It’s only been a few days, and already the official transition of power in Washington, D.C., has touched San Diego in concrete ways.
A flurry of executive orders from President Joe Biden’s first 24 hours in office has halted construction on border wall projects, pledged further protection for the county’s 27,000 DACA recipients, and frozen deportation orders for an unknown number of local migrants.
For the record:
3:22 PM, Jan. 24, 2021A previous version of this story incorrectly stated the length of time that U.S. Attorney Robert Brewer has served in office.
The immediate changes, if only temporary, mark the sharp ideological contrast between the Trump and Biden administrations, and are just the beginning of more drastic changes expected in the coming days and weeks.
The San Diego Association of Governments knowingly misled voters in 2004 about how much money it expected to raise from a new sales tax.
The deception allowed the agency to overstate how much it could accomplish for regional transportation, transit operations and local infrastructure projects throughout the county in the coming decades. Voters approved the tax increase – and have been paying more money in taxes for 13 years – based on the false projection that appeared on the ballot.
Voice of San Diego reported in October that SANDAG is now on pace to bring in nearly $5 billion less than the $14 billion it told voters the half-cent sales tax would raise. In December, the agency admitted that was true, but said it was only just then learning of a problem with its revenue forecast, and in February launched an investigation into what went wrong.
County Supervisor Ron Roberts and SANDAG Executive Director Gary Gallegos. Photo: Vito Di Stefano
An independent investigation of the county’s regional planning agency has revealed that staffers purposely tried to hide electronic documents and deleted other documents after questions were raised about the agency’s actions before the last election.
SANDAG, the San Diego Association of Governments, is responsible for planning and developing transportation projects, including highways, roads, public transit, and bicycle paths throughout the county.
Last October, the Voice of San Diego, a local online news outlet, first raised questions about SANDAG’s revenue projections for a half-cent sales tax measure called Transnet that went before voters in November 2016. The issue revolves around allegations that SANDAG staff and Board members became aware that TransNET revenue projections were flawed and would generate less money than expected, but they failed to alert the public to the e
SANDAG Staff Kept Elected Leaders and Public in the Dark
By Alberto Garcia
The staff and executive director of San Diego’s regional transportation planning agency failed to disclose to its board of directors and the public that it had discovered fundamental errors in its economic forecasts for transportation funding.
SANDAG, the San Diego Association of Governments, is the regional agency responsible for planning and building out the county’s roads, highways, and public transportation systems. Its 21-member board of directors is made up of mayors and councilmembers from all 18 cities in the county, in addition to members of the County Board of Supervisors.
By Alberto Garcia
Early voting for the November 8 elections began this past Monday, October 10, with record numbers in what may be a record voter turnout.
According to the San Diego Registrar of Voters, in the first nine hours of balloting alone, 325 people had shown up to cast their ballots at the Registrar of Voters’ office in Kearny Mesa.
This will be an unprecedented election in San Diego due to the number of propositions, candidates, and measures that will appear on one of the lengthiest ballots ever present to voters.
“We are talking about a two-card ballot; which is four pages long and has never been seen before,” said Mariana Bustamante, Spanish Voter Outreach Coordinator at the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.