1. In April 2025, Board of Supervisors Chair Terra Lawson-Remer proposed raising county taxes by as much as $1 billion per year. Do you think this is necessary or wise?
As costs rise, the county needs revenue that keeps pace with the services residents depend on. But tax increases should be a last resort, not a first instinct.
Before asking families who are already struggling with rising costs to pay more, the board has an obligation to demonstrate that it has eliminated unnecessary spending, streamlined operations and maximized the efficiency of every dollar already coming in.
I would want to see a thorough accounting of where savings can be found before supporting any significant new revenue measure. If, after that work is done, a targeted revenue increase is necessary to maintain critical services, it should be put to voters with clear accountability provisions and transparent spending plans.
But the burden of proof is on the county to show it has done the hard work first.
2. In December, three of the five supervisors used what was described as an “accounting scheme” to access millions of dollars in county reserves to pay for bonuses to county workers. Should the old policy of requiring four votes to tap into reserves have been followed?
If the accounting method used was legal, which by all indications it was, then the board acted within its authority. I understand the concern about process, but the substance matters here, too. The county is competing with the private sector for talent, and my experience in the private sector tells me it is far more costly to lose top-tier employees than to pay them competitively. Recruitment, training, institutional knowledge lost and service disruptions to residents: the cost of turnover adds up fast. County government cannot deliver the services families depend on if it cannot attract and retain qualified people. Competitive compensation is not a bonus. It is a basic cost of running an effective organization. I support paying county workers wages that allow the county to recruit and retain the workforce our residents deserve.
3. Lawson-Remer wants to weaken the voter-approved law limiting board members to two terms. Do you support this change?
I have reviewed the charter reforms being proposed and I do not find any of them to be unreasonable. That said, this is exactly the kind of change that should be decided by the voters, and that is how it is being handled. The voters approved term limits, and any modification to that framework should go back to the voters for their judgment. They will have the opportunity to give it a thumbs-up or thumbs-down, and that is the legal and responsible way to handle changes to the San Diego County Charter. I respect the process and I respect the voters’ ability to decide.
4. What other issue affecting county residents deserves much more attention?
Affordability. It is the issue I hear about more than anything else when I talk to families across District 5.
The convergence of crises hitting families all at once. Federal cuts to programs like Medi-Cal, CalFresh and veterans’ benefits are threatening to blow holes in the county budget and shift costs onto local families who are already stretched to the limit.
Housing costs are pushing lifelong residents out of the communities they grew up in. Homelessness is straining neighborhoods and businesses because we do not have enough shelter, treatment and mental health capacity to meet the need. Utility bills, child care and groceries keep climbing.
These issues are all connected, and the Board of Supervisors needs to treat them that way. At the same time, the county is underinvesting in the infrastructure that protects our quality of life: beach restoration along our coastline, wildfire resilience in our inland and rural communities, and the climate adaptation measures that will determine whether District 5 remains livable for the next generation.
The county needs leadership that can hold all of these priorities at once, not treat them as separate line items.
Go to kylekrahel.com for more information about the candidate.