Jim Desmond

County supervisors and staff are shown at an April 8 board meeting. (Alejandro Tamayo / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Opinion: Focus spending on crucial needs, starting with public safety

May 20, 2025 at 6:10 a.m.

If you’ve ever wondered where your tax dollars go — brace yourself. Right now, in San Diego County, we’re holding back critical projects and services, yet we’re spending $7 million...

A San Diego Sheriff’s helicopter lands on Friars Road near where a fire had broken out on Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025 in San Diego, CA. (Meg McLaughlin / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

Opinion: County must improve wildfire prep to avoid catastrophe

January 24, 2025 at 4:00 p.m.

It only takes one spark. A downed power line, a stray ember carried by the wind or a sudden shift in the weather can turn a quiet afternoon into a...

LA JOLLA, CA - SEPTEMBER 17: Multiple methods of transportation run parallel near the Gilman Drive/La Jolla Colony Drive exit off the I-5. The two tracks on the left are heavy rails, followed by two new trolley tracks, a new bike path and the I-5 to the far right. Thursday, Sept. 17, 2020 in La Jolla, CA. (Jarrod Valliere / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

SANDAG’s voting system unfairly disadvantages small cities, stifles regional collaboration

August 25, 2023 at 1:35 a.m.

Desmond is San Diego County supervisor for District 5 and lives in Oceanside. He is a former SANDAG board member.Hasan Ikhrata, the departing CEO of the San Diego Association of...

A bag of fentanyl-laced counterfeit pills is seized by law enforcement.

The fentanyl seized in San Diego last year was enough to kill 1.4 billion people

June 27, 2022 at 7:59 p.m.

Desmond is San Diego County supervisor for District 5 and lives in Oceanside.If something has the potential to kill 1.4 billion people, we’d call it a weapon, a very big...

La Mesa is looking to the community as it considers future housing near San Diego Trolley stations in the city.

SANDAG has fooled San Diego County too many times. Enough is enough.

December 10, 2021 at 12:25 a.m.

Desmond is a San Diego County supervisor and lives in Oceanside. Bailey is mayor of Coronado. Minto is mayor of Santee. Bailey and Minto are on SANDAG’s Board of Directors.Fool...

The San Diego County Board of Supervisors meet in the County istration Center on Tuesday.

San Diego Board of Supervisors should be leery of limiting free speech

November 17, 2021 at 9:16 p.m.

Desmond represents District 5 on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors. He lives in Oceanside. As a member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, personal attacks are expected....

Jim Desmond, District 5 member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and the Vice Chair. Photographed January 28, 2020 during a Board of Supervisors meeting at the San Diego County istration Center.

It’s time San Diego County recognizes our tribal governments as equals

June 23, 2021 at 1:23 a.m.

Desmond is the San Diego County supervisor for District 5 and lives in Oceanside.On May 5, the county of San Diego took a major step towards an equitable and fair...

SAN DIEGO, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: County Supervisor Jim Desmond speaks at a rally of small business owners about coronavirus restrictions placed on businesses on San Diego County istration Center on Monday, Sept. 21, 2020 in San Diego, CA. (Paul Sisson / The San Diego Union-Tribune)

During the pandemic, we saw what we can accomplish if we put our differences away

May 13, 2021 at 1:51 a.m.

Desmond is a county supervisor who represents District 5 and lives in Oceanside.There finally seems to be light at the end of the tunnel — a tunnel that, at times,...

<p>ESCONDIDO, April 4, 2018 | A er of the Escondido City Council's of the federal lawsuit against California speaks to the city council at Escondido City Hall on Wednesday.</p>

Why San Diego should Trump lawsuit against California

December 5, 2019 at 1:23 a.m.

On Dec. 20, 2018, driving on a quiet Exeter, California, street, Gustavo Garcia suddenly slammed on the brakes. He leaned out of the window and quickly fired numerous rounds at...

Traffic was seen backed up at
6 p.m. yesterday heading east on state Route 78 near Barham Drive. The highway was clogged during rush hour 243 days last year, or just about every workday. Charlie Neuman / Union-Tribune

Why San Diego won’t be scrapping its cars

May 18, 2019 at 12:12 a.m.

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) has proposed a new plan for regional transportation that would spend sales tax dollars to add hundreds of miles of high-speed transit lines...

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