Update February 19, 2024-- Video of this candidate forum is now posted.  View the forum here:  79th State Assembly Forum 2/3/2024 (youtube.com)

By Jessyka Heredia 

Miriam Raftery also contributed to this report

Photo, left to right:  Mayor Racquel Vasquez, Councilman Colin Parent, and County Office of Education Community Engagement Specialist LaShea Sharp-Collins.

January 31, 2024 (East County) --Three Democrats are running for the 79^th District State Assembly seat on March 5^th . Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez, La Mesa City Councilmember Colin Parent and Dr. LaShae Sharp- Collins. There are no Republicans in this race.

All three candidates will be attending a public forum being held Saturday February 3^rd, 2024 at the Lemon Grove Library at  2 p.m. The library is located at 3001 School Ln, Lemon Grove, CA 91945. 

With three strong names in the same party competing, it may be hard for voters to decipher the differences. ECM breaks down their experience, accomplishments, the goals they have outlined in their campaigned, and key endorsements.

East County Wildfire & Emergency Alerts

February 18, 2024 (San Diego) – The National Weather Service has issued a flood watch for  San Diego County’s mountains, valleys, and coasts,  as well as portions of Orange, Riverside,  San Bernadino ,Los Angeles and Oxnard counties. The watch is in effect tonight through Wednesday morning due to a Pacific storm moving into our region expected to bring up to 1.5 inches of rain locally.

A low pressure system from the north is forecast to bring widespread showers and isolated thunderstorms, with moderate to heavy rains capable of flooding in urban and low-lying areas.

“We are holding him accountable for lying, cheating, and a lack of contrition...because there cannot be different rules for different people in this country, and former presidents are no exception.” – New York Attorney General Letitia James (photo, left)

By Miriam Raftery

February 18, 2024 (New York, NY) – Donald Trump has been ordered to pay a $354.1 million penalty for fraudulently inflating his net worth and the value of his real estate holdings in order to obtain bank loans. In the New York civil trial, Judge Arthur Engoron also barred Trump from running a business in New York for two years and ordered that a monitor oversee Trump Organization’s business dealings. Two of his sons, Eric Trump and Donald Trump Jr., were each fined $4 million and prohibited from running the company for three more years.

This is not the first time that Trump has been found to have committed fraud.  His family charity and Trump University both shut down after separate courts found them to have engaged in fraud.

By Michael Howard

Photos courtesy of the candidates' campaigns, left to right: Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane and Democrats Darshana Patel and Joseph Rocha

February 17, 2024 (San Diego, CA) – Three candidates in the upcoming March 5 primaries are vying for the open California 76th Assembly seat vacated by Brian Maienschein (D), who announced he was running for the city of San Diego’s City Attorney this election cycle.

A former Republican, Maienschein switched to the Democratic party in 2019 before running against Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane in the 2022 general election for the seat, where he won by a 6% margin, 78,895 votes to Bruce-Lane’s 73,944.

Bruce-Lane will be the sole Republican in the race this year, facing two Democratic candidates, Joseph Rocha and Darshana Patel. All three candidates look to represent a mostly inland North County district with a population of around 471,000.

Dozens displaced Jan. 22 at Rolando apartment complex that has flooded in the past

By Miriam Raftery

February 16, 2024 (San Diego) – When a flood control channel next to Donna Ferguson’s townhome on Bonillo Drive in San Diego’s Rolando community,  water  surged through the ground floor, sweeping away everything in its path including furniture, appliances and clothes, also destroying the electric scooter chair that she relies on for mobility. 

By Tracy DeFore, County of San Diego Communications Office

February 12, 2024 (San Diego) -- Jobs and finances, food systems, health, and housing – data shows these areas have some of the largest equity gaps in the San Diego region.

The Office of Equity and Racial Justice (OERJ) released the County’s first Equity Indicators Report on Wednesday.

By Cassie N. Saunders, County of San Diego Communications Office

February 12, 2024 (San Diego) -- The County of San Diego has begun providing people displaced by the Jan. 22 flooding with up to 30-days of temporary lodging.

NATO forces fought in Afghanistan to protect the U.S. after the Sept. 11, 2001 terror attacks, but Trump made clear he would not defend our NATO Allies

By Miriam Raftery

Photo (cc by SA) --  The Sept. 11, 2001 attacks in New York and Washington D.C. caused NATO to invoke its collective defense article for the first time.

February 12, 2024 (San Diego) — Former president Donald Trump said Saturday that if reelected, he would not defend U.S. allies under the North Atlantic Treaty Alliance, or NATO, unless they paid at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense. He claimed to have told the leader of a major ally that if Russia were to attack that nation, “No, I would not protect you. In fact, I would encourage them to do whatever the hell they want.”

Trump’s comments during a South Carolina rally sent shockwaves around the world, drawing strong rebukes from NATO and world leaders.

Retired General Wesley Clark, former NATO Supreme Allied Commander, called the remarks “treasonous,” in a CNN interview.

Earlier, he issued this statement:  “On 9/11, when America was under attack, NATO nations all mobilized to come to our defense and fought alongside us to crush al Qaeda. They didn’t ask us for money. They didn’t put strings on it.  That is the kind of iron-clad commitment that has kept western democracies—including our own—alive for 75 years.”

General Clark added, “For Donald Trump to publicly signal to Vladimir Putin that he can take as much of Europe as he wants, and we will sit by and cheer him on, isn’t just breaking the promise the United States has made, and it isn’t just threatening Europe. It is encouraging World War III, which will hit our shores and cost American lives....The lives of every American, both in uniform and civilian, are at severe risk if Donald Trump wins this election.”

By Mike Allen

Photo, top left to lower right:  Carl DeMaio, Andrew Hayes, Kevin Juza, Jack Fernandes, Joy Frew, Christie Dougherty

February 10, 2024 (Santee) -- Politics makes strange bedfellows. This is certainly proving true in the 75th Assembly race, which has attracted a field of six candidates, evenly divided between Republicans and Democrats.  Incumbent Marie Waldron is termed out this year, making this an open seat.

In the last few weeks, television viewers have seen ads for the most recognizable and funded candidate, Republican Carl DeMaio, at his most combative, railing about the mess at the southwest border. It closes with pictures of him alongside one of Democrat Kevin Juza, who has the endorsement of the state’s Democratic party and big labor backing.

“I have no connection to (the ad) at all,” Juza said. “He’s chosen me to run against in the primary….As my grandmother always said, ‘Watch out what you wish for.’”

East County News Service

February 9, 2024 (Washington, D.C.) -- San Diego County District Attorney Summer Stephan was honored at a ceremony Wednesday with the United States Attorney General's Award for Meritorious Public Service - the top public service award granted by the U.S. Department of Justice. It is designed to recognize the most significant contributions of citizens and organizations in support of justice.

By Miriam Raftery

Image: CC via Bing

February 8, 2024 (San Diego’s East County) – AT&T has filed an application asking the California Public Utilities Commission to end AT&T’s obligation to serve as a carrier of last resort (COLR) and cease maintaining land line telephone service. A map indicates this would include the entire San Diego region. If the CPUC approves the request,  land line service could end as early as six months later.

There are no in-person hearings in San Diego County, but you can voice your opinion in a virtual hearing March 19 at 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. or post online comments here.  

"If approved by the CPUC, over 580,000 affected AT&T customers would be left with fewer options in terms of choice, quality, and affordability," warns the Rural County Representatives of California. "Alternative services, such as VoIP and wireless, have no obligation to serve a customer or to provide equivalent services to AT&T landline customers, including no obligation to provide reliable access to 911 or Lifeline program discounts."

The proposal has drawn strong opposition from rural residents in East County and elsewhere in California, as well as consumer advocates who warn that ending land lines would leave many in rural or remote locations with no reliable phone service at all, since Internet VOIP phone service is not widely available in many places and some areas also lack cell phone connectivity. Even for those with cell service, land lines have proven life-saving options when cell towers have burned down during wildfires in places such as rural Potrero.

By Miriam Raftery

February 7, 2024 (San Diego) – Joseph “Joe” Mackey, 37, went missing from an independent living facility in Encanto on January 25.  He is considered high risk and needs medical attention.

His sister, Wendy Hayes, says her brother is "the biggest sweetheart you will ever meet." She told ECM that he was stable for 10 years with a mental health condition, but recently went off medications. On January 25, she says, “he apparently walked out because he was told that his house was closing and he was going to have to move...Now we are just beside ourselves...He had been missing for two weeks before we heard about it.”

Mackey is 5 ft. 11 inches tall, weighs around 150-160 pounds and has lost weight since the photos on this flyer were taken.  He has tattoos including a Chargers emblem on his left shoulder, a clown with gun on his right shoulder, Lil Kim on his back and bones on his left forearm.  He  may  no longer have facial hair and may not be wearing his glasses. He may be wearing shorts and a T-shirt with pieces of cut or torn clothing wrapped around his waist, neck or arms.

Hayes says the family is "beside ourselves" with concern and that family members gave been out daily searching for her brother. 

By Michael Howard

February 7, 2024 (San Diego, CA) - The 2024 California March Primaries ballot are in the mailboxes of many voters, including the residents of the 48th Congressional District, where the Republican incumbent Darrell Issa is vying for his second term.

Issa has been in San Diego politics since 1998 when he ran for the U.S. Senate and lost to Matt Fong during the primaries. In 2000, he won the District 49 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives and has also served in the same capacity for districts 48 and 50 in the ensuing years.

As the incumbent for District 48, Issa votes primarily along conservative lines, achieving a minimum of 82% or higher with most conservative political organizations such as the American Conservative Union, Christian Action Network, and Heritage Action for America. Conversely, his votes received zero to only 13% ratings with liberal organizations such as Americans for Democratic Action, Freedom Democrats, and Radical Middle. 

Issa faces five candidates across the political spectrum this election, including four Democrats and a no-party-preference candidate. Three of the five are candidates he beat in the 2022 election for his current seat, the other two are first-time contenders. The top two in the March 5 primary will advance to a November runoff race.

Stephen Houlahan (D) was the closest contender in 2022, whom Issa beat in the general election by a 20% margin. Matthew Rascon (D) lost to Issa during the primaries with 9.1% of the votes along with the no-party-preference candidate Lucinda KWH Jahn with only 1.6% of the votes. Two new contenders this year are Mike Simon (D) and Whitney Shanahan (D).

Photo:  The four candidates who participated in our questionnaire; top left to lower right, Democrats Stephen Houlahan,Mike Simonand Whiney Shanahan, and decline-to-state party candidates Lucinda KWH Jahn.

East County Magazine reached out to all candidates asking them to answer questions about the economy, immigration, healthcare, democracy, the Israel-Hammas and Russia-Ukraine wars, social security, and more. Four of the six candidates submitted their answers, which we have included in this article. Phone calls and emails to Congressman Issa and Matthew Rascon were not successful in obtaining answers to these questions. 

Here are the questions and answers from the candidates: