Emails from Terra Lawson-Remer’s office suggest a senior staffer was assigned with babysitting Lawson-Remer’s during a local Democratic Club meeting.
If you are a resident of San Diego County, your tax dollars may have gone towards babysitting Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer’s daughter so the two could attend a political event.
That’s the latest revelation from a recent series of Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests sent to various San Diego County entities, including the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors, Office of Labor Standards & Enforcement, Department of Human Resources, and the Public Defender. One in particular requested copies of any correspondence from or including the Supervisors which mentions babysitting.
That request unearthed an email from February 16, 2023, in which Evan Bridgham, a member of Lawson-Remer’s office, confirmed that the Supervisor would speak at the La Costa Glen Democratic Club. The email stated that Lawson-Remer would be accompanied by a staffer, identified as “Celsey,” who would “be with her to take care of her daughter while she talks with your club.” Lawson-Remer is CC’d on the email.
It seems to reference one Celsey Taylor, a Senior Representative in the Office of Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer. Taylor’s job description states that she “oversees the proclamation, certificate, and letters of support programs, as well as manages the BCC appointment process, and Neighborhood Reinvestment Grants” for District 3.”
Babysitting is notably absent from that description.
Perhaps it goes without saying, but the idea of using County resources for personal matters raises significant ethical and legal concerns. Public employees are paid by taxpayer dollars to perform official duties. They are not hired to serve as personal aides or nannies for elected officials. This is, of course, not a critique of Taylor, who presumably did only what she was asked. It is merely a reflection of Lawson-Remer who believes it is appropriate to use paid staff hours to complete personal favors and make her own life a bit more comfortable.
There’s an added level of irresponsibility in knowing, too, that the event in question was of a partisan nature—a Democrat Club meeting. While Lawson-Remer is within her right to speak to whichever political entity she chooses (assuming she does not misuse taxpayer dollars in the process), this is far from the first time Lawson-Remer has diverted public funds, directly or indirectly, to left-leaning organizations.
In fact, it seems to be a common theme of her tenure.
In February 2024, Lawson-Remer paid $1,500 for District 3’s registration for the San Diego Pride Parade 2024, payable to San Diego LGBT Pride. Another $1,500 was paid in 2023, plus $105 for District 3’s San Diego Pride Festival wristbands and $820 for the 2023 San Diego Pride Festival Exhibitor Registration, which also had a $150.00 deposit. That’s over $4,000 taxpayer dollars in twelve months.
Is that the best use of public money? Or is it because Lawson-Remer, who identifies as non-binary, genderqueer, and pansexual, gets backing from groups like the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, an organization which has spent over $2 million in political contributions to almost exclusively one side of the aisle? For what it’s worth, each cycle, the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund endorses hundreds of candidates. This year, that includes exactly two Republicans across the entire country, plus eight Independents. The other 99% are Democrats.
Why, then, should San Diego taxpayers from all corners of the political spectrum—including many Republicans—be forced by Lawson-Remer to bankroll LGBTQ+ groups who almost exclusively back leftists like her?
It’s the same reason Lawson-Remer believes it’s appropriate to use County staff to babysit her child knowing that you, the taxpayer, will foot the bill: she very much enjoys the perks of her position. Perhaps too much.
Someone should let her know that being a public service means she serves the public—not the other way around.
