County Board of Supervisor Race Explained

It doesn’t happen often, but there’s an open seat to represent San Diego County’s third district, and two starkly different candidates vying to fill it.

Republican Steve Danon and Democrat Dave Roberts are running for the Board of Supervisor seat. Its two-decade incumbent, Pam Slater-Price, is retiring from the public sector, paving the way for the board's first new member since her first term in office 20 years ago.

Danon is Congressman Brian Bilbray's chief of staff, currently on unpaid leave of absence. Roberts is deputy mayor of Solana Beach.

Though the race is nonpartisan, the candidates’ opposing political viewpoints will make a difference in how either helps manage the county’s $5 billion budget.

One of the most important issues in the race is the way either will fund community programs.

Roberts said he would like to continue the county’s neighborhood reinvestment program, which provides grants for public agencies and organizations who are working in the community.

“I’m planning on carrying on the program in an open in transparent way,” Roberts said during a taping of Politically Speaking.

Danon said he wants to reform the program and create a citizen’s review community to oversee the actions on the grants.

“This is the difference between me and my opponent,” Danon said. “He is the status quo I am the reform. For one supervisor to have $1 million to dole out to purchase political favors is dead wrong.”

Roberts maintains that the grants are used to fund one-time programs and are approved through a vetting process in the county.

The two candidates also addressed the county’s pension future and how they will guide development in the region.

For more on the issues facing voters in this election, check out our Decision 2012 page.
 

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