Supervisor Jim Desmond Lost Endorsement – Read More About District 5

Why Tiffany Boyd-Hodgson is the best choice for Supervisor, District 5

Republican county Supervisor Jim Desmond is up for re-election in northern District 5, which spans more than 2,000 of San Diego County’s 4,200 square miles. He was elected in 2018 with a track record of sound fiscal leadership and community connections he’d made as mayor of San Marcos over 12 years.

His 2018 campaign wasn’t without controversy. In 2017, he told a Republican group, “In the city of San Marcos, there is no ‘Press 2’ for Spanish. We do not allow that. English is the language of the government in the city of San Marcos.” San Marcos is 39 percent Latino. In discussing this with The San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board in 2018, Desmond said he didn’t recall the context of his comment and added the city had interpreters at meetings and at City Hall. He also expressed skepticism about the causes of climate change — “I don’t know if it’s us causing it or not” — but said he’d be advocating for clean air and water. We endorsed him in the primary election and in the general election, touting his experience and effectiveness.

In a Q&A this month, Desmond wrote that, “It is beyond argument now that human activity is a major cause of climate change and that global warming is, indeed, a global threat.” That showed a capacity for growth and introspection all politicians should aspire to. Unfortunately, he did not show that while assessing his approach to the COVID-19 pandemic. He said he has no regrets about it. Desmond was in a minority on the county supervisors board advocating for businesses and schools to reopen despite uncertainty. He also brought guests on his podcast who shared misinformation, and discussed underlying conditions without grace, saying the county then had only “six pure, solely coronavirus deaths.”

When he volunteered in our interview that he was vaccinated and boosted, we asked if he had received the updated Omicron boosters authorized on Aug. 31. He said he didn’t realize there were new ones.

Desmond’s 2022 challenger is Democrat Tiffany Boyd-Hodgson, a scientist on the Vallecitos Water District board. She sees changing climate as an existential threat and believes “human survival depends on climate stabilization.” While Desmond thinks government overreached during the pandemic, Boyd-Hodgson credited the county’s response with saving lives, but, in her Q&A, also holistically faulted it for not more rapidly distributing vaccines with cultural competence. She said she didn’t have the latest booster but planned to get it.

Read the full story on the Union Tribune website here: https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/opinion/editorials/story/2022-09-30/opinion-endorsement-tiffany-boyd-hodgson-san-diego-county-supervisor-district-five

HEALTHCARE

DIGNITY