A rising San Diego politician abruptly quit, citing ‘personal safety.’ It raises a lot of questions
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- San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas resigned soon after winning reelection, citing safety concerns.
- The balance of power between Democrats and Republicans on the county board hinges on her replacement.
- A special primary election has been called for April.
Just six weeks after winning a decisive reelection, San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas sent a shock wave through the county’s political scene when she announced that instead of being sworn in for a second term, she would step down from the powerful board of supervisors.
It was a decision that caught San Diego’s political players by surprise. Not only was the timing a shock, but Vargas’ announcement meant the Democrat majority she once led as chair of the board of supervisors could be in doubt. With her departure, the board is now evenly split with two Democrats, two Republicans, and a vacant seat that could significantly influence how the board moves ahead in the coming years.
The uncertainty comes as San Diego County has gained national attention after its board of supervisors passed a policy that would restrict jail staff from working with federal immigration officials, a move that could potentially hinder the Trump administration’s promise of mass deportations.
Even more bewildering was the reason Vargas said she would step down.
“Due to personal safety and security reasons, I will not take the oath of office for a second term,” Vargas said in a statement, in which she described herself as a “guerrera,” Spanish for warrior. “I remain committed to continuing the fight for equity, justice, and human rights — just in a different capacity.”
Since then, there have been questions as to what exactly prompted the rising political figure to resign, after having won reelection decisively with 62% of the vote.
“No one really knows why, and everyone has been speculating about what that really means,” said Paula Whitsell, chair of the Republican Party of San Diego. “I’ve asked around, and everyone has been closed lipped.”
San Diego supervisors voted to restrict law enforcement’s cooperation with federal immigration officials, but Sheriff Kelly Martinez said she would not comply with the county policy.
Members of Vargas’ staff declined to say whether there was a particular incident or safety concern that prompted the abrupt announcement. Vargas, through a spokesperson, has declined to be interviewed.
News that Vargas would leave the board so soon after the election came as a surprise even to her political allies and supporters, who said they received no heads-up before the announcement.
When Kelvin Barrios found out on the morning of Dec. 20, he ran in and interrupted labor negotiations to tell his boss, Valentine Macedo, business manager for Laborers’ International Union of North America Local 89.
“I thought it was a big enough deal to interrupt,” said Barrios, who works as political director for Local 89. “That morning we woke up like any other morning having five supervisors, and five hours later it’s chaos.”
Kyle Krahel-Frolander, acting chair of the San Diego County Democratic Party, said he and other leaders of the party were also not informed of the decision before the announcement.
“I respect her decision to do this for her own safety, but it wasn’t something that was telegraphed to us,” he said. “It’s unfortunate.”
Since her announcement, the seat once occupied by Vargas on the dais has sat empty. The four members of the board have only discussed who would replace her as chair and how to fill her vacant seat.
A glimpse of the sharp divide caused by her resignation was noticeable last month when the two sides disagreed on who should serve as chair.
During the Jan. 7 meeting, Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe motioned to appoint Terra Lawson-Remer as chair, and herself as vice chair. Both are Democrats.
The motion failed after Supervisor Joel Anderson abstained and fellow Republican Supervisor Jim Desmond voted against it.
In a separate motion, Desmond requested to serve as chair. The motion did not pass due to a draw in votes.
In the end, Lawson-Remer, who had been vice chair under Vargas, continued to serve as acting chair after the attempts to pick a new chair failed.
It’s not the first time the board has found itself in this situation. More than a year ago, then-Supervisor Nathan Fletcher announced he would enter a treatment program for post-traumatic stress and alcoholism, only to resign days later amid allegations of sexual harassment and assault, which he has denied.
The resignation of Fletcher, one of the most powerful politicians in the county, prompted a special election that cost the county millions. Steppe won the election, becoming the first Black woman to serve on the board.
Requests for comment about Vargas’ resignation were not directly addressed by the board of supervisors.
Lawson-Remer told The Times in a written statement that the board would continue to conduct the county’s business, despite the vacancy.
“We will continue advancing our agenda to uplift all of our communities,” she wrote. “I’m confident in my fellow County supervisors, executive team, and employees, and we will keep tackling the major issues facing our region, just as the public expects and deserves.”
Vargas had most recently caught national attention in December after the San Diego County Board of Supervisors voted to adopt a policy that would restrict county jail officials from working with federal immigration officials.
The new policy would prevent jail officials from notifying ICE, or turning over custody of an inmate without a court warrant. But San Diego County Sheriff Kelly Martinez said her office would not comply with the new county policy, arguing that only the elected sheriff can draft new policies for the Sheriff’s Office, placing the county’s elected board and the sheriff in a stalemate.
Churches took in refugees from battle-scarred Central America in the 1980s, a precursor to their current focus on undocumented immigrants.
The controversial policy drew national and local attention, especially to Vargas, who had brought up the motion to the board.
Days after the vote, America First Legal, founded by Stephen Miller, President Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security advisor, sent California officials letters, warning them about the legal consequences of interfering with immigration enforcement.
Vargas was among the public officials who received the letters, citing the new ICE policy.
“This resolution clearly violates federal law and subjects those who abide by it to significant risk of criminal and civil liability,” the letter addressed to Vargas states. “We are sending this letter to put you on notice of this risk and insist that you comply with our nation’s laws.”
The letters foreshadowed the Trump administration’s approach to dealing with public officials it felt would get in the way of its beefed-up immigration crackdown.
In an internal memo recently made public, the Department of Justice directed prosecutors to investigate public officials who obstruct the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement. The memo also directs the agency’s civil division to work with a newly formed Sanctuary Cities Enforcement Working Group to identify state and local laws and policies that “threaten to impede” the Trump administration’s immigration efforts and potentially challenge them in court.
Vargas’ office did not answer questions about whether the new ICE policy, or the letters from America First Legal, had any role in her decision.
Ian Seruelo, chair of the San Diego Immigrant Rights Consortium, which worked with county officials and Vargas’ staff to prepare the motion for the board just days before her resignation, said the organization got no hint that Vargas was about to step down.
He said he doesn’t believe the policy was behind the decision.
“I don’t think this is an issue that Nora would back down on,” he said.
During her time on the board of supervisors, Vargas had been a target of sharp criticism and attacks, Krahel-Frolander said, something that women and people of color in public positions often see.
“[Vargas] has been out there pushing some very bold initiatives that makes her a target,” he said. “It’s unfortunate for any elected official trying to handle that because they didn’t sign up for that.”
In a statement, the San Diego County Sheriff’s Office said officials have noticed that public county meetings have grown more antagonistic.
“Some of these interactions rise to the level of threatening behavior and criminal conduct,” the office said in a statement. “We investigate these incidents thoroughly and take appropriate action.”
Trump’s order to cut off funding to sanctuary cities could threaten L.A. fire relief
San Diego County has in the past spent money for security for some of its public officials, some of whom were victims of crimes while in office.
In 2022, a fire that burned part of the home of then-county Supervisor Fletcher and his wife, Lorena Gonzalez, a former assemblywoman, was deemed to be arson.
In 2023, Fletcher had a security detail assigned to him. San Diego ABC 10 reported it cost the county nearly $2 million.
In August, San Diego ABC 10 reported Vargas was also assigned a security detail, which was billed at about $41,000 a month.
On the day that Vargas resigned, however, the Sheriff’s Office noted it had no active investigation into known threats or safety concerns regarding Vargas or any of the other supervisors.
With Vargas’ resignation, and tensions rising between the county and the Trump administration over immigration, San Diego County’s balance of power could see a significant shift, and the county that has been termed a “super sanctuary” under a Democratic majority could potentially find itself under a new Republican majority.
Vargas’ resignation “gives us another bite at the apple for another supervisory seat,” Whitsell, the chair of the county Republican Party, said. “I can’t say I’m unhappy about it.”
How Vargas’ seat will be filled may now come down to the winner of a special primary election in April.
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