Jim Desmond has been a faithful conservative on the County Board, but his seat is up for grabs as he terms out and runs for congress. The district is competitive, as registration has moved to the left in recent years. Kyle Krahel, former chair of the San Diego Democrats, is running for the seat and spoke with NBC 7’s Joey Safchik on Politically Speaking.

A transcript of the conversation is below.

Safchik: Don’t let this race fall off your radar. Whether you live in County Supervisor District five or not. It’s the seat long held by Jim Desmond, but it could flip blue. It’s a swing district, and winning it would give Democrats a super majority on the board. Former chair of the San Diego Democrats, Kyle Krahel wants to be that fourth blue vote and is here with us now to make his case. Welcome back.

Krahel: Hi, Joey. Thank you so much for having me.

Safchik: What makes you think you are the person to flip this seat?

Krahel: Well, I am the former chair of the county Democratic Party for all of San Diego. I’m the only Democratic candidate in this race. I’m endorsed by our Senator Adam Schiff and Congressman Mike Levin, amongst a lot of other local elected officials and leaders. I’m fighting to try to bring down the cost of living. My opponent has spent the last six months and over $2 million fighting with another Republican candidate. While I’ve been fighting to try to lower the cost of living. And that’s what I continue to try to do, and I will when I’m elected to the Board of supervisors is fighting to make housing more affordable. Our energy costs go down and fight the rising cost of our water as well.

Safchik: What do you think the County Board of Supervisors has done right enough to convince voters that Democrats should have a supermajority, not just a majority?

Krahel: Sure. Well, I think I represent the change in leadership at the county that we’ve been seeing over the last 5 or 10 years for a very long time. The San Diego County Board of Supervisors was controlled by the same five individuals, Republican individuals for 25 years. And we decided that we wanted to have a change. And we’ve slowly been making that change throughout the county. But change also requires enough votes to be able to make that enduring and permanent, so that the voters’ will is represented. And we’re not just stuck in those same old ways. And I want to join my fellow county supervisors to continue the progress we’ve made in trying to increase public safety, increase health care access, and make sure that our communities of all parts are included and protected.

Safchik: That being said, there is some discontent, especially when it comes to the cost of living here, as you’ve already alluded to. Why should people trust that a Democratic supermajority is going to change that?

Krahel: All I hear from Republicans is attacking and making the other and trying to pass voter ID needs to make it harder for us to live. My opponent is almost a 20 year career politician. And I haven’t seen the cost of living going down after she helped raise taxes in San Marcos. I want to make sure that we continue the Democratic approach, which is trying to reduce the cost of living for everyone, not just give tax cuts to the rich. And as I said, I want to increase the amount of housing that we have for regular folks, not just mansions and single family homes for the richest folks, which is what I think we’ve seen a lot of my Republican opponent and the traditional Republican style of governance in this county being versus the New Democratic style, the change in leadership that we’re seeing that I want to be part of is trying to make the county government accessible and responsive to everybody.

Safchik: Where do you think the county can improve its policy?

Krahel: Yeah, I think we need to make sure that we are using every single taxpayer dollar wisely and effectively. And I want to make sure that we’re also making the investments we need into the future for our public safety. I live in Oceanside. I pass by the detention center, the county jail, and then in Vista, and that place is falling apart. Our sheriff has talked about how it’s our number one infrastructure need. I want to make sure we invest in things like that so that folks are safe. Our officers are safe, when they’re dealing with folks in there. But also we reduce the large amount of prison deaths, unfortunate prison deaths that we have had, the tragedies. So investing public safety as well is our wildfire prevention and response. I love to see the new county firefighting helicopters. As working for Congressman Levin over the last ten years, we actually helped secure federal funds for those new county wildfire helicopters. I know what the needs are at the county. Based on my previous experience and how we can partner with our state and federal officials to be able to bring more funds into our area to support those things.

Safchik:  Last time you were here, you said that building more affordable housing, more housing in general, was your top priority. What would you propose that you haven’t seen the county do yet?

Krahel: Absolutely. So I think we need to make it more friendly for business to be done at the county. At the planning and building department.

Safchik: You mean developers?

Krahel: Yes. And I mean with the folks that are creating the housing. Absolutely. You know, I mean, obviously there’s a profit being made, but they’re not making that much, you know, not in the kind of housing that we need anyway. And that’s really what we need to be making it easier for them to build the housing we need: affordable housing in the middle income working workforce, housing, attainable housing, whatever word you want to use for it, but not just one high end spectrum now. That’s what I want the developers to be able to have a good business atmosphere to do. That also involves the county’s regulations around our zoning and our land use, the county’s general plan, making sure that those policies are updated and threatened, so that there’s certainty about where the encouraged places to grow are, that are smart, sustainable growth. And that’s in the private sector on the public side. The county government needs to step in more and use more of its resources to help with public private partnerships to build actual capital, affordable housing, for the lowest income families.

Safchik: There has been an increase in Democratic voter registration in this district, but you can by no means sleepwalk through this election, right? In fact, your opponent has a history of reaching Democratic voters. So why should people pick you besides just seeing the D next to your name?

Krahel: Absolutely. I’m born and raised in North County. I come from a small business family. We had restaurants employing tons of folks in North County, and I want to bring that small business ethos of hard work, entrepreneurship, and accountability to our local government. I see the previous Republican control, including my Republican opponent, who’s the protege of the current incumbent Republican supervisor. As continuing the same old policies that have gotten us into this mess of affordability that we’re in, and I want to try to come in and actually make sure that we’re not just kowtowing to, you know, big voter ID, scares and things like that. Voter ID is required, by the way, to be able to vote in California, in every state in this country, that was passed under George W Bush’s administration. So I’m not against making sure that only citizens can vote, of course. We all believe that. But the Republicans, including my opponent, are more focused on trying to make it harder for folks to vote, to make it easier for folks to afford to live here in San Diego County.

Safchik: What about the 90,000 ish independent voters in this district? What is your pitch to them?

Krahel: Absolutely. Well, that’s the beauty of this is that I’m not in a partisan race. I know we’ve mentioned the party labels a lot, but I don’t see myself. I was raised conservative Republican. I am now obviously a Democrat, but I see all of us as Americans, all of us as San Diego’s North County. Residents. And so I want to be a supervisor for everybody. I want to make sure that, I mean, we’re all affected by the cost of living, even those who are relatively well-off. We’re all being pinched here. So anybody, whether they’re got a red shirt or a blue shirt or they’re independent or other, I want them all to know that I’m going to fight, to try to make it easier for them to afford to live here in North County and throughout San Diego.

Safchik: I think there’s no denying the board – while on paper is nonpartisan – has become hyper-partisan. Right? Would you be willing to vote against your party where appropriate?

Krahel: Of course, especially when it comes to my district and the important issues that are very specific to my district, North County. District five specifically has a large amount of unincorporated areas. I don’t think that the county board, I haven’t seen them do anything that’s offensive to those communities yet. So I don’t think they will in the future. But if there were something that were to come forward that was bad for my residents, the residents in my district, of course, I would fight for the interests of the community that I represent. Those unincorporated communities need more access to health care facilities. They need more access to public safety, infrastructure investment. And so I want to actually bring that to the county board to help make sure that the focus it’s not that they’re focused on the wrong things right now, but I want to bring more of the focus to some of the forgotten parts of our county, those unincorporated areas, as well as some of our northern and eastern unincorporated cities who could use more attention.

Safchik: What distinguishes district five? What sets it apart from the other four districts?

Krahel: So one of the biggest things is that it’s the mix of– we have four incorporated cities Oceanside, Vista, San Marcos, Escondido, which are all of their own, kind of places. I was born and raised in Oceanside. My cousins all live in Vista. My family’s restaurant was in San Marcos, and I’ve loved Escondido for my entire life. So all these committees are really close to my heart, but also all the unincorporated communities. Half of the district is unincorporated. Fallbrook, Valley Center. All the way out to Borrego Springs even, which is beautiful. I love going out to Anza Borrego. Who doesn’t? Not this time of year. But, you know, those are such a mix of such a diverse community, both geographically, ethnically, economically. And that’s just such a great thing. We also have a ton of natural resources from the coast and our beautiful ocean and beaches, all the way out to our mountains and our deserts and our forests. So it’s a beautiful district to be in, to represent, but having a great time last year, running around and meeting voters throughout it.

Safchik: This seat has long been held by a very conservative, stalwart Republican. There might be some whiplash for folks in the district if you are elected. How would you make sure that those conservatives in D5 are still represented on the board?

Krahel: As I said, I was raised conservative Republican in a small business family. I’m still a small business person. It’s very important to me that those values that we’re traditional conservative values are advanced. Like I said, entrepreneurship, hard work, accountability. I don’t believe in some of the MAGA values. I don’t think those are conservative. 

Safchik: Like what? 

Krahel: Just trying to demonize anybody that disagrees with you, trying to make it harder for people to vote, trying to take away health care from everybody. One of the reasons I’m running is because the Republicans, the first thing they did was pass H.R. One, the ‘Big, Beautiful Bill,’ I call the big ugly bill, because it’s going to massively reduce the amount of health care access for folks in our county, in our community. And that’s just that’s just harmful. That’s just mean. I don’t believe in doing that in order to just pass tax cuts for the rich. I would love to see my opponent speak out against some of that, because the person who wins this race is going to have to deal with the budget cuts that are coming due to the Republicans giving massive tax cuts to the rich and to corporations.

Safchik: Level with me. How realistic do you think it is that you’re able to flip this seat?

Krahel: Very realistic. Our polling shows that this is a very neck and neck race. The voter registration numbers, we have more Democratic voters than Republicans. And of course, the independent vote is very upset with what’s going on in Washington, DC. And the effects it is having here locally with ice raids and tariffs on our businesses. And so I think that there’s a lot of interest in a change. I represent that change. I want to bring that to the county board. Prop 50, which was a very partisan measure back in November, actually passed by 10% in this district. So voters in this district are ready for a new voice in leadership. The old style of my previous officeholder, I think is going out of fashion. And we’re ready for a change.

Safchik: Speaking of ICE, the county voted down party lines yesterday to ban ICE from using county training facilities for firearm training. Would you have voted along with the Democrats there?

Krahel: I think I would have, because, you know, ICE is out of control. It’s coming into our communities in an unprecedented way. I want our law enforcement to have the tools and the resources they need to do their jobs and take care of their jobs and all of us. But what ICE is doing is not law enforcement in many ways is coming into communities and terrorizing them. 11 people– Chair Lawson-Remer said, have been killed. 11 Americans have been killed, shot and killed this year. The past year by ICE. That being said, I do agree with Supervisor Desmond’s comments at the board that he said that we could use more de-escalation training as a firing range is not where you necessarily work that de-escalation training. So, you know, the point is taken that we really need a lot more de-escalation training. They also just need de-escalation of not even being in some of these communities where there’s not criminals that they’re going after, they’re just terrorizing our community. So right now, it’s because of the pressure that’s going, coming from D.C. and what they’re directing towards our local communities. That’s why we need to fight back against ICE. Do it. But I want to reinforce that I want to make sure all of our law enforcement has the tools and the resources they need to do their jobs.

Safchik: Do you support the charter reform package that’s on our ballot in November, including possibly loosening the term limit restrictions?

Krahel: Great question. You know, it’s gonna be up for the voters to decide. Of course. That’s why the supervisors put it on the ballot. We’ll get to vote on it. I would say I’ve been talking about this for over a year now in this campaign. I think I’ve even talked to you about it, Joey. Right here. And that is that the county government needs some modernization, needs some bureaucratic updating. And I see a lot of the transparency measures, the ethics measures, the budgetary accountability measures in this charter reform. That’s really what we need. I was talking about it in this campaign before it was even proposed. And so I’m really glad to see that as a choice for us. The term limits, of course, is a hot button issue. I do think that there is a reasonable argument for increasing term limits to maybe three or something. We did that with the state assembly and state senate when we had no term, and then we went to strict term limits, and then you only had the corporate interest and others in Sacramento in charge, and our elected leaders were just rotating out. So we reformed those to make those better fit, so that we could have elected officials who kind of know the job and know the ropes and can get the things done that the people elected them to do. I could see that. Why the rationale for increasing the term limits here? Of course, that being said, I’m not a big fan of politicians raising their own term limits. But, you know, I think overall this package makes a lot of sense.

Safchik: You’ll be voting us on it, it sounds like.

Krahel: I don’t. I don’t want to share my personal vote, but yes, I will be voting yes on it.

Safchik: What about the countywide sales tax increase? Do you support that?

Krahel: So I really wish that we weren’t in this situation where the cost of living is going up. So much caused by the Republican policies in DC from tariffs, on down the line. But I do think that unfortunately, because of that same bill, H.R. One, these massive cuts to health care in this county, across this country, but in this county are going to massively impact our county budget because the county’s the one that provides us health care services, can get someone that has to check eligibility for food assistance for kids and those massive requirements and increases that are going to kick off to people who are working, folks who deserve it, who earned it by the state, of the state of the letter of the law. Those folks are being kicked off their health care and food assistance. And that is not okay because people are going to die. And so a sales tax increase, while not something I would like to do if we didn’t, if we have the choice is our option at this point, in order to make sure we fill that gap that’s being caused by the Republicans in DC.

Safchik: I do want to ask – many voters in this district are also being asked to weigh in on two other very competitive races, Congressional District 48 and State Senate District 40. That is a lot of pressure. What is your message to them?

Krahel: Yeah, we’re all working together. Marni von Wipert for Congress in 48, Mara Elliot, and Darshana Patel is running for reelection. We just had a big campaign office opening and asking you to come join us in Escondido. We’re open almost every single day to knocking on doors and making phone calls. And we’re a team effort there. You know, it’s really seeing everybody together to fight back against what’s happening in our country, in our communities, but in a positive way, to have a vision for the future. And so I’m excited to be working really hand in glove with those candidates to win all of our races.

Safchik: It sounds like you think the county board plays a pretty significant role in pushing back against the Trump administration.

Krahel: Pushing back because we’re being pushed on, right? I mean, I wish that we weren’t spending all this time or let alone money on having to defend ourselves against the attacks that are coming from Trump than the MAGA Republicans in DC. But that’s the world we live in right now, and we need to face up to it. And we need fighters that are going to fight against that thing that they’re doing to us in so many myriad ways.

Safchik: Is that distracting from local issues, from investing time and resources in hyper local issues?

Krahel: Unfortunately, I think it is, but it’s being forced upon us. You know, when somebody comes and attacks your community, you have to defend yourself. I wish we could be focusing on the things that I really care a lot about. Like I said, wildfire prevention. Our public safety infrastructure, our beaches and having sand on our beaches. Our infrastructure investment. So our roads aren’t clogged or potholed and our transit is accessible and useful. Those are the things I would love to be spending my time and attention on. And I think we can walk and chew gum at the same time. But when there’s emergent issues that are being caused by folks, you know, 10,000 miles away, 3000 miles away in DC, we need to be able to defend our community. So that’s our job.

Safchik: Thank you so much for being here with us. Really appreciate it.

Krahel: Thank you, Joey. Pleasure as always.