Why this matters
Nora Vargas abruptly quit the county Board of Supervisors in December, citing threats to her safety. The announcement came six weeks after she won re-election to a new term, and has forced the county to hold a special election costing millions of dollars.
Months before she suddenly quit her job on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Nora Vargas formed her own consulting firm and started earning income, state and county records show.
The records add another layer to the mystery surrounding Vargas’ surprise announcement on Dec. 20 that she would quit the board. At the time she cited one reason for quitting: threats to her personal safety and security.
But that stated reason has not held up to scrutiny. Law enforcement agencies in Chula Vista, where she lives, and the county said they had received no formal complaints from Vargas about threats to her, and had no investigation ongoing.
Vargas has not said anything more since the announcement. Her decision, coming just six weeks after she won re-election to another four-year term with 62% of the vote from her mostly South County district, left the board evenly divided with two Democrats and two Republicans.
Supervisors decided to hold a special election to fill the vacancy. The Registrar of Voters has estimated that the election could cost up to $6.6 million.
Vargas formed her consulting business five months before she announced she would quit, and while she was campaigning and fundraising for another term, the records show.
On July 29, Vargas registered “Nora Vargas LLC” with the Secretary of State’s office. Four months later, after she had won re-election to the board, she filed more paperwork stating the purpose of the business would be “Consulting.”
Last week Vargas filed her required final financial disclosure statement as a supervisor, covering the period from January 2024 through Jan. 6, 2025. She listed the new LLC, and checked a box indicating she had received between $1,001 and $10,000 gross income during that time.
That would indicate Vargas was earning money through her LLC as a consultant during the time she was also the chairwoman of the board. The documents do not say what type of consulting she was doing, or where, or who her clients were.
Vargas did not respond to a voicemail and text message requesting an interview.
There is no county prohibition for elected supervisors to own, or start, their own business. The state Political Reform Act does not prohibit officials from having both public and private employment simultaneously, though an official can’t make a governmental decision affecting their financial interests. That would be a violation of the state conflict of interest law.
A review of the four remaining supervisors’ financial disclosure forms over the years showed no outside business interests. When Terra Lawson-Remer entered office in 2021 she reported a business called Catalyst, a research and strategy legal firm, but by her 2022 filings, it was no longer listed.
County supervisors are each paid more than $220,000 annually.
On her Linkedin page, Vargas describes herself as “Executive Leader” and “Strategic Governance and Policy Expert.” The profile makes no mention of her LLC, and lists her most recent experience as chairwoman of the county board and the San Diego Association of Governments, or SANDAG.
She has continued to post on the page since her announcement, including one approving of Kendrick Lamar’s Super Bowl halftime show performance.
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