vital our economies are to each other. As IB mayor, I worked with the governor of Baja California to complete a new sewage treatment plant in Mexico that will remove 18 million gallons of waste daily from the Tijuana River. I’ll fight Trump’s harmful tariffs and the freeze on federal grants that threaten our economy, progress on sewage clean up and border infrastructure. We need leadership that defends our economy — not let Washington politics put it at risk. ...read more read less