SAN MARCOS — The Building Industry Association of San Diego has dumped tens of thousands of dollars into supporting the campaigns of two Vallecitos Water District board candidates ahead of the Nov. 5 election, generating speculation about conflicts of interest from other candidates.
The Vallecitos Water District oversees water services for approximately 100,000 people in San Marcos, Lake San Marcos, parts of Carlsbad, Escondido, Vista and nearby unincorporated areas. The board reviews proposed development projects and sets water rates for developers.
While elections for water boards like the five-seat Vallecitos board are generally not the target of big political money — especially compared to other city council and other government races — the Building Industry Association San Diego PAC has spent just over $41,288 on mailers supporting candidates Erik Groset and Henry “Wally” Simpson and opposing Board President Tiffany Boyd-Hodgson.
Campaign finance documents show that the BIA San Diego PAC spent $20,144 on mailers supporting Groset, who was appointed to the board in 2023 and is running for the Division 4 seat against Jennifer Kerschbaum; $18,511 on mailers supporting Simpson, who is challenging Boyd-Hodgson; and $2,644 on mailers opposing Boyd-Hodgson.
Boyd-Hodgson said developer money in water board races is not a new phenomenon but claimed it presents a clear conflict of interest for Vallecitos board members who are tasked with approving development projects.
“To me, it’s clear what is happening. There is a lot of developer money being injected into this campaign to buy these two seats,” Boyd-Hodgson said. “San Marcos is a place where a lot of development is happening, and I think developers see it as an opportunity to buy these seats.”
The Building Industry Association of San Diego County is made up of representatives from developers and utility companies, including Cox Communications, Lennar, Shea Homes, San Diego Gas & Electric, and H.G. Fenton Company — several of which have completed or ongoing projects in San Marcos.
The association’s political action committee arm takes formal positions on candidates and measures based on how they affect developers’ ability to build, according to its website.
The PAC’s representatives are not disclosed but are described as an “outstanding group of industry leaders selected to make decisions on how and when to invest the industry’s political capital to ensure a favorable business and political environment.”
Groset did not respond to a request for comment from The Coast News about the mailers. Simpson said he was not aware that the BIA PAC was buying the mailers and referred to the expenditures as “minor amounts of money.”
“With regard to the BIA expenditures, I didn’t even know they were going to do those. Apparently they support dozens of candidates in San Diego and are looking for efficient non-wasteful candidates,” Simpson said. “I have the highest level of integrity and I’m well respected publicly and professionally. I will not be bought or compromised by anyone. I will do the right thing for San Marcos and the residents.”
Boyd-Hodgson also filed a complaint against Simpson with the Fair Political Practices Commission on Oct. 29, claiming that he should have listed the BIA PAC’s independent expenditures on support mailers within his own campaign forms.
However, the FPPC declined to take enforcement action, stating in an Oct. 31 response that candidates are not required to report independent expenditures made by outside groups to support their campaign.
Simpson claimed that Boyd-Hodgson is a politician rather than a civil servant who has run a negative campaign and has a history of filing unfounded complaints.
“The question of conflict has been answered, but maybe Tiffany brings this support for me on herself, because she puts so many false claims out there regularly that these organizations take notice and spend money to support her opponents,” Simpson said.
Kerschbaum, who is running against Groset, said she was surprised by the amount of money the BIA San Diego PAC spent on the race. Both she and Boyd-Hodgson have said they are proud not to be receiving any “special interest money.”
“If they’re spending this kind of money, I’m sure they expect a return on their investment,” Kerschbaum said of the Building Industry Association San Diego PAC. “I’m proud my campaign doesn’t have any special interests involved. All of my donors are families and individuals from my community who believe in my expertise.”
Boyd-Hodgson also pointed out that Groset and Simpson have received donations from principals at real estate company Ambient Communities. The Vallecitos Water District and the City of San Marcos are currently reviewing Ambient Communities’ proposed apartment project near San Elijo Road and Elfin Forest Road.
Ambient principals have donated a combined $1,250 to Simpson and $750 to Groset.
Under the Levine Act, any elected member of an agency who receives a donation of more than $250 from a party seeking a license, permit or other entitlement from that agency may not participate in any decision-making related to the party for 12 months after the donation was made.
Meetings with developers
Concerns about conflicts of interest have also come up during recent board meetings following a meeting between Groset, board member Jim Hernandez, San Marcos City Councilmember Mike Sannella, and the developers of the Hotel Leora project in San Marcos.
Over the past two years, project developer Hotel Investment Group has repeatedly requested that the district construct a sewer pipe required for their project. According to Vallecitos staff, they have told the group many times that they build the pipe themselves if they want it done sooner or wait until Vallecitos can get to it after finishing other priority projects.
In August, Boyd-Hodgson and other board members found out that Groset and Hernandez had met with the developer in June to discuss the sewer pipe issue and that the developer had told Vallecitos staff that they had installed a sewer flow meter with the district’s permission at that time.
This meeting was not disclosed to the rest of the board until Vallecitos officials discovered that the project’s installation firm had not, in fact, received permission to install the sewer meter. The district then sent a cease-and-desist letter to the installation firm stating that they accessed the district’s system without authorization and had put infrastructure at risk.
At an Oct. 16 board meeting, Boyd-Hodgson and other board members called for more transparency about board members’ meetings with developers. Boyd-Hodgson said it raises questions when board members meet with developers who have business before the board, particularly one like Hotel Leora.
“This is not sitting well with me … Especially if they have business before the board; especially if they have tried several times to have a workaround and a special exception done for them, to then go to the politicians and lean on them, it doesn’t sit well with me,” Boyd-Hodgson said.
Groset and Hernandez said they had no knowledge of the sewer break or unauthorized access when they met with the Hotel Leora developer and did not believe meeting with developers, in general, was an issue.
Groset also suggested that he had been unfairly “attacked” for participating in the meeting, seemingly referring to Boyd-Hodgson.
“Unfortunately some of our reputations were attacked for it. I hope that isn’t the case in the future,” Groset said.
