SAN DIEGO — Nora Vargas is San Diego County’s first Latina Board Supervisor and this Women’s History Month she’s talking about her historic campaign and the barriers she’s breaking for the next generation of women leaders.
Nora Vargas said a lot of people told her she couldn’t have one of the most coveted roles in county government but said she didn’t listen to the naysayers and continued serving the community.
“I heard a lot of ‘you have to wait your turn, you have to build a constituency. This is a big seat, you’re not ready for it. You’re running against folks who have been here and established for many years.’ The reason why I do what I do is that I know I’m the right person for this role,” said Vargas, who represents District 1 in San Diego County.
Nora Vargas has been a San Diego County Board Supervisor since November 2020 and said being a woman in charge is something she’s now comfortable with. She was also the first Latina executive to run Planned Parenthood and the first Latina board member for the California State Teachers Retirement System. Now she’s serving the County of San Diego as its first Latina board supervisor.
“It’s not an easy job but I love it. I think as the only Latina serving on the board, I’ve been able to bring forth and address the disproportionate effects of the pandemic. Mitigating the pandemic has been my first priority along with economic recovery,” Vargas said.
Vargas was born in Tijuana, raised in San Diego and credits her family for motivating her to serve the community. She also said she recognizes the importance of being a role model for those young people who may want to follow in her footsteps.
“What I try to do is really show, especially young Latinas, women of color and our boys so that they can see that they too can be in this seat,” Vargas said.
Supervisor Vargas recently helped roll out a vaccine program that resulted in 95% of the South Bay’s elderly being vaccinated for COVID-19.
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