(The Center Square) — Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre became the apparent winner this week in a San Diego County Board of Supervisors run-off election after Chula Vista Mayor John McCann conceded.
Aguirre’s unofficial victory, which is awaiting certification, gives Democrats control of the board.
A special election was held for the District 1 supervisor seat in April when Republican candidate McCann received 43.58% of the vote. Democratic candidate Aguirre received 31.62% of the vote. The other five candidates split the remainder of the vote. With no candidate receiving a majority of the vote, McCann and Aguirre faced each other in a run-off election Tuesday.
Results for the San Diego County supervisor race are unofficial until certified by the San Diego County Registrar of Voters on or before July 16.
Despite the results being unofficial, McCann called Aguirre to congratulate her Wednesday morning after the results had Aguirre leading with 53.88% of the vote. McCann trailed with 46.12%, according to registrar office’s results.
Before the election, there were two Democrats and two Republicans, with the fifth seat vacant. This week’s election determined which political party would have control of the board.
Some people such as Aguirre viewed the election in terms of party vs. party rather than candidate vs. candidate. For instance, the Democrat often expressed her dissatisfaction with President Donald Trump’s executive orders on social media. She said McCann’s support for Trump was a reason voters should not vote for him.
According to a post on X, Aguirre said during a June 17 debate that McCann would “rubber-stamp Trump’s agenda — from tariffs, to Medicaid cuts, to more ICE raids. Vote like your future depends on it.”
Aguirre also said in her run-off ballot statement that as supervisor, she will “protect San Diego County from Washington’s economic chaos and MAGA extremism.”
Despite having different party affiliations, both candidates had a mutual interest in addressing the Tijuana sewage crisis and the homelessness crisis.
The election between Aguirre and McCann was to replace former District 1 Supervisor Nora Vargas, who announced in December she would not serve a second term despite winning the November re-election.
The Board of Supervisors had the option of appointing a replacement or holding a special election. The board decided to hold an election, as it did when District 4 Supervisor Nathan Fletcher left office. That’s according to a post on X from District 5 Supervisor Jim Desmond.
The voter turnout was 21% for the run-off election. There are still around 1,300 ballots that the registrar has not yet certified. The registrar expected to give another update on the election results by 6 p.m. Thursday.
