Last night, San Diego County Board of Supervisors Chairman Greg Cox delivered the State of the County Address in front of several hundred San Diegans. The event opened with the traditional invocation, Pledge of Allegiance, and National Anthem. The setting of the USS Midway made of each of these a little more special, particularly the Pledge of Allegiance as it was led by a local World War II hero.
County Supervisor Jim Desmond provided the event introduction, recognizing the elected officials in attendance and honoring local veterans and current servicemen before ceding the floor to Cox’s wife, who formally introduced the chairman.
My thanks to all who attended tonight’s State of the County 2020 Address. Our County is in strong shape with new energy and momentum to tackle the challenges facing our region. But we’re not resting and we’ll step it up even further this year! pic.twitter.com/JDaLZTjayD
— Greg Cox (@SupervisorCox) February 20, 2020
Cox began the address by ensuring those in attendance that the state of San Diego County is strong. He reiterated this theme throughout his speech, focusing on health, housing, conservation, and public safety. He noted that this year is the 10th anniversary of Live Well San Diego, which promotes healthy, safe, and thriving communities across the county. Cox explained that the four leading causes of death in San Diego—cancer, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and lung disease—are primarily caused by lack of exercise, poor diet, and smoking. In just a few years, these death causes declined from representing 57 percent of deaths in San Diego County to 50 percent. This progress may seem minimal, but it’s a crucial first step in improving long term public health.
Next, Cox explained that homelessness has been a major priority for the Board of Supervisors, an issue that has finally seen some improvement in recent years. The Housing Our Youth (HOY) initiative offers services such as housing vouchers to homeless current and former foster youth while also providing workforce training. Foster care remains a very challenging issue, especially in San Diego as only 54 percent of foster youth graduate high school, compared to 58 percent nationally. The HOY program and others like it—such as the Behavioral Health Impact Fund (BHIF) and Fostering Academic Success in Education (FASE)—have led to over 5,000 homeless individuals being assisted, including 1,377 who’ve been housed and given treatment.
Regarding the success of these programs, Supervisor Cox argued that oftentimes the best way for government to help is to equip the individuals and organizations on the front lines of the community—and then get out of the way. Endless oversight and regulations can prevent necessary progress from being made, which is a disaster on issues as serious and complex as public health, homelessness, and foster care.
It’s precisely this concern for excessive government involvement that has allowed the Republican-majority Board of Supervisors to make so much progress on the major issues facing the county while remaining fiscally responsible. The lone Democrat on the Board, Nathan Fletcher, has fought against the fiscal transparency offered by Republicans, as his priorities are more aligned with giving massive bonuses to already-overpaid bureaucrats like MTS CEO Paul Jablonski. For San Diego County to remain prosperous, Supervisor Kristin Gaspar must be re-elected as a Democrat taking the seat could very well flip the Board of Supervisors into Democratic control. If this happens, then all of the progress will be replaced by bureaucratic disarray and financial calamity.
Cox went on to express support for the recent United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which creates $300 million for projects along the U.S.-Mexico border related to environmental protection and economic cooperation. Pollution from the Tijuana River has been an ongoing problem, and these funds will allow the Board of Supervisors to continue making headway on this issue along with other environmental projects.
Cox praised the work of law enforcement and firefighters, who are the backbone of our county. He applauded police for maintaining public safety with often limited resources and touted the San Diego County Fire Authority for its work in coordination with Cal Fire in controlling and eliminating dangerous fires across San Diego.
He encouraged the next generation to become more involved in civic life, allowing young people to participate in shaping the policies of the present and future. The Board of Supervisors developed an initiative to do just that, titled Youth Engagement and Service (YES). Lastly, Supervisor Cox thanked his colleagues on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, the other elected officials around the county, and the community for making it all possible.
