A political play for a non-partisan office has landed freshman San Marcos City Council member Mike Sannella a position as vice chair of the North County Transit District board.
The move orchestrated by Escondido Mayor Dane White, a recent appointee to the board, was supported by San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond and Sannella. All three are Republicans. The other board members are Democrats or independent.
“It has been several years now of the chair and the vice chair roles being filled by members of the same political party, and it’s a little concerning,” said White, before making the motion nominating Sannella. “I know we are supposed to be nonpartisan, but each one of us is a politician by trade, and therefore everything we do is political by nature.”
White’s action placed Sannella in the position on a motion with just three votes in favor — White, Desmond and Sannella — and six opposed at Sannella’s first-ever meeting as an NCTD board member because of a weighted vote allowed by the district.
Outgoing board Chair Jewel Edson, a Solana Beach City Council member, said she was disappointed by the move to replace Vista City Councilmember Corinna Contreras, a Democrat, as the vice chair nominee.
“This is purely political,” Edson said, adding that “it’s inappropriate” and that White, Desmond and Sannella “should be ashamed of yourselves.”
Carlsbad City Councilmember Priya Bhat-Patel’s nomination as the board chair was not challenged. The chair leads meetings, sets policy and represents the district at events. The vice chair fills in when the chair is absent.
White’s initial motion to replace Contreras failed on a regular 3-6 vote, and then he requested the weighted vote. The weighted vote, also 3-6, was also supported by White, Desmond and Sannella, and gave the motion a 51% majority.
At NCTD, the weighted vote gives the county’s vote 25% of the total, while the cities of Solana Beach and Del Mar each get just 1%.
Some people say weighted votes make decisions more equitable at agencies such as the transit district, where the governing board is composed of elected officials who represent the district’s various member agencies. Others say it takes smaller cities out of the picture.
Desmond argued against the weighted vote in a 2023 opinion piece published in The San Diego Union-Tribune, where he said it “created a division between the city of San Diego and nearly all of the other 17 cities in the county” at the San Diego Association of Governments.
Other agencies that allow weighted votes include the San Diego Association of Governments, the Metropolitan Transit System, and the San Diego County Water Authority.
“It is clear to me that we are entering a new era at NCTD that is going to bring Congress-style, big Washington, D.C. politics to this board room, and that’s a sad day,” Contreras said.
“The most concerning thing … is the extreme polarization,” she said. “It’s something we’ve been able to steer clear of (so far) here at NCTD, but I’m hearing there is support on this board for stoking the fire of political divisiveness.”
Supporters of Contreras said she “walks the walk” in her board position, riding Breeze buses to all the meetings and frequently speaking up for hundreds of thousands of people who ride North County buses and trains every year.
The transit district, like the county Board of Supervisors and city councils, is officially nonpartisan. Still, some members take a clear partisan stance. Desmond, a former San Marcos mayor and staunch conservative, recently announced he plans to run as a Republican for Congress in 2026 against Rep. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano.
“Another voice from a different side of the aisle” is needed for balance on the transit board, Desmond said. White agreed.
Bhat-Patel said she was “disappointed” by the partisan politics. Board member Eric Joyce, an Oceanside City Council member, agreed.
“If we are taking a common sense approach here, board member Contreras has put in the time to be a leader in this position,” Joyce said. “I would like somebody that has that knowledge going into the position … not someone spending a year … learning the ins and outs of a very complex and well-run agency.”
A nominating committee of board members Kelley Hinze, an Encinitas City Council member, Desmond, and Tracy Martinez, a Del Mar Council member met in December and recommended Bhat-Patel as chair and Contreras as vice chair for calendar 2025. Hinze and Martinize both are Democrats with several years experience on the board.
The same selection process has been used for at least eight years, said outgoing Chair Edson. The transit district oversees Breeze buses, Coaster and Sprinter trains and specialized transportation systems across North County.
Joyce suggested that at a future meeting the board consider changes in the way it nominates candidates for the chair and vice chair positions.
