By Miriam Raftery
Photo: Mayor Racquel Vasquez,Councilmember Liana LeBaron, and Councilmember Alysson Snow
August 15, 2024 (Lemon Grove) – Lemon Grove Mayor Racquel Vasquez will face two elected officials as challengers in her quest to win reelection in November: Councilmembers Alysson Snow and Liana LeBaron. The city, which is smaller than other East County incorporated communities, faces greater challenges in addressing issues such as homelessness, housing, and infrastructure including road repairs and storm drains that caused recent flood damage.
Here are highlights of each candidate's background and stances on key issues.
Mayor Vasquez previously served as a city planning commissioner in Lemon Grove and is also a public information officer for the city of San Diego. She says in her candidate statement that her priorities include public safety, repairing infrastructure, addressing homelessness, improving city finances, and economic development. She notes that Sheriff staffing has increased and a new firetruck ahs been added during her tenure.
In her State-of-the-City address this week, she announced that $5 million has been earmarked for infrastructure including road repairs in older neighborhoods. “This fall, our residents will be able to have new roads,” she said. Vasquez also touted support for an initiative for a one-cent sales tax increase that she says would raise $6 million.
On her watch, she says, reforms of city finances led to eliminating the deficit and increasing reserves. During her terms of office, 184 new businesses opened in the city. Vasquez was the first African-American Mayor elected in San Diego County.
Her campaign website notes that she oversaw creation of the city’s community garden, launched a gift card program to help local merchants after COVID, helped revitalize parks and open the rec center after school for students to have Internet access.
Vasquez says she’s approached homelessness by working with regional leaders to provide services for over 400 people last year, including helping some into housing, but acknowledges that more work remains.
Both Vasquez and Snow have drawn criticism from some for voicing support of a county-funded tiny homes project for the homeless on state-owned land in Lemon Grove, before any community outreach meetings with the public were held.
Councilmember Snow, a law professor at the University of San Diego School of Law, directs USD’s Housing Rights Legal Clinic and previously ran the Legal Aid Society of San Diego’s Consumer Protection Division.
According to her ballot statement, Snow’s aim is to make Lemon Grove a “place where you can buy your first home, start your business, and drive on safe roads.” Her campaign website indicates her goals include increasing affordable and low-income housing, as well as assuring financial stability, racial justice and equality for residents, as well as filling potholes and supporting public safety.
She has collaborated with state and federal agencies as well as the White House on consumer and housing issues, according to her statement. She was named Consumer Advocate of the Year by the Consumer Attorneys of San Diego. The World Justice Project also recognized her efforts to secure justice for working families through her Housing Retention Project .
The San Diego County Democratic Party has endorsed Snow in the mayoral race, though it has endorsed Vasquez in the past. The Republican Party has made no endorsements in this race.
Councilmember LeBaron, a former planning commissioner and board member on the Lemon Grove Lions Club, has been a critic of the mayor on transparency, homelessness and other issues in often contentious city council meetings. Her outspoken and at times disruptive advocacy efforts for residents have drawn criticism from some and praise from others, include a group of residents who urged her to run for mayor after she’d initially decided not to seek reelection to the Council.
She says she is running because “I believe our City needs leadership willing to listen and accurately represent the People of Lemon Grove,” both at the city and county level and beyond, according to her candidate statement.
LeBaron was once threatened with a censure motion by the city council, responding by instigating legal action to obtain public records related to claims made by the city. Councilmember Jennifer Mendoza once obtained a temporary restraining order alleging abusive conduct by LeBaron, though a judge later lifted the restraining order and dismissed some claims as a SLAP action and ordered Mendoza to pay legal fees and.
The first Latina and youngest woman elected to the Council, LeBaron calls efforts to address homeless to date “band-aid” and “ineffective,” adding that she hopes to address “root causes” of homelessness.
She also aspires to reopen the recreation and senior that closed due to budget cuts ,invest in the local economy, improve the city’s downtown and bolster street repairs.
On her campaign website, she has also pledged to support cleaning neighborhoods, welcoming properly planned development, and strengthening Lemon Grove’ s “family friendly business community.”