Nora E. Vargas (born 1970/1971) is an American politician who served on the

San Diego County Board of Supervisors The San Diego County Board of Supervisors is the Board of supervisors, legislative and executive branch of the Government of San Diego County, California, county government of San Diego County, California. Though officially Non-partisan democra ...

from 2021 to 2025, representing District 1. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as chair of the body from 2023 to 2025 and was the first

immigrant Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

and the first Latina to serve in the body. After being re-elected in the 2024 election with 62.5% of the vote, Vargas announced that she would not be taking the oath of office for a second term. She formally resigned from the board of supervisors on January 6, 2025.

Early life and education

Vargas was born in

Tijuana Tijuana is the most populous city of the Mexican state of Baja California, located on the northwestern Pacific Coast of Mexico. Tijuana is the municipal seat of the Tijuana Municipality, the hub of the Tijuana metropolitan area and the most popu ...

, Mexico, and grew up in southern

San Diego County, California San Diego County (), officially the County of San Diego, is a county (United States), county in the southwest corner of the U.S. state of California, north to its Mexico-United States border, border with Mexico. As of the 2020 United States Cen ...

. She graduated from Montgomery High School and attended Southwestern College before matriculating to the

University of San Francisco The University of San Francisco (USF) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit university in San Francisco, California, United States. Founded in 1855, it has nearly 9,000 students pursuing undergraduate and graduate degrees ...

, where she earned a

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Medieval Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six years ...

political science Political science is the scientific study of politics. It is a social science dealing with systems of governance and Power (social and political), power, and the analysis of political activities, political philosophy, political thought, polit ...

in 1993. She later completed graduate work in

women's studies Women's studies is an academic field that draws on Feminism, feminist and interdisciplinary methods to place women's lives and experiences at the center of study, while examining Social constructionism, social and cultural constructs of gender; ...

Claremont Graduate University The Claremont Graduate University (CGU) is a private, all-graduate research university in Claremont, California, United States. Founded in 1925, CGU is a member of the Claremont Colleges consortium which includes five undergraduate and two grad ...

. She has worked at various

non-profit organizations A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

and was vice president of community and governmental relations at

Planned Parenthood The Planned Parenthood Federation of America, Inc. (PPFA), or simply Planned Parenthood, is an American nonprofit organization

of the Pacific Southwest. Governor

Jerry Brown Edmund Gerald Brown Jr. (born April 7, 1938) is an American lawyer, author, and politician who served as the 34th and 39th governor of California from 1975 to 1983 and 2011 to 2019. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...

appointed her to the California State Teachers' Retirement System in 2015 and she served on the Southwestern College board.

San Diego County Board of Supervisors

Vargas was elected to succeed longtime District 1 Supervisor Greg Cox in

2020 The year 2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global Social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, social and Economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of even ...

, defeating

State Senator A state senator is a member of a State legislature (United States), state's senate in the bicameral legislature of 49 U.S. states, or a member of the unicameral Nebraska Legislature. History There are typically fewer state senators than there ...

Ben Hueso in the general election. The district includes Chula Vista,

Coronado Coronado may refer to: People * Coronado (surname) Coronado is a Spanish surname derived from the village of Cornado, near A Coruña, Galicia. People with the name * Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (1510–1554), Spanish explorer often referred t ...

, and National City as well as the

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

communities of Barrio Logan, San Ysidro, and Otay. She was sworn in on January 4, 2021, and selected to be vice chair of the board. Vargas was elected chair of the board on January 9, 2023, and re-elected as chair on January 9, 2024. Vargas was re-elected to another term in November 2024. On December 20, she announced that she would not be taking the oath of office for a second term in January 2025 due to "personal safety and security reasons."

Electoral history

References

External links

Official Campaign Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vargas, Nora Living people 21st-century California politicians 21st-century American women politicians California Democrats Politicians from San Diego San Diego County Board of Supervisors members Hispanic and Latino American women in politics American politicians of Mexican descent Politicians from Tijuana 1970 births People from Chula Vista, California