REGION — There will be a three-way race for the District 3 seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in the June primary.
Incumbent Dave Roberts, a Democrat, and republican challengers mayors Sam Abed of Escondido and Kristin Gaspar of Encinitas all filed paperwork with the county making their candidacies official.
Roberts and Abed filed Wednesday, while Gaspar submitted her documents Thursday.
All three have been hitting the fundraising trail, in addition to laying the groundwork for their campaigns.
Abed has taken Roberts to task in the past several months regarding his alleged treatment of staffers last summer. Three women filed lawsuits against Roberts claiming misuse of county funds for his campaign, creating a hostile workplace and an inappropriate relationship with a staffer.
Abed, in his press conference announcing his candidacy in June, said it boils down to a leadership problem.
Roberts, meanwhile, has repeatedly denied the allegations, saying he hired the wrong personnel.
The county, meanwhile, settled the lawsuits for $310,000, although a statement from the supervisors did not believe all the claims made against Roberts.
Abed, though, has also come under fire in the past several months as he included a link on the city’s website to his supervisor campaign, according to media reports. In addition, he developed land he owns into a parking lot, minus a stormwater treatment system, which saved thousands of dollars.
He installed a system after the California Water Quality Control Board began an investigation. Abed has denied any wrongdoing in both instances.
Roberts’ took over the District 3 seat in 2012 after completing terms as mayor, deputy mayor and city councilman in Solana Beach.
Abed was elected to the Escondido City Council in 2004 and mayor in 2010 and 2014.
Gaspar, meanwhile, was elected to the Encinitas City Council in 2010 and was the city’s first elected mayor in 2014.
The county’s third supervisorial district includes the coastal cities of Encinitas, Solana Beach and Del Mar, a large swath of North San Diego, including Torrey Highlands and Rancho Bernardo, and the city of Escondido.
