San Diego County CA– The North San Diego County Association of Realtors (NSDCAR), a 7,000-member real estate trade group for San Diego-area realtors, has announced its endorsement of two candidates for countywide elected offices for the June 5 election.
They include Bonnie Dumanis for San Diego County Supervisor District 4 and Ernie Dronenburg for San Diego County assessor-recorder-clerk. NSDCAR said its Local Government Relations Committee recommended the endorsements to the NSDCAR board of directors, which then ratified the recommendation.
Dumanis, a former judge and prosecutor, is one of five candidates vying to succeed termed-out Ron Roberts. Dumanis previously served four terms as San Diego County District Attorney. In 1994, she was elected Judge on the San Diego Municipal Court. In 1998, she was elected Judge on the Superior Court where she pioneered the “Domestic Violence Court” to reduce recurrences of abuse. She also created one of the first drug dourts in San Diego County, which was recognized as a national model.
In 2003, Dumanis challenged the sitting DA, winning a race no one thought she could, while making history as the first openly gay prosecutor in the country, and the first female DA in San Diego history. As DA for nearly 15 years, Dumanis built a partnership with other law enforcement agencies and community groups to help make San Diego one of the safest big cities in America. When she left office in 2017, crime was at a 47-year low.
“One of the reasons we support Dumanis is because of her understanding of the housing crisis and her commitment to seek solutions that will address the need for new housing of all types,” said Ernie Cowan, NSDCAR vice president of government affairs. “The housing ladder is currently broken, and without adequate inventory of low income, workforce, middle income and estate housing, the housing market will continue to be far below demands. We are confident that Dumanis has the broadest perspective of this issue.”
Dronenburg, a Fallbrook resident, is seeking reelection for a third term to the nonpartisan office. Dronenburg was first elected to the office in 2010 and reelected in June 2014, when he won by a 28-point spread and received 59 percent of the vote.
The election of the assessor-recorder-clerk is normally a low-profile, countywide political race that often falls under the radar for many voters. However, nearly every county resident who owns property or rents is affected by what happens at the county office. As county assessor, Dronenburg oversees assessing the value of real estate and personal property, which in San Diego includes planes and boats. Property taxes constitute the largest share of revenue for the county. His work also involves registering business names and issuing marriage licenses, birth and death certificates. The office has a $71 million budget with 405 employees and five offices in San Diego County. Dronenburg said his department has returned an average of $3.2 million of his annual budget to the County general fund. His office is forecasting a return of more than $5 million in 2018.
Dronenburg’s track record includes lowering property values, which provided tax relief to hundreds of thousands homeowners so they could remain in their homes. Soon after taking office in 2010, Dronenburg reduced property taxes on more than 310,000 properties in San Diego County. At the time, the housing market was still reeling from impact of the economic recession and many homeowners had lost value in their homes.
Dronenburg also is known for implementing technology innovations to his department to allow more online forms transactions. San Diego was the state’s first county to implement a document e-recordings system with secure electronic signatures. A document digitalization program saves the printing of more than 650,000 pieces of paper annually, Dronenburg said.
“I feel that qualifications and experience matter and I’m the only candidate with the knowledge to understand the technical nature of property taxes to protect homeowners and the certification necessary to legally hold the office,” said Dronenburg. “I’ve been successful with implementing technology innovation and bringing the private sector revolution to the public office.”
NSDCAR offers San Diego County realtors access to the Sandicor MLS services, along with educational training, advocacy and other services and resources. NSDCAR is the largest trade association in San Diego’s North County Region. Service centers are located in Vista, Carmel Valley, Carlsbad, Escondido and Fallbrook. NSDCAR was founded in 1994 when several small boards of realtors joined forces to better serve realtors and consumers in the rapidly growing areas of North San Diego County. For more information on NSDCAR, visit www.NSDCAR.com.