A Debacle on the Chula Vista School Board

A story that began with aggressive Democratic political tactics has now ended with a weakened Democratic majority on the Chula Vista Elementary School District board. 

Last summer, one of the board trustees made an astounding decision. With two years remaining in his term, Francisco Tamayo decided to try to unseat one of his fellow board members, with whom he’d had friction. 

Tamayo successfully defeated Kate Bishop. This then gave he and other Democrats the power to appoint someone else to the seat he would have to resign — or so it seemed. Instead, they ended up having to kowtow to the district’s (at the time) lone Republican. 

As our Jim Hinch writes: “Because of a quirk in the rules governing board appointments, Tamayo and [another board member] ended up being forced to appoint a Republican to the board. What was once a stable 4-1 Democratic majority, has now become an unpredictable 3-2 majority.”

Hinch’s story is by turns hilarious and (at least for Democrats) infuriating. 

Tamayo and another Democratic board member, Lucy Ugarte, now face a possible censure vote from the San Diego County Democratic Party. 

“They’re putting their own personal vendetta over the students they were elected to serve,” one Democratic official said. “Neither Francisco or Lucy should ever be eligible for an endorsement from our party again.” 

You definitely want to give this story a full read here. 

by Jim Hinch | February 20, 2025 | Voice of San Diego

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