By Macy Meinhardt, Voice & Viewpoint Staff Writer
The City of Lemon Grove will be voting for a mayor this upcoming election in a race shaped by voter concerns of homelessness, businesses, infrastructure, and city revenue.
Councilmembers Liana LeBaron, and Alysson Snow are both running against two-term incumbent Racquel Vasquez for the mayoral role.
In a virtual debate held on Oct. 10 by East County Magazine, the three candidates took questions on key voter concerns.
The east county city is home to over 27,000 residents and represents over 4,000 African American residents. Vasquez was the first Black woman to hold the role of mayor and has been serving in the seat since 2016.
“I’m running for reelection because I believe in the future of our city, and I want to continue the work that we started together now,” said Vasquez in opening statements.
The debate started with questions related to the growing homeless population in Lemon Grove. The official homeless count performed by the county at the beginning of this year shows that 111 unsheltered individuals live in Lemon Grove, although it was stated in the debate that the number has grown to over 200.
Snow responded by emphasizing a collaborative effort with county leaders, federal representatives, and nonprofits in order to develop homeless solutions. This strategy, Snow explains, “brings us resources that we would never be able to afford on our own,” including the designation of Lemon Grove as a pilot program site for tiny sleeping cabins, approved by the board of supervisors in August 2024.
In addition to being a Lemon Grove city councilmember since 2022, Snow has also served as a lawyer with the legal aid society, a law professor at UCSD, and sits on the Board of the Lemon Grove Chamber of Commerce.
Announcing her intent to run for Mayor in Dec. 2023, Snow has fundraised almost twenty-four thousand dollars for her campaign, according to her latest campaign filing submitted at the end of September. Notable donors for her campaign include San Diego City Councilmember Raul Campillo, Vice President of the Conrad Prebys Foundation, La Mesa City Councilmember Colin Parent, Deputy District Attorney Heather Ferbert.
Meanwhile, LeBaron has served on the city council since 2020, and since her seat is up this November, she will no longer be in city leadership if she does not win the mayoral race. LeBaron is running to be the first Latina elected as mayor. Key issues she has centered her campaign on are clean neighborhoods, properly planned development, and strengthening Lemon Grove’s family friendly business community.
“I want to give people, the people of Lemon Grove, honest and passionate representation. It’s something that they feel that they currently don’t have,” LeBaron said when asked her reason for running for mayor.
LeBaron announced her intent to run this August, a significant gap from when her opponents announced their campaign, Snow in Dec. 2023, and Vasquez in July 2023. According to her most recent FPPC filing she has raised $5,725. Majority of contributors are small business owners, retirees, military, and law enforcement, and Mossy Nissan El Cajon.
During the debate, Vasquez highlighted her track record on securing funding for infrastructure investment, commitment to public safety, and economic development for the city.
Currently the city faces a $171 million backlog in infrastructure improvements. “When I first came on board in 2016, the city was investing only $125,000 in fixing streets,” that number has now increased to $5.4 million in the past year Vasquez says due to American Recovery Act Funds coming into the city.
“The work is necessary, but we need funding to make it happen,” said Vasquez.
It remains unclear how much Vasquez has accurately raised for her campaign. The incumbent has missed the deadline on the statement that would outline her campaign contributions from July to end of Sept by over a month. In speaking with Lemon Grove’s City Clerk, they shared that Vasquez has not filed a letter stating her reasoning for being late. From January of this year to the end of June her forms state she has received $11,962.
As the election approaches, the race remains centered on leadership, funding, and business development.
