How are North County’s San Diego County Board of Supervisors candidates different? We asked.

My top three priorities are quality of life, affordability and public safety. These issues are directly connected to whether families can thrive in San Diego County.

Quality of life means clean and safe neighborhoods, manageable traffic, reliable infrastructure, parks, responsive government and communities where families want to stay and invest. Too many residents feel daily life has become harder.

Affordability is critical because San Diego County remains one of the most expensive regions in the country, with housing, utilities and transportation costs putting pressure on working families. 

Public safety is foundational. The county funds major regional services including the sheriff, behavioral health, emergency response and wildfire preparedness. If people do not feel safe, quality of life suffers.

A: We need a balanced strategy focused on results — one that prioritizes both public safety and human dignity. San Diego County’s annual Point-in-Time Count reported 9,803 people experiencing homelessness in 2026, including 5,108 unsheltered, which makes clear the current approach is not working. As mayor of San Marcos, I’ve taken meaningful, balanced action to address homelessness, always focusing on both public safety and human dignity.

Banned unsafe encampments: I led efforts to prohibit unsafe public encampments while ensuring our city partnered with trusted regional providers to connect people to real, long-term solutions—not just temporary fixes.

Mental health and shelter access: Through San Marcos’ annual $120,000 investment in regional shelter services, we’ve helped individuals access shelter, mental health care and pathways to  permanent housing. According to recent regional reporting, San Marcos had the largest year-over-year decline in unsheltered homelessness in San Diego County while many surrounding areas saw increases. That tells us this balanced, accountable approach works. On housing, supply matters. We need to streamline permitting, reduce delays and build housing near jobs, transit and services. In San Marcos, we advanced thousands of homes through long-term planning tied to infrastructure and economic development. That’s how you increase affordability without sacrificing quality of life.

A: For nearly 20 years as a San Marcos councilmember, vice mayor and mayor, I’ve worked to make life more affordable and accessible for families, workers and students. As mayor, I’ve proven that smart infrastructure decisions can lower costs while improving the quality of life. At the county level, we need to focus on practical improvements: road repair, congestion relief, synchronized signals and infrastructure planning that supports housing and job growth before development occurs. Here’s what I’ve already delivered:

Stopped local road user tax: I worked for over four months to defeat a proposal that would have charged drivers for every mile, saving families thousands annually in potential commuting costs.

Microtransit innovation: We connected four SPRINTER rail stations, 72 BREEZE bus stops, two college campuses and hundreds of businesses, giving residents — including 40,000 students — affordable alternatives to car ownership.

A: I’ve made public safety the cornerstone of my leadership. Under my watch, San Marcos achieved one of the lowest crime rates across the county, ranked in the Top 15 safest cities throughout California, and is recognized as one of America’s safest college towns. That didn’t happen by accident — it’s the result of deliberate investment and strong partnerships:

Expanded police presence: At the community’s request, we found a way to open a sheriff’s substation to improve response times and neighborhood safety.

Safer schools: I prioritized funding for school resource officers to protect students on campus when the school board lacked the resources.

Elite fire department: Improve standards, recruitment, and training. San Marcos achieved a Class 1 Public Protection Classification, placing our fire department in the top 1% nationwide — improving emergency response capability while also helping lower insurance premiums for residents and businesses. It’s a blueprint for other areas in the county.

At the county level, I will build on that success by ensuring strong staffing for law enforcement and emergency responders, targeting fentanyl trafficking and repeat offenders and strengthening coordination across agencies. Public safety also includes mental health crisis response and wildfire preparedness — because safety is about the full picture of community well-being. I’m ready to bring that same results-driven leadership to the entire county as your next supervisor.

A: We should focus on practical environmental results that improve everyday life. That means wildfire mitigation, water reliability, cleaner air, open space protection, and resilient infrastructure.

A: With roughly 40% of the county budget dedicated to Health and Human Services, we must ensure those dollars are producing real results. My top priorities would be behavioral health, homelessness prevention and services for seniors, veterans and vulnerable children. Mental health and addiction treatment are especially critical because they directly impact homelessness, public safety and emergency room capacity. This is also where my experience matters. In San Marcos, we’ve made targeted investments — like our $120,000 annual contribution to regional shelter and mental health services — to ensure people can access care and move toward stability. At the county level, I would expand treatment capacity, improve coordination across agencies and require measurable outcomes for every program. Taxpayers deserve accountability, and residents deserve services that actually work.

A: San Diego families are already feeling the pressure at the checkout line, the gas pump and with their personal budgets. One budget cut should be duplicative administrative overhead, outside consultants and programs that cannot demonstrate results. Every dollar wasted is a dollar unavailable for core services. One necessary new expense is expanded behavioral health treatment capacity — detox beds, crisis stabilization and inpatient treatment. Investing upstream reduces long-term costs in jails, emergency room visits, homelessness response and public safety. Two supervisors just proposed spending $2.75 million in our tax dollars on giveaways and a brand-new arts bureaucracy — new staff, new programs, and money flowing out of North County. That’s misdirected priorities.

A: I do not support this change. The voters of San Diego County voted overwhelmingly in 2010 – over 68% said “Yes” for term limits. We should trust and respect their decision, not override it. Additionally, I believe that supervisors voting to increase their own term limits is wrong. This action is self-serving, and it’s something residents in this county do not support.

A: The most overlooked issue is the declining day-to-day quality of life in many communities: traffic congestion, neglected roads, rising costs, slower response times, park maintenance and neighborhood safety concerns. When voters hire us to oversee government practices, they deserve responsive customer service. These issues may not generate headlines, but they shape people’s lives every day. I would bring a performance-based approach to basic services and ensure suburban and unincorporated communities receive the attention they deserve.

A: Because I bring a proven record of creating blueprints to some of the region’s toughest problems, from housing to job growth. As mayor of San Marcos, I helped balance budgets, protect reserves, support public safety, attract jobs and advance housing and infrastructure improvements. My efficiency efforts in San Marcos identified and eliminated over $1 million in government waste, which I then brought to our regional transit authority, SANDAG, as well. I know how to get government to do more with less. I am resourceful, have creative ideas and know how to live within a budget, as we all do at home. I’m running to make San Diego County more affordable, safer and a better place to live, work and raise a family. I want my kids and your kids to find a home here, too.

A: Affordability, homelessness, and protecting critical services from federal cuts. These are the three issues I hear about most from families across District 5. Working families are being squeezed by housing costs, rising utility bills and everyday expenses that keep climbing. Homelessness is straining our neighborhoods because the county lacks enough shelter, mental health treatment and substance abuse recovery capacity to meet demand. And federal cuts to programs like Medi-Cal, CalFresh and veterans’ benefits threaten to blow holes in the county budget and shift new costs onto the families least able to absorb them.

These issues are connected. You cannot solve homelessness without building more housing. You cannot keep families stable if federal safety-net programs disappear. You cannot attract good employers if workers cannot afford to live here. I will treat these as the interconnected crises they are, not as separate line items.

A: On homelessness, we need more beds, more treatment and more accountability. The county must expand shelter capacity and invest in mental health and substance abuse treatment so people in crisis have a real path to stability. Housing First works, but only when paired with wraparound services. At the same time, I will enforce existing laws and hold repeat offenders accountable. Compassion and accountability are not in conflict. 

On housing, the county’s biggest tool is land use authority in unincorporated areas. I will push to cut permitting timelines, eliminate redundant reviews and align infrastructure investment with areas designated for growth. Workforce housing near jobs and transit should be the priority. Builders should not face years of delays and millions in carrying costs for projects consistent with existing plans. We also need to balance housing production with wildfire safety. We can build more homes responsibly without putting families in harm’s way.

A: North County needs better transit connections to jobs, schools and services. I will advocate for expanded SPRINTER and COASTER service, improved bus routes and safe biking and walking infrastructure connecting neighborhoods to transit hubs. I also recognize that most people still drive, and road conditions in parts of District 5 are unacceptable. I will push for county investment in road repair, particularly in unincorporated communities that have been neglected.

Infrastructure also means water storage, fire protection and power reliability. I will prioritize investments in water infrastructure for fire suppression, drought resilience and agricultural needs, and push for wildfire-hardened evacuation routes in fire-prone areas. Transportation and infrastructure projects should be built with project labor agreements and local hire provisions so the construction work itself creates good, middle-class jobs for families in our region.

A: Public safety starts with giving law enforcement the resources they need while investing in the upstream solutions that prevent crime in the first place. I will support fully funding the Sheriff’s Department and ensuring adequate staffing, particularly in unincorporated areas with long response times. I will also push for expanded mental health crisis teams so that behavioral health emergencies are handled by trained professionals, freeing up sworn officers for law enforcement. Fentanyl is devastating families across our county. I will support county investment in drug interdiction, treatment capacity and public education.

On gun violence, I will champion full funding of gun violence restraining order programs and safe storage education, which are proven to reduce gun deaths, particularly suicides, which account for the majority of gun fatalities in our county. Prevention is not soft on crime. It is smart on crime. I want fewer victims, fewer funerals, and a county that addresses root causes rather than just reacting after the damage is done.

A: The county has taken steps in the right direction, but implementation needs to accelerate, and climate policy must be paired with economic opportunity. Wildfire resilience is the most urgent climate priority for District 5. I will invest in vegetation management, defensible space enforcement, evacuation route improvements and fire protection infrastructure in unincorporated communities. On emissions, I support expanding renewable energy, building electrification on realistic timelines, and electric vehicle charging infrastructure at county facilities and transit stations.

Where I would do things differently is on workforce standards. Every clean energy project funded with public dollars should include project labor agreements, local hire, and apprenticeship requirements so the transition builds middle-class careers, not just permits.

I also believe the county should take a more active role in protecting our coastline through beach restoration, water quality improvements and coastal resilience investments. Climate policy should not be an abstract exercise. It should make communities safer, create good jobs, and protect the places people love.

A: Behavioral health capacity is the single biggest gap. North County does not have enough mental health crisis beds, substance abuse treatment slots or outpatient services to meet demand. That gap drives homelessness, emergency room overcrowding and public safety challenges.

I would prioritize expanding community-based behavioral health infrastructure and mobile crisis teams so that when someone is ready for treatment, a bed is available. I would also prioritize protecting county health and human services from federal funding cuts. Programs like Medi-Cal, CalFresh and in-home supportive services serve hundreds of thousands of San Diegans. The county needs to aggressively lobby to protect that funding and have contingency plans if it is reduced. Third, I would invest in preventive care and maternal and child health programs in underserved communities. It is far cheaper to keep people healthy than to treat crises. Every dollar spent on prevention saves multiple dollars downstream.

A: Cut: The county should conduct a comprehensive review of outside contracting to identify services that can be performed more efficiently in-house or consolidated across departments. Too often, contracting costs balloon with change orders, RFP overhead and duplicative management layers. A rigorous cost-accounting analysis comparing in-house delivery to contracted services would identify real savings without cutting services residents depend on.

New expense: The county needs to invest in expanding behavioral health treatment capacity in North County. We do not have enough crisis beds, residential treatment slots or outpatient mental health providers to serve the population. This is not optional spending. The absence of treatment infrastructure drives emergency room costs, homelessness and public safety challenges that cost the county far more than the upfront investment. Building this capacity now saves money and saves lives.

A: I have reviewed the charter reforms being proposed, and I do not find any of them to be unreasonable. That said, these are changes to the foundational governing document of the county, and they are being handled the right way: by putting them before the voters.The voters approved the current term limits, and any modification should go back to the voters. They will have the opportunity to weigh in, and I respect their judgment.

On the broader question of board powers, I believe the Board of Supervisors should have the tools it needs to govern effectively and deliver services. Whether specific proposals strengthen or weaken governance is a fair debate, and voters should have the final word. I am specifically enthusiastic about the creation of a County Ethics Commission and the other transparency measures.

A: The impact of federal funding cuts on county services. Washington is pulling back support for programs that hundreds of thousands of San Diegans rely on, and the county budget is not prepared for the fallout. Medi-Cal, CalFresh, veterans’ benefits, housing assistance and public health funding are all at risk. When federal dollars disappear, the costs do not disappear with them. They shift to the county, to local hospitals, to nonprofits, and ultimately to families.

The Board of Supervisors needs to be actively lobbying to protect this funding, developing contingency plans for reductions and making sure residents who are eligible for benefits are actually enrolled and receiving them. Right now, too many families qualify for assistance they are not getting, simply because they do not know it exists or cannot navigate the process. The county should be connecting people to benefits proactively, not waiting for a crisis.

A: I am the only candidate in this race who combines private-sector experience, federal policy expertise and deep community roots. As a commercial property manager, I understand the realities of building housing, managing costs and navigating regulation. As deputy chief of staff for Congressman Mike Levin since 2023 and working in his office since 2018, I have spent years delivering results for North County families, helping thousands of constituents navigate federal agencies and access the services they need. As former chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, I have built coalitions that bring people together across political lines. My opponents are two Republican mayors who will continue the same approach that has left District 5 with rising costs, insufficient housing and inadequate mental health and homelessness services. I offer a different vision: affordability, accountability and opportunity for every family in North County. I was born and raised in Oceanside. I still live in the Eastside neighborhood. This is my home, and I am running because the families who live here deserve a supervisor who will fight for them every single day.