The director who formerly assessed systemic racism and inequities across San Diego government has returned. But now, Kim Desmond is analyzing city operations through a new focus: budget decisions.
With a $146 million deficit to solve, Mayor Todd Gloria has proposed again cutting library and recreation center hours, pausing arts and cultural grants, and reducing the city’s overall workforce. He said in a statement this month that his budget — which will go through revisions and ultimately requires City Council approval — prioritizes fire-rescue and police operations, homelessness services and some infrastructure projects.
Desmond is now assessing these decisions, this time as a member of the city’s Office of the Independent Budget Analyst. The team on Wednesday will issue an analysis of Gloria’s proposed budget.
“The strategy is to give council objective information about the equity implications to their decisions,” Desmond said in an interview with inewsource last week.
What is equity?
Equity is the reallocation of resources and support to those who face greater obstacles so that everyone can thrive, as one scholar defines it. It’s the pursuit of fairness and justice. For example, if families have to drive 20 minutes to the nearest grocery store, one equitable solution to that obstacle is to build a grocery store closer to those families.
Desmond was hired in 2021 to become the first-ever chief of the city’s race and equity office. Then-Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe, who now serves as a county supervisor, proposed the office.
After Desmond left for another job in 2024, Gloria proposed consolidating the office into the city’s Human Resources Department. Councilmembers in response moved the staff under Independent Budget Analyst Charles Modica, who reports to the council and is tasked with providing unbiased reviews.
Modica then hired Desmond.
He had initially raised concerns over his office “becoming or appearing to be politicized” by taking over the race and equity staff, but Modica said he later saw how the work could complement his office.
“My trepidation was not associated with the idea that Kim’s team wouldn’t be objective and analytical because they have been and they continue to be,” he told inewsource in a joint interview with Desmond.
“Part of those comments a year ago were also, again: I don’t just tell (the) council what they want to hear. If there are potential implications, I want them to know about it.”
Both said much of the work continues what Desmond built before joining the IBA. That included training city employees and implementing plans to address disparities.
One example looks like using new computer software that prompts departments to consider and answer questions about equity implications when making budget adjustments.
As head of the race and equity office, Desmond led the development of a cannabis social equity program to address negative impacts of cannabis criminalization, the revision of a policy to prioritize infrastructure projects in historically neglected neighborhoods, and new city rules to waive library fines for children trying to reinstate their accounts.
Over the years, budget cycles cut millions from the office. She said she was “frustrated” when a $3 million grant program meant for nonprofits was redirected to help residents impacted by January 2024 flooding.
“I was only frustrated because we had started doing and talking to community organizations to get prepared for when the funding would hit for them to be able to apply for it,” Desmond said. “I don’t like not keeping my word.”
Desmond left the city for another, first-ever chief equity role at an international nonprofit organization. She said her departure was unrelated to the budget cuts.
During her absence, San Diego elected officials contended over the future of the race and equity office. Gloria proposed consolidating the office into the city’s Human Resources Department, which faced its own cuts.
Councilmembers Henry Foster III and Sean Elo-Rivera led the effort to move remaining race and equity staff into the IBA office. Foster said it was a move that could “salvage what the mayor has left us,” inewsource previously reported.
Gloria disagreed with the move at the time. His office did not respond to a request for comment for this story.
Gloria disagreed with the move at the time, and said that race and equity work could still continue under the HR department. He has said he’s committed to the work, citing as examples his distribution of development impact fees, launching an initiative that would give all San Diegan access to parks, and opening a fund for recreational center programming in underserved areas.
The council voted last week to formally change the city code to move race and equity into a division under the IBA’s office.
Becky Rapp, a virtual public commenter at that meeting, questioned the need for any spending on race and equity work and asked for a cost analysis. She said the city struggled to keep up with other services, such as upgrading infrastructure.
“Every dollar we allocate to administrative roles is another dollar not going directly to those core necessities,” she said during the meeting.
But councilmembers in the meeting defended the division.
“There is no more important time for us to understand the impacts of our decisions from an equity standpoint than when we are in tough financial times,” Elo-Rivera said.
Councilmember Vivian Moreno said citywide cuts to park resources last year may look equal on paper, but they disproportionately impacted some communities. The city labels most of her district’s neighborhoods — which includes the South Bay, Barrio Logan and parts of southeast San Diego — as a “community of concern,” which means the area faces a mixture of poor air quality, low incomes and other socioeconomic barriers.
She pointed to an audit conducted in recent years that found a Carmel Valley recreation center had 146% more park and recreational activities available compared to a similar facility in her district.
“The effects depend greatly on where residents live,” Moreno said. In her district, she said, “cuts were felt very deeply.”
“We might not see your work right away, but I think these are important seeds that we are planting,” she said.
Seeing a need to resume the work, Modica offered Desmond the new, but familiar job. But as a self-described introvert, she said she liked not having a press release about it this time around.
“When the equity officer role first rolled out under Mayor Gloria, it was like a shiny object,” she said. “We had a whole press circuit meeting. I can’t tell you the number of interviews that we did.”
What remains after her return: an opposition to her line of work, including the Trump administration’s efforts to dismantle diversity, equity and inclusion programming. But she said she’s not backing away from that.
“Equity feels like oppression because they don’t understand it,” Desmond said.
She said her former employer eliminated four diversity, equity and inclusion programs Desmond was meant to manage, making her position obsolete at the international organization. Desmond said she had other job options, and ultimately chose to return to San Diego.
The council’s Budget Review Committee will discuss the IBA’s analysis on May 4.
