Lawson-Remer calls for increased county spending to combat Trump cuts
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Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer pledged, during a combative State of the County address Wednesday, to pursue a local tax increase and unleash county cash reserves to combat Trump administration funding cuts.
Why it matters: Lawson-Remer's progressive priorities will struggle to find votes on a board deadlocked at a 2-2 split, but her wish list sets the stakes for a July special election that will determine partisan control of county government.
Driving the news: Lawson-Remer said a local tax measure to raise $1 billion a year was necessary to combat proposed Medicaid cuts that would obliterate the county behavioral health system.
- She called for "immediate reform" of the county's reserve policy to deploy $100 million that she said was collecting interest when it should be spent on public health and safety initiatives.
What she's saying: "With Washington slashing essential services, San Diego will step up — and put our reserves to work for the people they're meant to serve," she said.
- "We can raise the money ourselves — right here at home," Lawson-Remer said of her tax proposal.
Reality check: She rolled out her local tax measure proposal in February — then shelved it before it received a board vote to hire consultants to pursue it.
- Spending down the county's cash reserves has been a progressive talking point for years, without any significant change in the situation.
Between the lines: Lawson-Remer's speech was unapologetically ideological, railing against oligarchs running D.C., healthcare spending that enriches corporate executives, Wall Street's home buying spree in San Diego and "toxic polluters."
- "The oligarchs now running Washington sell us on the lie that if we work just a little harder, we can join the billionaire's club too... But the truth is, they aren't getting their billions through hard work. They're stealing it," she said.
- The two Republicans on the county board were not in attendance. A Lawson-Remer spokesperson said he believed they were invited, but didn't attend out of Brown Act concerns — which prohibits members of a legislative body from meeting as a group outside of official meetings.
The intrigue: Lawson-Remer's call for spending the county's reserves won a standing ovation from Mayor Todd Gloria, who, in his State of the City speech, criticized the county for not spending enough on homelessness.