Five weeks after delivering her daughter, San Diego County Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer returned to deliver a balanced County budget and lead one of the most consequential Board meetings of the year — with votes on Charter accountability reforms and major voter decisions affecting the future of health, safety, and local government.

Click HERE to watch the meeting at 9:00 AM.

Lawson-Remer’s daughter was born on May 18, about one month prematurely. She is now thriving and will join her mother as Lawson-Remer returned to the dais to chair the Board’s work.

“Working moms belong in every room where big decisions are made — including the dais at County government,” said Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer. “I am proud to be back leading this Board through major votes on the budget, accountability reform, public services, and the future of our region. No parent should have to choose between doing meaningful work and caring for their child. We have to build systems that make it easier for families to thrive.”

At the meeting, the Board is expected to consider a balanced County budget that protects core services, updated Charter reforms to strengthen independent oversight and accountability, and major ballot actions that will give voters a say on the County’s future.

As Board Chair, Lawson-Remer has pushed to make San Diego County more responsive to working families through investments in childcare, early childhood development, behavioral health, public health, food assistance, and economic security.

“Every working parent knows the impossible math of caring for a baby, doing your job, paying the bills, and trying to be fully present for all of it,” Lawson-Remer said. “That is why this work matters. Childcare, healthcare, paid leave, safe communities, and family-supportive workplaces are not side issues.  They are the foundation that allows parents to work, children to thrive, and families to build stable lives.”

San Diego County is currently integrating the First 5 Commission of San Diego into the Child and Family Well-Being Department, a move intended to better connect early care, child welfare, protective services, family supports, and quality early learning programs.

The County’s early childhood work includes support for early educator training and provider development, no-cost developmental and behavioral checkups for young children, home visiting programs for expectant parents and high-risk families, and resources focused on dental care, early literacy, and kindergarten readiness.

“Making life work for working families means treating childcare and early childhood development like essential infrastructure,” Lawson-Remer said. “If we want parents in the workforce, if we want women in leadership, and if we want children to get the strongest start possible, then government has to lead by example.”