Board of Supervisors to remain male-dominated next 2 years
EL CENTRO — The Imperial County Board of Supervisors will continue to be a male-dominated governing board, at least for the next two years following the filing period closure for the June 7 primary election in March.
“We are absolutely missing out on having the richness of additional points of view from the fact that there are no women sitting at that table,” long-time El Centro City Council Member Cheryl Viegas-Walker said.
Districts 1 and 5 are the only available seats on the county Board of Supervisors open to possible challengers this year. Supervisor Jesus Eduardo Escobar is the incumbent candidate in District 1, which makes up much of the Calexico area. Likewise in District 5, Supervisor Raymond Castillo is seeking re-election to his seat on the board.
“I think it’s very difficult to run and win against an incumbent candidate on the Board of Supervisors,” Viegas-Walker said. “Oftentimes I think the power of incumbency — the weight of that incumbency — makes it very difficult for anyone to win against an incumbent.”
Both districts saw only men file to run against the incumbents. Joong S. Kim and Briant Jesus Fabela Luna,
both of Calexico are the challengers for District 1, while John Hawk of Holtville and Carlos Zaragoza of El Centro are vying for District 5, which covers Holtville and mostly eastern portions of Imperial, El Centro and Calexico.
“The lack of diversity is a huge issue, I oftentimes will liken it to a symphony, that when you go to the symphony you go for the richness of the various instruments that come together to make beautiful music,” Viegas-Walker said. “You don’t go to the symphony and ev
erybody is playing the violin.”
Past women supervisors
For more than 30 years, the five-member board that makes up the governing body of Imperial County has been led entirely by men. County records going back since 1985, show only two women ever holding seats on the Board of Supervisors, according to Cynthia Medina, assistant clerk of the board, in response to an information request.
Val Blume was appointed by the then California Gov. George Deukmejian in 1986 to serve as supervisor of District 2. Although Blume only served from January 1987 to December 1988, county records show she also served beside another female supervisor in the late 1980s.
As a representative for District 5, Jeanne Vogel was the first and only woman to win a seat on the county Board of Supervisors, according to Medina. She served one term, from 1986 to 1990.
This local trailblazer recently passed away on Jan. 2. Vogel’s achievements and commitment to improving Imperial county was posthumously honored by the Board of Supervisors during its March 8 meeting.
“We are very proud of her as a past colleague on the Board of Supervisors. … She was always very balanced and just,” District 3 Supervisor Michael Kelley said to Vogel’s husband Hans as he presented him and his family with a plaque honoring the former supervisor. “We need more people like that in the Imperial County and in the world.”
Since Vogel, a few different local women have attempted to win a seat on the board.