As soon as Monica Montgomery Steppe is sworn in as San Diego County’s first Black woman supervisor Tuesday, a board that had been short one member since May will begin to act on a slew of crucial policies — including contentious proposals on migrants and on behavioral health.
With her arrival, the roughly 700,000 people in District 4 will get a representative after six months without one, and the board will get a key third Democratic vote after six months with an even partisan split.
Among the issues on its plate Tuesday is an item the board will revisit after it stalled in October when only three supervisors were present — the bare minimum needed to meet quorum. Joel Anderson’s proposal would bar people with certain criminal convictions from a county program that offers immigrants facing deportation free legal defense.