I wanted to update you on several efforts I’m pushing at the San Diego County Board of Supervisors — efforts rooted in a simple belief: San Diego County should remain safe, affordable, and livable for the people who call it home.
These aren’t symbolic votes or abstract policy debates. They are concrete actions that will affect families, seniors, veterans, and homeowners across our region.
One of the most important steps we took this week was advancing my initiative with County Assessor Jordan Marks to urge the federal government to finally modernize capital gains exclusions on home sales. These thresholds haven’t been updated in decades, resulting in a housing market that’s frozen.
Seniors who want to downsize or move closer to their children hesitate because the tax hit is too steep.
Longtime homeowners feel stuck in homes that no longer fit their needs. And young families trying to buy their first home can’t find anything available.
Updating this outdated federal policy would free up desperately needed housing supply, open doors for first-time buyers, and help seniors, veterans, and middle-class families make choices that work for their lives rather than being punished by the tax code. Protecting homeownership — the foundation of the American Dream — means recognizing when the rules need to catch up with reality.
We also reaffirmed our strong opposition to offshore oil drilling. I’ve been vocal about this for years, and the reason is simple: our coastline isn’t just scenery. It’s central to our identity and our economy. Clean beaches sustain tourism, recreation, fishing, and thousands of local jobs.
And along Camp Pendleton, the coastline is a critical training ground for our service members. Industrializing that environment with oil rigs would jeopardize everything that makes San Diego special. We’ve seen the consequences of drilling disasters elsewhere. We don’t need to invite that risk here.
Another major effort we advanced was addressing the long-standing problem of the 1,400 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel stored at San Onofre. It has remained there for more than a decade without a federal relocation plan. Californians already pay some of the highest electricity rates in the country, and when energy is expensive, everything else becomes more expensive —food, housing, transportation, and everyday necessities.
That’s why I’m pushing a partnership-driven approach that explores relocating and reprocessing this material with the help of national laboratories and proven technologies. If we can make our communities safer and lower long-term energy costs for families, that’s a win for everyone.
Finally, I voted against a proposal to spend $20 million from one-time reserves to fund employee bonuses. Reserves should be used for true emergencies and critical front-line services — not to cover ongoing payroll. At a time when residents are struggling with rising costs, the government must live within its means. We cannot ask taxpayers for more while draining reserves for the wrong purposes.
Each of these efforts — housing, coastal protection, nuclear safety, and fiscal responsibility — comes back to the same mission: ensuring San Diego County remains a place where people can build a future. That’s what I’m committed to fighting for, today and every day.
Supervisor Jim Desmond represents the 5th District on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
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