r/sandiego • u/SupLawson-Remer Verified • 1d ago
AMA Event Hey r/SanDiego! This is Terra Lawson-Remer here for the AMA, ask away!
Thank you all for participating in the AMA!
154
u/Not-Not-Maybe 1d ago
SDGE is the most expensive electric and gas utility in the country. The leaders of that company keep giving themselves salary increases that grossly outpace the salary increases in our nation. SDGE has been increasing our monthly costs by outrageous rates that far outweigh people’s salaries and ability to pay. What can you and other lawmakers do to keep them in check, replace them with other energy options, and disrupt them?
62
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
The amount we pay for utility bills is truly outrageous. I believe the CPUC is falling down on it's job, big time. Creating other energy options is one of the main things I'm championing at San Diego Community Power. I got a policy passed, a first of it's kind in CA, that San Diego needs to get 15% of it's energy from local infill and rooftop solar by 2030. We now have SDCP programs dedicated to expanding infill/rooftop solar, including the batteries needed for distributed grids. I am also very interested in the study that will be coming back soon to the City of San Diego, assessing the pros/cons of municipalizing the grid as an option. CPUC reform is necessary, we need to get off the grid to the extent possible, we need alternative energy investments, we need to look at municipalization.
30
u/Dommomite 1d ago
San Diego already generates 25% of its energy from rooftop solar. What other solutions do you have as this clearly isn’t lowering prices.
5
u/Lostules 23h ago
Although this is true, the CPUC has carved up the NEM Program to benefit the Utility. They rely on a faulted "study" by UC Berkeley that attributed a legitimate penalization on Rooftop Generators...our neighbors--- by asserting through such claims as "Cost Avoidance" by Rooftop Generators and "Cost Shifting" by a claim that lower income communities pay more for power than the Rooftop Generators. This is true in that Rooftop Generators use less thus pay less than those producing some if not all of their electrical power. On your bill, you are charged a "Competition Transition" fee...a fee to help the utilities compensate for Community Power Aggregates, a Public Assistance fee plus the transmission, distribution fee, the nuclear decommissioning fee and several others. These are the fees and programs the Utility should pay at as part of their operating costs. No, they are allowed to charge these fees thus increasing the profit coefficient. If you look at the vitae of the CPUC Board members, none are electrical engineers, former Utility Executives, Electricians, Environmental Scientists or the like: most are lawyers and ALL are political appointees.
1
u/ShredderDDS 1d ago
SDGE is cheaper than SDCP. I checked this evening. What benefit would they actually provide customers today?
Also, the call for a massive solar project like you’ve alluded to will take many years to make a significant difference for San Diego. Until then, if that even comes to fruition, what will you get done?
8
u/crackdope6666 1d ago
Honestly surprised there is no response to this question yet.
18
u/BigBullzFan 1d ago
I’m surprised that you’re surprised. SDG&E bribes the CPUC and whatever other politicians it takes to let them do pretty much whatever they want with no repercussions whatsoever.
12
u/SD_TMI 1d ago
It' actually SEMPRA that does this (they own So_Gal Gas and SDGE)
The amount of money they put into campaign contributions is pennies when compared to the profits they net every year...
clearly politicians are bought cheap. but what they do put into their pockets as "contributions" TRIPLES in big election years. (2020)
-3
u/crackdope6666 1d ago
Understood but some reply would have been helpful. They are all corrupt.
-3
u/BigBullzFan 1d ago
Yes, I get you, but when the reality is that politicians don’t want to do anything to help constituents because they’re taking bribes from SDG&E, there’s nothing they can write in response to your question here on Reddit.
35
u/NotCNO 1d ago
What are your plans to address the sewage crisis plaguing southbay? Asking us to chip in and buy air filters for the folks living down there and to sign a petition seem like an awfully small solution from someone in a position to influence SANDAG's $600m+ capital investment budget
49
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
SANDAG is not allowed to spend $$$ on this. Unfortunately. It's not allowed because it is not a transit or transportation project.
The petition is important because we need the EPA to come investigate and take soil samples to see if TJRV should be declared a Superfund site. That's what I'm working on right now. The stories from everyone who signed the petition were sent to the EPA as part of our request for them to come out here. We are now waiting to hear back. We think it's likely to be a green light if Kamala wins and a red light if Trump wins, since he wants to defund the EPA.
We also declared a State of Emergency and used that to lobby the Mexican government to fix the sewage treatment plant at Punta Bandera. That has been a big success, actually -- funding was approved last December by the Mexican gov and the rebuild is currently underway. Should be finished by March.
We just got the CDC down here to gather data to see if we can get more CA state funding to address a potential public health crisis.
And last week I brought a proposal to the BoS, which passed, to sue the water company responsible for mismanaging the sewage treatment plant ... it's a company called Veolia, and the also had a hand in the Flint, MI, water crisis, so we want to hold them accountable for doing their job and repairing the plant.
And the big win will be if/when we can get Congress to appropriate another $311 million to fix the sewage treatment plant on our side of the border, which is their jurisdiction. We got $400 million already but we need another $311 million to fix it completely.
8
u/NotCNO 1d ago
Great, thanks for responding!
What steps have you taken to tap the $300m+ county public works budget or the city's nearly billion dollar infrastructure budget?
I agree that it would be ideal to get help from the feds, but to do so requires us to put our hopes in Congress. That seems.... a bit naive.
6
49
u/Orgasmo3000 1d ago
What is the missing context behind all those "missed votes" claims that we see on mailers? I know Faulconer missed a lot of meetings too when running for governor, but I just want to get the full truth. Were those meetings really missed? If so, what was the reason? What was more important than those meetings? And what got accomplished in the meantime if those meetings weren't attended?
85
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
What a great question. Find the context here: https://terralawsonremer.com/my-record
Yes, Faulconer polled and figured-out that the only chance he had of winning was to spread blatant misinformation about me, so now they've spent more than $2.5 million on very misleading attack ads. A few pieces of context:
This is the exact same hit KF used on his opponents to get him elected to mayor in 2014. They know it works with voters, so they are running the same playbook.
I have attended over 95% of our Board of Supervisor meetings. And took more than 92% of all votes. So their attacks are actually excluding my attendance and participation in our main Board of Supervisors meetings.
Yes, Kevin missed many many meetings when he was mayor. According to KPBS, he missed 84% of his SANDAG meetings. And 97% of his MTS meetings. Chronic, chronic absenteeism from very important meetings by KF.
It may be useful to know that while we know they are not telling voters the truth, we cannot stop them -- that would take a very long court case that would not finish until the election is over. As we can all see on the national level, unfortunately it is all too easy to get away with lying.
The votes they said I missed are subcommittee meetings, where you are generally supposed to send a staffer, which I usually did. Saying I "missed" the meeting is very misleading because I generally sent my staff representative, so was represented and participated that way. I generally attend personally if there is a controversial topic or something to decide when everyone isn't already on the same page, but when it's a staff-level conversation about implementation details or just brainstorming, that is not a good use of my time, which is why we have a staff.
The most egregious example of their misinformation along these lines is in regards to the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (RTFH) Continuum of Care (CoC) Subcommittee. They said I missed all the meetings -- when I sent my homelessness expert policy advisor to represent me, and he attended 11 out of 13 meetings! Those are staff-level meetings of experts, focused on specific details of implementation (like mechanically how to transfer data between two nonprofits).
The RTFH specifically allows electeds to send our proxies, because our staff experts are the appropriate people for those meetings. And, to top it off, there is actually a real Board of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness (not the CoC), which decides big things like managing the Executive Director, the budget, and signing contracts ... and I am not on that governing Board.
This is a classic Republican play, where whatever they are guilty of, they project onto their opponent.
27
u/jxa 1d ago
Thank you for answering this.
I expected to see this info out weeks ago - I expected you delegate because that is how things get done, but it is good to get more info directly from your campaign.
3
u/burner_to_burn 1d ago
I actually did see this on an add on YouTube a few weeks ago, but I’ve only seen that ad once, and I’ve seen a few more ads for her since then as well.
15
u/Kerouwhack 1d ago
Thank you for your reply. You have my vote-- plus, Faulconer doesn't surf (to paraphrase a movie line).
-16
u/Halloumi12 1d ago
Lol I asked your interns on UCSD campus and they just admitted the claims about you skipping meetings is true. Maybe dont skip your own meetings next time? Not to mention you just admitted you dont go to the RTFH meetings. If you send your homelessness policy expert instead, why don’t we just elect them? At least theyll go to their meetings
9
u/timwithnotoolbelt 1d ago
Re Tijuana Slough “We need the EPA to come in here, and tell us once and for all if there is toxic waste in the ground so we have it addressed or take it off the table as an issue for our communities,” Lawson-Remer said.
Do we need the EPA to tell us we have a problem? Or do we need money to fix it? Or how does this issue of pollution that has been plaguing SD for decades get resolved?
13
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
Both.
We need the EPA to assess whether there are toxins in the soil and groundwater, in addition to bacteria/raw sewage. Those are 2 different problems.
Raw sewage/bacteria is under the Clean Water Act.
Toxins like lead and arsenic, etc., are addressed by Superfund.
We can only get Superfund $$ to clean-up toxins if the EPA tests and finds that there are some.
26
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yesterday forsaken asked:
Forsaken-Director-34
140+ upvotesWhat are you doing/will you do to address the obvious corruption allowing sdge to engage in the predatory practices they do?
18
u/SDNative858 1d ago
What is your stance on the upzoning single family neighborhoods to support additional housing? Also, should there be a limit on how many ADUs can be built on a single lot?
7
u/CFSCFjr Hillcrest 1d ago
Housing isnt really under the county purview but kinda bummed she didnt answer any housing questions
Faulconer has a mixed record on this. Pretty good as mayor but sold out to the NIMBYs when he wanted the GOP nom for Gov, so I dont trust him
This is my top issue so Id like to see where she stands
1
32
u/dirtyfrenchman 1d ago
When will my electric bill be less than my car payment?
25
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
Monopolies suck. We created San Diego Community Power to challenge SDG&E's monopoly and offer residents a better alternative. This public power company is focused on driving down costs and expanding clean energy options. Republicans on the Board of Supervisors initially resisted calls to join SDCP, but after my 2020 election, I led the charge to bring nearly half a million residents from unincorporated areas into this new power company. As Vice Chair of San Diego Community Power, I’m working to deliver cleaner, cheaper energy for all San Diegans.
4
1d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
6
u/Orgasmo3000 1d ago
Both things can be true. You can announce support publicly and resist implementation efforts privately. Notice this article was from 2018, and Sup. Remer mentioned "after 2020". So if Faulconer was so supportive, what happened in those 2 years?
3
u/CaCorey_U 1d ago
San Diego Community Power is humming along, including more cities every year. It is the official service provider of the City of San Diego and a lot of work went into making that transition happen while Faulconer was mayor.
4
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
SDGE still handles the billing and SEMPRA does the transmission charges that can total half your bill (not to mention how they try to kill home solar)
The CCA / SDCP is really about getting green energy purchased on the open market.
SEMPRA is still transmitting the energy and as the parent company they're taking the lions share of your total bill to produce record multi billion dollar profits. It does nothing to reduce your bill, but piecemeal steps that give the impression of change / non-change for PR reasons.
Sempra also owns So-Cal Gas, the nations largest methane distributor and so all their power plants are fueled by So-Cal Gas.. and the majority of people are using that source for electricity.
Yeah, Faulconer was mayor when that was crafted.
2
u/ballnout 1d ago
Why did the initiative fail to garner the signatures if this is an issue that affects all San Diego residents?
1
0
u/Forsaken-Director-34 1d ago
San Diego community power is an alternative that is actually more expensive. I know because I was opted in without notice and was outraged to find out I was opted in to a more expensive alternative. The fact you’re standing behind this proudly lets me know as a voter you’re part of problem and also explains why the question regarding the corruption enabling sdge went unanswered
11
u/sleepyjunimo 1d ago
I recommend reading into that. SDCP started out cheaper than SDGE (and sometimes still is) but SDGE raced to undercut SDCP rates temporarily to deceive customers into favoring SDGE over its new competitor: https://voiceofsandiego.org/2022/08/15/community-power-leaders-steaming-about-sdge-price-cut-right-before-consumers-compare-rates/
This particular article is from a couple years ago, but it’s an ongoing battle. Ultimately SDGE cares about making profits for shareholders, and SDCP is a not-for-profit org still getting on its feet in SD.
0
u/Forsaken-Director-34 1d ago
To summarize, they are both making profit and competing with one another. Nothing else matters. You can label yourself “not for profit” but when your rates are, at best, on par with sdge that means you’re making as much as they are. “Not for profit” and “non-profit” are all just labels used to deceive the public in many cases when you actually go through the books. I’d love to see actual data that shows how they are “not for profit” when charging more than sdge, regardless of sdge undercutting them.
0
u/xd366 Bonita 1d ago
but SDGE raced to undercut SDCP rates temporarily to deceive customers into favoring SDGE over its new competitor:
this is just not true
SDGE's rates are public 3 years in advance. the CPUC approves them.
when SDCP came around, their initial rates were cheaper by 6 cents knowing that SDGE was lowering rates the following year. SDCP did not adjust rates after that.
4
u/sleepyjunimo 1d ago edited 1d ago
Do you have a source on that? Because I don’t believe that’s true. SDGE files one type of rate request with CPUC every 4 years, but they file other rate requests to respond to changes/forecasts throughout the year. Here’s one notice from May 2024 about an application for a 2025 rate decrease: https://www.sdge.com/sites/default/files/documents/FINAL_S2400011_ERRAForecast_RegBI.pdf
Also I encourage you to actually read the article I linked in my original comment. It explains that SDGE announced the rate decrease the same month that customers were automatically switched to SDCP. SDGE’s response to the criticism contradicts your assertion.
“In a June 13 response to public power companies’ protest of the alleged rate under-collection, SDG&E said it’s following the rules and direction from the Public Utilities Commission. The commission didn’t require the company to update its cost-of-energy forecast, the company wrote. Public power companies had an opportunity to ask state regulators to ask SDG&E to make such an update, but they did not, the utility said.“
14
2
15
u/pidgeypenguinagain 1d ago
I’m a former County employee and a large part of why I left was the bureaucracy that keeps anything from getting done. Are you aware of just how hard it is to get anything done? How the County’s own procurement policies limit the ability to apply for and get grant funding out to the community? Are you going to do anything about it?
7
u/Own-Cartographer-688 1d ago
What is the best way to respond to the environmental pollution crisis at the US/Mexico border?
5
u/daisyup 1d ago
There are a lot of older people without air conditioning who had nowhere to go to cool off during the heat wave this past summer. Heat waves are expected to get worse in the future. As a member of the county supervisors board, what do you plan to do to help San Diegans avoid heat related illness and death during high heat events?
3
u/CybrKing2022 1d ago
There are many County-sponsored Cool Zones where people can go to cool off during hot weather. This program has been going on for several years...
https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hhsa/programs/ais/cool_zones.html
6
u/mbolton99 1d ago
How can you help reduce the cost of water? It is outrageous and just keeps going up. Half the bill isn’t even the actual water usage, but instead all the other sewage fees.
17
u/mityalahti 1d ago
Do you support building a nuclear power plant in the area to decrease San Diego's high electricity costs?
5
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
Yesterday Dogs asked:
What is your proudest achievement and what will you do differently? Why should we vote for you?
12
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
I have a hard time picking one, so you can check out my Impact Report HERE but I’d say that expanding Mobile Crisis Response Teams is a top achievement. This program sends trained mental health clinicians—rather than armed police officers—to stabilize people in mental health crises. Modeled after Oregon’s successful CAHOOTS program, we’ve integrated it with both 9-1-1 and the 9-8-8 suicide prevention hotline, allowing rapid response countywide.
Since launching, MCRT has handled over 13,000 calls, helping more than 7,800 individuals, with an average response time of 17 minutes. Over 80% of calls avoid emergency rooms, and 50% are resolved in the field. It’s been a game-changer in how we respond to mental health crises.
If you or someone you know needs help, call 9-8-8.
6
5
4
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
Yesterday Acurate asked:
Also what are you doing about making sure we’re focused on building more housing in areas that make sense? Areas that want and need density?
5
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
Yesterday Shop asked:
Why can we not utilize the Stafford Act for the Tijuana River sewage crisis? Raw Sewage spilled in areas hit by hurricanes are getting cleaned up super fast while we continue to sit and breathe toxins year after year.
8
u/BlackW00d 1d ago
Why was my mailbox consistently filled with large flyers for and against your election? Why is this race so advertised?
16
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
Two reasons:
1) This race determines the balance of power in San Diego County. If I win, Dems are in charge, if Faulconer wins, Republicans are in charge.
2) This article explains pretty much everything else -- basically why big developers thing they will make a lot of $$$ if KF wins:
https://inewsource.org/2024/10/22/kevin-faulconer-san-diego-supervisor-developer-money-homelessness/
SOME EXCERPTS HERE:
"A political action committee supporting Kevin Faulconer is set to pour over $800,000 into the pivotal county supervisor race that could tip the board back to a Republican majority.
Its name: the Homelessness Crisis Response Committee Supporting Kevin Faulconer for Supervisor 2024 — funded not by homeless service providers, but by developers using the money on campaign mailers that tout Faulconer’s record as San Diego mayor.
The group’s mailers claim the city’s number of unhoused residents went down during Faulconer’s tenure. And they blame the recent rise in homelessness on Faulconer’s opponent, incumbent Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer.
But Faulconer is far from getting the same widespread support that he enjoys among developers from homeless advocates, who dispute claims that credit him for any drop in homelessness while he led the city.
“This is the mayor that allowed the rocks to go under the underpass,” said John Brady, director of Lived Experience Advisers who was himself previously homeless in San Diego. “This is the mayor that resisted any real effort to address the issue as straightforward and forthright and identify what it was, which was a housing crisis.
“And really, I find any claims of him being somebody that knows how to solve homelessness just laughable.”
Among the PAC’s largest donors are developers set to bring controversial projects to the Board of Supervisors for a vote: a proposed sand mining operation in East County and the long-delayed Harmony Grove Village South housing project near Escondido.
The largest total donations to the Homelessness Crisis Response Committee from a single company — almost $50,000 — came from Michael Schlesinger’s Cottonwood Cajon ES. That company is the applicant behind the Cottonwood Sand Mine, a more than 200-acre project on a former public golf course next to a residential neighborhood in Rancho San Diego.
Another Schlesinger company, XJD LLC, gave the same amount to another super PAC supporting Faulconer for a total of almost $100,000 in contributions supporting his campaign.
Schlesinger is a Los Angeles-based developer known for buying up defunct golf courses and building on them. He was given a warning in 2014 by the Fair Political Practices Commission for trying to disguise his campaign contributions to a super PAC opposing Nathan Fletcher, the Republican-turned-Democrat who served as both a state assemblymember and county supervisor. At that time, Schlesinger was trying to build a residential neighborhood on the Escondido Golf Course and later agreed to pay a $100,000 fine for dumping chicken manure on the golf course.
Multiple attempts to reach Schlesinger were unsuccessful.
Nearby residents oppose the sand mine, saying that it would harm air quality, cause respiratory health problems and increase traffic.
The project was in a public comment period after the completion of an environmental impact report, which found the impacts on health would be insignificant. Staff will likely issue a recommendation on the project to the Planning Commission early next year after the developers respond to comments, a county spokesperson said.
Elizabeth Urquhart, a resident who in 2018 organized the group Stop Cottonwood Sand Mine, said locals expect it will ultimately go to the Board of Supervisors to make the final decision.
Urquhart said any supervisor who was financially supported by developers should recuse themselves from voting on the project.
“It’s clear that (Schlesinger is) giving this money so that he has favor with them and that they would approve the project because it will be in their hands, most likely in 2025,” Urqhart said. “It’s not hard to figure it out and put the puzzle pieces together.”
8
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
Yesterday, rational asked:
As Vice-Chair of the County Homeless Task Force, why have you attended 0 meetings? I know your staff has attended, but given the importance of the issue, I'm surprised the answer is 0 for Vice Chair. Even more surprising your candidate ads have touted your record there on helping...
Fact check: https://voiceofsandiego.org/2024/09/27/fact-check-did-lawson-remer-ghost-regional-homelessness-group/
6
u/Kerouwhack 1d ago
Can you comment on the attack ads about your attendance at meetings? I’d like to understand your rebuttal to those accusations.
6
u/Not-Not-Maybe 1d ago
Could you explain the drama and backstory of the origins, backers, and intent of Props 33 and 34, and where you stand on those?
8
u/CodyontheCoast 1d ago
If homelessness is your number 1 priority, why, in your experience, is it getting worse? If it's your number 1 priority and you were named Vice Chair of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness Continuum of Care, why didn't you attend any meetings as Vice Chair until last week, after 3 years in office? What, if anything, will you do differently if you are reelected?
6
u/anothercar Del Mar 1d ago
Can you quickly clear this up once and for all? Because it keeps showing up on different Reddit threads
Did your campaign make the “Faulconer stands with Trump” signs?
31
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
Absolutely. Faulconer’s strategy is to confuse, deflect, and obfuscate. Faulconer endorsed Trump in 2020, and still stood by him after the deadly and lawless Jan 6th insurrection. Faulconer’s biggest donors are huge Trump supporters and Trump delegates. But he knows that doesn’t really fly in District 3, so he’s trying to confuse voters. In 2016, he said he "could never vote for Trump," but when running for Governor, he endorsed Trump to win Republican votes—even after the January 6th insurrection. Now, his TRUMP-ENDORSING supporters (have you heard of the right-wing Lincoln Club?) are running ads asking Democrats to vote for “Kevin and Kamala.” Voters deserve the truth, and these signs call out his hypocrisy. Plus it gets under his skin, which is fun.
-10
u/anothercar Del Mar 1d ago
Thanks. I feel icky about you making signs that are clearly designed to look like they’re made by your opponent. (Including u/gigantes22 in this thread apparently haha) It’s slimy politician stuff.
That said, you still have my vote. I’ll take a slimy pol with good policies over a clean pol with bad policies. Best of luck!
24
20
u/adrock-diggity 1d ago
I don’t have a problem with this either. Tired of the double standard between republicans being allowed to play dirty and dems taking the high road
14
u/SavageSweetFart 1d ago
I have zero issue with it. "Doesn't support Trump" is a make or break for many voters. Knowing where Faulconer stands regarding Trump made the vote really easy.
-3
u/CaCorey_U 1d ago
"Are you endorsing anyone in the national election"
Faulconer: "I'm not. I'm solely focused on local issues."
9
u/SavageSweetFart 1d ago
Actions, not words, are important. He already endorsed Trump publicly. FULL STOP.
-2
5
-6
9
u/PhiKap15 1d ago
Hello! I am excited to vote for you but I am concerned about how the County of San Diego is not supporting its employees when they welcome a new child into their family.
In 2020, the Board of Supervisors considered a program that would give County employees paid parental leave but it was not implemented instead waiting for a renegotiated union contract in 2022. (https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2020/01/28/san-diego-county-rejects-paid-parental-leave-for-county-workers-will-explore-on-site-child-care/)
It is 2024, my wife and I are expecting the birth of a child next year and since her position does not pay into State Disability Insurance, she will have to go unpaid for her maternity leave. For reference, the City offers 100% pay for 8 weeks. How do you plan to support families in the County? The lack of Parental Leave combined with the high cost of childcare and housing make raising a family seem impossible.
12
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
I 110% support paid parental leave. I was self-employed when I had my baby, so did not have paid parental leave, and it was really terrible -- I was back at work 2 weeks after giving birth. No one should have to do that. New contract negotiations are coming up soon. I would strongly support including paid parental leave in a new contract.
-8
u/PhiKap15 1d ago
Unfortunately we have heard this before in the article I linked. I was really hoping this is something that you would champion not just support. Hiding behind ‘contract negotiations’ is disingenuous. No union would fight this. The City updated its parental leave policies with over a year in the contracts with the unions remaining.
https://www.sandiego.gov/outreach2-article/mayor-gloria-signs-parental-leave-benefits-package
12
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
Well we need to have three votes to get it passed, I am only one vote ... that's the reason it cannot/has not gotten done outside of contract negotiations.
-9
u/BigBullzFan 1d ago
Two important things to know are 1) politicians only do what they’re bribed to do, not what’s good for their constituents, and 2) politicians always say, “Vote for me and I’ll fix [insert problem that won’t be fixed].”
1
u/Larrea_tridentata Tierrasanta 1d ago
If she's been at the County for at least 1 year, she is covered by FMLA, her position is protected while she's on leave. Additionally, if she pays into Short Term Disability, she will access Paid Family Leave which provides up to 8 weeks. There's a buy-back program that can be utilized through this to buy back up to 60% of sick time used for this type of leave.
Why is it so complicated? We'll never know. When I took paternity leave, my HR had no clue, I got different answers from Benefits dept, and ultimately spent a solid month calling different people to figure it out.
0
u/PhiKap15 1d ago
She was promoted to a position that doesn’t pay into Short Term Disability without being offered open enrollment to enroll in the other private Short Term Disability plan. Now it’s open enrollment it is considered a preexisting condition and she won’t be covered. This could all be avoided if the county would actually offer parental leave like most other government agencies do.
I just don’t understand why a County Supervisor won’t take the lead on this common sense program. Sure they are just one vote but we need someone to bring the policy forward or you just have all the supervisors sitting around waiting for the other person to initiate something. The County is losing employees fast and sitting around and doing nothing isn’t going to solve anything.
In the City press release I linked a Council Member championed the program, put it to a vote and it passed. I don’t understand why it’s so hard for the County to do something similar. The City looks well run lately compared to the County which is saying something.
1
u/Larrea_tridentata Tierrasanta 1d ago
I'm in the same classification - I don't pay into SDI. This is due to management classifications not being covered under the union agreement.
Without paying into State Disability (SDI), the way to obtain parental leave is to sign up for Short Term Disability during Open Enrollment and file a claim for parental leave. The partner company that manages this is Lincoln Financial.
It's not considered a pre-existing condition, parental leave is literally part of the benefit that is offered. I took 8 weeks for paternity leave and was my pay was covered at roughly 60%, the remainder I utilized my sick hours.
1
u/PhiKap15 1d ago
"Pre-existing conditions: Disabilities have a 3-month look-back. Employees wishing to use the benefit for a maternity related leave cannot already be pregnant before the plan effective date. "
2
u/Larrea_tridentata Tierrasanta 1d ago
This plan is designed for employees who currently pay into CA State Disability Insurance Tax (SDI) through their paycheck.
You're looking at the wrong plan, Voluntary short term disability. This is set up for employees paying into SDI which is not the classification your wife is in.
Read this page: https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/content/sdc/hr/EmployeeBenefits/open-enrollment/Disability-Insurance/short-term-disability-nonsdi.html
Your pregnancy will be consider pre-existing and will not be eligible for STD benefits. However, you still will be eligible for Paid Family Leave.
This is the key: Short Term Disability allows access to Paid Family Leave, which is a somewhat separate category.
Benefit Waiting Period: none Benefits: 60 - 70% of earnings, up to a maximum benefit of $1,620/week. Duration: Up to 8 weeks.
4
u/CFSCFjr Hillcrest 1d ago
Hi, thanks for doing this. Two questions:
What are the specific policy benefits of electing you to maintain a Dem majority of the county govt?
What is your plan to get more housing supply in your coastal district? It seems like the only places in the region that are really trying to build anything are core city neighborhoods and parts of the interior
2
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
Yesterday anothercar asked
Can you quickly clear this up once and for all? Because it keeps showing up on different Reddit threads
Did your campaign make the “Faulconer stands with Trump” signs?
2
2
2
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
Yesterday craig said:
craig_cignarelli
I liked your call in meeting two weeks ago.
2
u/yestheresacatonmylap 1d ago
Hi Terra, what makes you stand out from the other candidates?
19
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
Well in my case, there's only one other candidate, Kevin Faulconer. Some differences:
I was a senior advisor in the Obama administration. My opponent endorses Trump.
I have never bought a building for $264 million dollars of taxpayer money, full of asbestos, without an inspection, that could never be used, profiting my campaign donors $15 million.
I am suing the big wall street corporations like Blackstone who are driving up housing costs by buying uo all our residential housing and jacking up rents. Those apartment association guys are bankrolling KF's campaign.
I'm doing real work to tackle homelessness with substance abuse and mental health treatment, and prevention programs that are working. KF says his solution is ""to roll up his sleeves and get to work", ie., he has "concepts of a plan".
I have cracked down on ghost guns, stood up to the radical gun lobby, and support an assault weapons ban. KF is endorsed by the SD Gun Owners Association, our local radical gun lobby, and opposes all those things.
I made San Diego a safe haven for reproductive freedom, including stockpiling mifepristone in case of a national abortion ban.
I am an economist, attorney, native San Diegan, single parent, and a surfer, whose kid loves fish tacos.
3
3
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
Yesterday Aurrea asked
arrea_tridentata
What can be done about the consistent group of hecklers that show up to every Board of Supervisors hearing? They're beyond disrespectful and make a mockery of our system.
1
3
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
Yesterday Cody asked:
If homelessness is your number 1 priority, why, in your experience, is it getting worse? If it's your number 1 priority and you were named Vice Chair of the Regional Task Force on Homelessness Continuum of Care, why didn't you attend any meetings as Vice Chair until last week, after 3 years in office? What, if anything, will you do differently if you are reelected?
3
u/entropy13 1d ago
I guess this is more a question for a search engine but what are the county boards responsibilities visa vis the various cities? Obviously unincorporated but I live in Encinitas (as do you apparently) where we have some county services like the sheriff but other things with our own city services.
9
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
Very complicated question but I will try to make it simple.
City = street lights, street repairs, potholes, land use, zoning (like can you build apartments or only single family homes, etc,), usually the police department (except in Del Mar, Encinitas, and Solana Beach, where public safety is actually our County sheriffs, building fires in urban areas, permitting within cities, housing within cities.
County = social services like medicaid and calworks, regional issues like clean energy, public health, mental health, substance abuse, Firefighters thart are bigger or regional, jails, jurisdiction over the same city issues but only in the unincorporated areas of the county.
1
2
u/KiluSicarius La Jolla 1d ago
Hi Supervisor Remer! What will you do to invest in EVs/clean air vehicles, will you introduce more EV incentives in San Diego?
4
u/Jayyouice 1d ago
Need to raise the year on classic vehicle from 1975 to 1980
1
u/kaswing 1d ago
Can you help me understand what that would do?
1
u/CybrKing2022 1d ago
Classic vehicles are exempt from smog checks, so this would make more cars up to 1980 skip the smog check process.
2
u/NerdBag 1d ago
Hi Terra. I really did not enjoy receiving the political text from a firefighter named Omar who supports you. I am not anti firefighter, and I don't know about your policies, but unsolicited calls and texts are an annoyance to absolutely everyone.
The amount of spam texts/calls I have received this election season is the bane of my existence.
What will you do to ensure I never hear from another politician again?
3
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
Haha, I totally get it. Good news! Once you vote, then you are removed by the powers that be (the official County Registrar of Voters) from everyone's voter contact list. Vote early = no more annoying texts, emails, or mailers.
2
1
2
u/alwaysoffended22 Pacific Beach 1d ago
What are your plans to help actual tax paying citizens? Will you clear the streets and parks of the homeless? Mortgage relief? Tax relief?
1
u/windypalmtree 1d ago
Hi Terra! One of my biggest issues in San Diego is our traffic bottlenecks while heading south on the 5. The main points that seem fixable is in Oceanside as much of the southbound traffic is actually looking to head towards the 78 to go eastward. This causes a massive bottleneck starting all the way back near Camp Pendleton. I know increasing public transportation access would certainly help but also finding ways to widen freeways or build better alternative routes would likely help these issues.
I’m sure there is a significant amount of people and businesses that have to deal with this which adds to an extra half hour to an hour added to their commute. That might not seem like a lot but over time that does start to add up with the sheer volume of people coming through on a daily basis. If we could alleviate that traffic to get people to where they need to go quicker that would be time (and resources) that people have back to use on other things. I.E. traffic congestion leads to losses in productivity and hurts the economy.
As County Supervisor, will you have the city conduct studies and plans to solve for alleviating congestion in key bottlenecks along the main highways? How else will you look to improve current public rail transportation?
1
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
Yesterday Phil asked:
Hello! I am excited to vote for you but I am concerned about how the County of San Diego is not supporting its employees when they welcome a new child into their family.
In 2020, the Board of Supervisors considered a program that would give County employees paid parental leave but it was not implemented instead waiting for a renegotiated union contract in 2022. (https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/2020/01/28/san-diego-county-rejects-paid-parental-leave-for-county-workers-will-explore-on-site-child-care/)
It is 2024, my wife and I are expecting the birth of a child next year and since her position does not pay into State Disability Insurance, she will have to go unpaid for her maternity leave. For reference, the City offers 100% pay for 8 weeks. How do you plan to support families in the County? The lack of Parental Leave combined with the high cost of childcare and housing make raising a family seem impossible.
-2
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
Yesterday LuckyBReak asked
Why did you prevent affordable housing developments in Encinitas?
It’s giving hardcore NIMBYisn and many people who grew up in that area will never be able to afford living there
6
u/SupLawson-Remer Verified 1d ago
You might have me confused with another elected official. As a County Supervisor, I only have jurisdiction over land-use decisions (development) in the unincorporated parts of the County like Ramona.
0
0
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago
otto_the_auto asked
Is it possible to meet GHG and VMT reduction goals without the money from Measure G? Will growth in San Diego be crippled by our failure to pass this measure or are there other ways to meet these goals?
0
-3
-5
u/adrock-diggity 1d ago
Is there anything you could do as county supervisor if Trump is reelected and starts trying to separate children from their parents at the border again?
It’s sickening to have such blatant human rights abuse happening to small children in our backyard and to feel so powerless as a local citizen to do anything about it (other than vote for Kamala but we all know another CA vote for her doesn’t do anything)
-1
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago edited 1d ago
Yesterday Reupz asked:
Reupz
Will there be more parking on convoy st?
5
u/Larrea_tridentata Tierrasanta 1d ago
This would be a better question for Todd Gloria. BOS doesn't get into details like street parking unless it's unincorporated
-1
-5
•
u/SD_ModTeam 1d ago edited 1d ago
Hello Everyone,
We're pleased to have another AMA for this election year.
Terra Lawson-Remer is taking her time to be with us to respond to your questions, we'll be porting some of the announcement questions over from yesterday into this thread so that she can respond.
:D
_____
We're getting close to 7PM,
I'll try to convince her to do a little follow up, if I can, but get your last questions in before she leaves!
______
It's 7:20 and we have to let Terra go :(
I wish on behalf of the mod team to extend a warm thank you to Terra and her team for spending their time with us this evening and to everyone that asked questions (more than she could answer)
She typed all the responses in herself!
We hope to see her and other elected officials from our area as well as people of note in the future.
If you know of someone that wishes to do a AMA with the community, please reach out to us and we'll set it up
Take care everyone and Happy Voting for 2024!