# 2025 San Diego County Board of Supervisors special election

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vte :
The 2025 San Diego County Board of Supervisors special election will be held on Tuesday, April 8, 2025, to fill the 1st Supervisorial District seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors vacated by Nora Vargas, who resigned on January 6, 2025, for "personal safety and security reasons."
Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, and although most candidates do identify a party preference, their party affiliations do not appear on the ballot. If no candidate wins a majority of votes, a runoff election will be held on Tuesday, July 1, 2025, between the top two vote-getting candidates.

## Background

On December 20, 2024, Chair Nora Vargas announced that she would not take the oath of office for a second term, despite having won 62.5% of the vote just weeks beforehand in the 2024 San Diego County Board of Supervisors election, citing "personal safety and security reasons." Vice chair Terra Lawson-Remer became acting chair of the board, and on January 14, 2025, the board voted to hold a special election to fill the vacancy left by Vargas' resignation.
Top election issues include immigration, homelessness, sewage in the Tijuana River, and housing affordability, part of a broader housing crisis statewide.

## Candidates
### Qualified

* Paloma Aguirre, mayor of Imperial Beach (2022–present), former member of the Imperial Beach city council (2018–2022) (Party preference: Democratic)
* Carolina Chavez, member of the Chula Vista city council from district 1 (2022–present) (Party preference: Democratic)
* Elizabeth Efird, energy consultant
* Louis Fuentes, former mayor of Calexico (2008–2009), former Imperial County supervisor (2010) (Party preference: Republican)
* John McCann, mayor of Chula Vista (2018–present) (Party preference: Republican)
* Vivian Moreno, member of the San Diego City Council from district 8 (2018–present) (Party preference: Democratic)
* Lincoln Pickard, perennial candidate (Party preference: Republican)

### Declined to run

* David Alvarez, member of the California State Assembly from the 80th district (2018–present), candidate for mayor of San Diego in the 2013–2014 special election, former member of the San Diego City Council from district 8 (2010–2018)

## Primary election
### Endorsements
#### U.S. representatives

* Mike Levin, U.S. Representative from California's 49th congressional district (2019-present)

#### State senators

* Steve Padilla, state senator from California's 18th senatorial district (2022-present), former mayor of Chula Vista (2002-2006), former member of the Chula Vista city council (1994-2002, 2016-2022)

#### Local officials

* Marcus Bush, member of the National City council
* Jennifer Campbell, former president of the San Diego city council (2020–2021), member of the San Diego city council from district 2 (2020–present)
* Luz Molina, member of the National City council
* Ron Morrison, mayor of National City (2006-2018, 2022-present), former member of the National City council (1992-2006, 2018-2022)
* José Rodriguez, member of the National City council
* Esther Sanchez, mayor of Oceanside
* Ditas Yamane, member of the National City council

#### Labor unions

* San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, AFL–CIO
* Service Employees International Union Local 221

#### Organizations

* Equality California
* La Voz Demócrata Club
* San Diego County Democratic Party
* Sierra Club San Diego Chapter

#### Local officials

* Cesar Fernandez, member of the Chula Vista City Council (2024–present)
* Michael Inzunza, member of the Chula Vista City Council (2024–present)
* Stephen Whitburn, member of the San Diego City Council (2020–present), former president pro tempore of the San Diego City Council (2020–2021)

#### Organizations

* San Diego County Republican Party
* Lincoln Club San Diego

#### Local officials

* Sean Elo-Rivera, member of the San Diego city council from district 9 (2020–present), former president of the San Diego city council (2021–2024)
* Henry Foster III, member of the San Diego city council from district 4 (2024–present)
* Joe LaCava, president of the San Diego city council (2024–present), member of the San Diego city council from district 1 (2020–present), former president pro tempore of the San Diego city council (2023-2024),
* Kent Lee, president pro tempore of the San Diego city council (2024–present), member of the San Diego city council from district 6 (2022–present)
* Monica Montgomery Steppe, member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors from district 4 (2023–present), former president pro tempore of the San Diego City Council (2021–2023), former member of the San Diego City Council from district 4 (2018–2023)
* Jose Preciado, member of the Chula Vista city council
* Mary Salas, former mayor of Chula Vista (2014–2022)

#### Labor unions

* Carpenters Local 619
* Laborers International Union of North America Local 89

#### Organizations

* Chula Vista Democratic Club

### Results

2025 San Diego County Board of Supervisors District 1 special election :
| Candidate | Candidate | % |
| Paloma Aguirre | Paloma Aguirre | |
| Carolina Chavez | Carolina Chavez | |
| Elizabeth Efird | Elizabeth Efird | |
| Louis Fuentes | Louis Fuentes | |
| John McCann | John McCann | |
| Vivian Moreno | Vivian Moreno | |
| Lincoln Pickard | Lincoln Pickard | |
| Total votes | Total votes | 100.0 |