2 weeks Ago
Thirteen years ago, Bruce Springsteen released the song “We Take Care of Our Own.”The anthem-like song was a defiant statement about folks helping each other after so many suffered during the Great Recession at the hands of greedy forces and a government unable or unwilling to defend its people – or even complicit in the wrongdoing.You didn’t have to listen very hard to hear similar themes in county Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s first State of the County address, even if she didn’t mention Springsteen or the song, or intended a connection to it.
The acting chair of the Board of Supervisors foreshadowed widespread hardship from deep federal cuts by President Donald Trump and the dismantling of government agencies that aim to sustain vast segments of the population. Lawson-Remer gave a rallying cry for people to defend against such actions.“So even if Washington is abandoning its responsibilities, we — together — can still fulfill America’s promise,” Lawson-Remer said near the end of her speech.
“San Diego County’s promise.”The similarities pretty much end there. The Boss did not give policy prescriptions, of course, but suggested family, friends and community pick each other up while institutions in the private sector and government have let them down.
Lawson-Remer also suggests that — “we stand together, lift each other up” — but through a significant expansion of county government to pay for some things Washington has in the past. To do that, she wants residents to approve “a local revenue measure” (read tax increase) that could “leverage $1 billion dollars a year.”Yes, people will have to come together to do that, or at least a majority of voters and likely the board.
The chair, unlike a mayor, doesn’t have much more power than any of the other supervisors.At a time when local governments are retrenching because of budget shortfalls — San Diego County has one as well — Lawson-Remer proposed a breathtaking array of new programs and responsibilities:Creating a county-managed care option for lower-income residents abandoned by federal Medicaid cuts. She has noted other counties do this.
Establishing a new local Consumer Financial Protection Division as the Trump administration guts the federal Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.Tapping county reserves for perhaps $100 million to, among other things, cover services and programs diminished or eliminated by Trump’s cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.Exploring the creation of a Public Bank to help finance affordable housing.
Supporting legislation for a border toll to help clean up the Tijuana River Valley, creating a $10 million fund to match state and philanthropic spending in the area and engaging the World Bank to invest in solutions to stop the cross-border sewage spills.Lawson-Remer cited, in her view, numerous villains, including Trump, Wall Street, “oligarchs” and corporations, including Walmart.Just guessing, but a lot of constituents in her coastal district, and across the county, may not have had much of a problem with Wall Street as their 401(k)s were going through the roof over the years — until Trump’s tariffs crashed the market, which Wall Street chieftains aren’t happy about either.
Many of those residents also probably shop at Walmart, and we know a lot voted for Trump.Lawson-Remer’s vision for the county sounded like a full-throated progressive treatise. Whatever becomes of it, this seems clear: Lawson-Remer is striving to become a leader, perhaps the leader, of Trump resistance in San Diego.
Any progress on Lawson-Remer’s agenda will have to wait at least until the July 1 special election is decided in supervisorial District 1. If Chula Vista Mayor John McCann, a Republican wins, this likely goes nowhere, as the GOP would hold a 3-2 board majority and likely would select one of their own — Joel Anderson or Jim Desmond — as chair.But Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre, a Democrat, is the favorite in the heavily Democratic district.
It remains to be seen whether a 3-2 majority, with fellow Democrat Monica Montgomery Steppe, would adopt all Lawson-Remer is asking for.Democrats have become increasingly unified, at least vocally, in calling out excesses by Trump and his government-slashing sidekick, Elon Musk. It’s a big leap, however, from arguing to save federal agencies and funding to transferring many of those duties and costs to local government.
“If we’re serious about defending San Diego County from the Trump administration, we definitely need a revenue measure,” Lawson-Remer said in an interview before her speech. “There is no other option.”What that may be has not yet been publicly defined.
Among other things being considered is a “small transfer fee” on the top 1 percent of properties in the county when they are sold to help build more modestly priced homes and provide rent subsidies.A handful of tax measures in recent years have failed in the county and city of San Diego, though all by close margins. Some have passed in smaller, surrounding cities.
Lawson-Remer did not address some notable issues in her speech. The county has a projected $138 million budget shortfall — not a lot in the context of the county’s $8.5 billion spending plan.
There was no mention of belt-tightening.In the interview, she “assumed” the gap will be closed when County Administrative Officer Ebony Shelton in May presents the next budget, which by law must be balanced.On housing, Lawson-Remer in her speech said the county has made some progress, but didn’t get into the statewide debate over whether government restrictions on development should be loosened.
As for the ongoing housing crisis, she blamed “Wall Street corporations” and “hedge funds” for buying up thousands of units locally, “outbidding first-time buyers and squeezing out working families.”Lawson-Remer’s sweeping plan for the county might be a lot to swallow for some, as are her politics for those who don’t agree with them.But the acting board chair addressed some undeniable truths that can’t be ignored, such as Trump’s attacks on free speech, unwillingness to follow due process and defiance of court orders — even from the Supreme Court.
People are being detained and deported with little or no legal recourse the law requires.“What stops the government from doing that to any of us?” Lawson-Remer said in the interview.Perhaps most important of all, Lawson-Remer indirectly raised an important question about Trump’s dismantling of a federal social safety net that has been aiding Americans for generations:Who is going to look after our own when they’re in need?.
