JACOB AND COX SEE NEW CHALLENGES

Longtime supervisors predict public health, economic mountains

In a little over two months, San Diego County will say goodbye to its two longest serving county supervisors.

As Supervisors Greg Cox and Dianne Jacob near the end of their tenure though, they say they still have much they hope to get done and can see clearly some of the challenges facing the next San Diego

County Board of Supervisors when it is newly constituted next year.

Coming into this year Cox and Jacob had a lengthy list of projects they hoped to make progress on, including pushing more reforms to the county’s child welfare system, expanding energy options, improving wildfire safety and the county’s disaster response, and expanding recreation and parks access in the county.

In many of those areas they’ve made a dent, but they said they want to get a few more parks, trails and library projects off the ground before they depart at the end of the year.

Their focus, however, has been dominated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused the county to declare a public health emergency on Feb. 14 and continues to wreak havoc in the region.

“I’m certainly no stranger to disasters,” said Jacob noting past wildfires and school shootings in the county.

“We’ve had huge issues that have shook the region but, I have to say, what we have faced with most of this year has been very different because of the broad and lasting impacts it has had, and the restrictions the COVID situation has put on people.”

Cox said it will be the top challenge the next group of supervisors face when they assume office in January.

“Until there is a vaccine or thera

peutics to help people survive with COVID-19, this will continue to be the crisis of our lifetimes,” Cox said. “Bottom line is, we have issues we are dealing with now that are not going to be resolved in the short term.”

Jacob and Cox — who joined the board in 1992 and 1995 respectively, when the county was on the verge of bankruptcy — added the pandemic’s pain will go on long after the public health dangers dissipate.

San Diego County, like many other jurisdictions. saw its revenue plunge while the unemployment rate skyrocketed in the spring and summer. For example in January, before COVID-19 swept the U.S., the San Diego region had 3.1 percent unemployment. That jumped to about 27 percent by the end of April, according to the San Diego Association of Governments.

Although the region has recovered somewhat, with unemployment at 9 percent in September, county staff and economists say the region may face a multi-year recovery.

This will put new supervisors entering office in a difficult spot, Jacob said.

“Where we may have seen in the past increases in services in certain areas and more capital improvement projects, the new board may be faced with cutting back,” she said. “We did that in the ‘90s and I can tell you that is not fun .... It’s going to be very difficult for these next supervisors.”

The next version of the Board of Supervisors also will be challenged to build consensus when it will likely face political divides.

Although supervisor seats are technically nonpartisan, political parties have been deeply involved in supervisor campaigns in years past and during this current election.

This time there’s a chance the board may have a Democratic majority for the first time in decades. Currently the board has one Democrat and four Republicans.

Over the past several years some of the public political fights among supervisors appear to leave left lasting impacts. This year supervisors have had some heated exchanges during meetings and on social media about the handling of the pandemic.

Jacob and Cox — who have appeared to operate as negotiators and peacemakers this year — said the board has been able to function in the best interest of San Diegans despite the divisions.

However, both said, the disagreements have taken on a different tone than in years past, and they hope political divides won’t dominate the board in the years to come.

“The unfortunate thing is some of those disagreements have become personal,” Jacob said. “Everyone has a right to their own opinion, but they don’t have the right to their own facts.”

Cox said the election season often brings more tension, and the board has “certainly gotten ... maybe a little more contentious.”

“Whoever is elected, I hope they keep in mind that once you’re elected you have a responsibility to serve all the citizens in San Diego County,” Cox said. “I hope the board doesn’t become a partisan battleground.”

Although both Jacob and Cox are Republicans, neither have a reputation has fierce partisans and neither Cox nor Jacob have weighed in on the closely watched District 3 Supervisor race, which will determine the political balance of the board and pits incumbent Supervisor Kristin Gaspar, a Republican, against Democrat Terra Lawson-remer, an economist and former senior official in the Obama Treasury Department.

Jacob, the longest serving supervisor in San Diego County history, has weighed in on the race to replace her, though. She has thrown her support behind Poway Mayor Steve Vaus, a Republican competing against former State Senator Joel Anderson, also a Republican, to represent the mostly East County District.

“Who is gonna be representing the Second District and my constituents is of the greatest concern to me; that’s why I’m strongly supporting Steve Vaus to take my place,” Jacob said.

There’s no question the three supervisor races could shake up everything for the Board of Supervisors, she added.

“Spending priorities could change significantly and policies could change significantly,” she said.

Dianne Jacob

Greg Cox