Monica Montgomery Steppe, 48, a Democrat, is the incumbent San Diego County supervisor in District 4, and she is running for re-election.<\/p>\n
A resident of the Skyline neighborhood of San Diego, she previously served on the San Diego City Council.<\/p>\n
The San Diego Union-Tribune emailed a series of questions to Montgomery Steppe and other candidates to help inform voters about their positions, priorities and plans if elected.<\/p>\n
Montgomery Steppe said she did not use artificial intelligence to assist in responding to the questionnaire.<\/p>\n
The below reflects responses Montgomery Steppe provided upon request in April. However, this race did not appear on the primary ballot.<\/p>\n
1.) Why are you running, and what makes you the best candidate? (150 words max)<\/p>\n
In my first term as supervisor, I have worked with partners across the region to increase economic opportunity for all, champion clean and healthy communities, advance housing and homelessness solutions and build a holistic public safety environment for our neighborhoods.<\/p>\n
I have fought for these priorities by:<\/p>\n
increasing small businesses funding
\nincreasing living wage standards for county workers
\nprotecting healthcare, food assistance, and essential services from federal cuts
\nexpanding behavioral health treatment and addiction services
\nleading recovery efforts after the floods while holding price gougers accountable and protecting families from displacement
\ndirecting over $200 million in affordable housing development
\nexpanding shelter capacity with wrap-around services
\nproviding rental assistance for seniors
\nadvancing tenant protections and rental transparency to keep us housed
\nhelping make MTS one of the safest transit systems in the nation
\nexpanding civilian oversight of the Sheriff\u2019s Office and jails
\nstrengthening juvenile justice
\ninvesting in prevention-focused public safety strategies<\/p>\n
2.) What are the top 3 issues facing this district and the county generally? (150 words max)<\/p>\n
Economic instability \u2014 Cost of living has been too high for decades. Recently the economy has been heavily impacted by the Trump administration\u2019s federal chaos. People are struggling to survive, let alone thrive. We must reduce costs where we can and increase investments in local businesses, working families and livable wages.<\/p>\n
Housing supply and affordability \u2014 Nearly 40% of households are cost-burdened. One medical emergency pushes a family into homelessness. Seniors, LGBTQ+ youth and Black San Diegans are all disproportionately impacted. Housing remains a top priority for the district and the county as a whole.<\/p>\n
Access and scale of public\/behavioral health services \u2014 There are many public and behavioral health crises impacting our communities. Addiction to opioids, increase in youth suicides, loss of Medi-Cal access and Black maternal health are just a few examples.The county must step up to scale our reach and help as many San Diegans as possible.<\/p>\n
3.) What are the first 3 things you would do in office if elected? (150 words max)<\/p>\n
We have done a lot of work in our first term, but we aren\u2019t finished yet. Good ideas are only the tip of the iceberg. Good governance is all about execution of those ideas in an efficient, economic and transparent manner. So my second term will be focused on finishing what we\u2019ve started and delivering results.<\/p>\n
My office will continue to oversee and execute on the expansion of community services through the Safety Net Bridge Program, improving access to food and healthcare for residents during times of uncertainty. We will also advance government accountability through the Office of the Inspector General, with a focus on addressing in-custody deaths. Additionally, I will continue to oversee the scaling of county behavioral health services through the creation and execution of a standalone Behavioral Health Department, increasing both the efficiency and capacity of mental health and substance use care.<\/p>\n
4.) What are your plans for combating homelessness? (150 words max)<\/p>\n
I have secured millions of dollars in funding for outreach programs, championed tenant protections to curb evictions and expanded shelter access and wrap-around services through both traditional and innovative approaches. This includes my work advancing the Troy Street Sleeping Cabins project that will serve up to 60 individuals nightly. I will continue advocating for resources to support clearing the San Diego Riverbed, a significant hotspot within the district.<\/p>\n
However, these efforts must be paired with long-term solutions. The only true way out of the homelessness crisis is to build more homes that San Diegans can afford. While we celebrated several grand openings of hundreds of affordable units in District 4 neighborhoods like Linda Vista, City Heights and Clairemont, I will continue advocating for funding that expands those opportunities before residents experience homelessness.<\/p>\n
5.) As supervisor, you\u2019ll have a say in how the county overhauls its plan for housing development in unincorporated areas. What should the county do to combat its housing crisis? (150 words max)<\/p>\n
I have an \u201call hands on deck\u201d approach to housing. I believe smart development that balances housing needs, community character and climate goals is not only possible but necessary.<\/p>\n
The county is currently working to update our zoning ordinance and seeking community feedback on how to balance these goals. We are also reviewing an inclusionary housing ordinance to ensure that developers are required to build affordable homes, and we are exploring ways to ensure that neighborhood amenities like sidewalks and sewer upgrades are included in projects.<\/p>\n
Tiny homes, ADUs (both as rentals and opportunities for first-time home buyers) and mixed-use buildings are also included in the solution \u2014 along with developments specifically for seniors, veterans and youth.<\/p>\n
6.) Do you support or oppose the Trump administration\u2019s immigration crackdown, and would you support or oppose the use of aggressive enforcement seen elsewhere here in San Diego County? What is your message to immigrants in this district? (150 words max)<\/p>\n
I stand with our immigrant neighbors against the Trump and ICE terrorism that is ripping their families, businesses and communities apart. San Diego\u2019s proximity to the border has long made our communities a target ground for harmful policies and tactics. Many of these tactics were first refined here before expanding into the national tragedies unfolding before our eyes.<\/p>\n
San Diego is both a border region and a region for refugee resettlement. This means that the vibrant neighborhoods, foods, small businesses, arts and culture that we love about our home has been brought from across the world and married into something unique to the San Diego experience. As such, we should welcome immigrants and refugees with open arms and be grateful for their additions to our lively county culture.<\/p>\n
7.) Your district has struggled with rising costs of water, gas and other basic expenses, and cuts to federal safety-net programs threaten to impose new costs on many residents. What would you do to help keep San Diego County affordable and struggling families afloat? (150 words max)<\/p>\n
San Diego has one of the highest costs of living in the nation, and we should not wear that label as a badge of honor. I am working to lower the cost of living by eliminating rental \u201cjunk fees\u201d through a countywide ordinance, reducing health care costs and expanding access to free, healthy food for our residents.<\/p>\n
In response to federal cuts, my office championed the Safety Net Bridge Program to explore how the county can protect residents who are at risk of losing benefits that cover healthcare and food. This program establishes a network of community-based organizations and county resources to help residents maintain access as the requirements, timelines, and paperwork keeps shifting. It will bring basic primary-care services, such as health screenings and prescription medication, and access to fresh food to communities most impacted by changes to both CalFresh and Medi-Cal eligibility.<\/p>\n
8.) What should be the county\u2019s top priorities on public health and, separately, on behavioral health? (100 words max)<\/p>\n
The county\u2019s public health services must support the tracking, prevention and response to the spread of infectious diseases. This is especially important as the Trump administration refuses to acknowledge or fund public health threats, including animal and insect borne illnesses.<\/p>\n
The county\u2019s behavioral health services is an outdated model created 30 years ago. It does not reflect the intersectionality of behavioral health with public safety, economics, housing or education. The county must prioritize a standalone Behavioral Health Department focused solely on strengthening resources like counseling, treatment, inpatient and other services necessary to support mental health and addiction.<\/p>\n
9.) This district is vulnerable to climate change impacts like wildfires, rising sea levels and extreme heat and to the health effects of climate-warming emissions. What should the county do to improve climate resilience and reduce emissions? (100 words max)<\/p>\n
We are taking action on climate at the county by tracking emissions to execute the climate action plan, reducing housing development in fire-prone back country areas, working to responsibility develop in existing unincorporated neighborhoods, funding community climate justice programs and the planting of thousands of trees to capture carbon and reduce heat levels in impacted communities and working to ensure that neighborhoods disproportionately impacted by pollution and climate change are getting equitable resources to address the challenges they face.<\/p>\n
10.) A countywide half-cent sales tax increase may appear on the November ballot. How will you vote on this? Where else should the county find revenue or savings to deliver key services and close future budget gaps? (100 words max)<\/p>\n
I do not take stances on hypothetical policies or on proposals before I have been able to read them in full and consider all possible impacts of the passage or failure of said policy. That said, given the costs of maintaining our services in light of Trump\u2019s irresponsible and cruel federal cuts, the county does need to consider ways to increase revenue. I have not yet solved the balance of increasing revenue without squeezing the working class or deterring business investment in the region. As such, I am still interested in bringing forward tax measures that are not regressive.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Monica Montgomery Steppe, 48, a Democrat, is the incumbent San Diego County supervisor in District 4, and she…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495345,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[28],"tags":[1400,204,989,181,23,205,100,13,74,76,75],"class_list":["post-495344","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-san-diego","tag-2026-elections","tag-election","tag-elections","tag-latest-headlines","tag-local-news","tag-local-politics","tag-news","tag-politics","tag-san-diego","tag-san-diego-headlines","tag-san-diego-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495344","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495344"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495344\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495345"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495344"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495344"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495344"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}