San Diego’s Silent Seat: Why It Matters Who Sits on Rules & Appropriations
by Lora Sicalo
The Rules & Appropriations Committee is where California’s legislative power and budget priorities collide, the place where decisions are made about who leads, what moves forward, and how state money gets spent. But here’s the twist: not a single senator from San Diego sits on it.
The current members; Megan Dahle, Jesse Arreguin, Shannon Grove, Anna Caballero, John Laird, Susan Rubio, Benjamin Allen, Sasha Renee Perez, and Eloise Gomez Reyes, represent a wide political and geographic range of California. The Bay Area, Central Valley, Los Angeles, and even Northern California all have voices at the table. San Diego, however, does not.
That absence is striking. San Diego is California’s second-largest city and one of its most powerful economic engines, home to major universities, naval bases, biotech firms, and international trade hubs. It contributes billions to the state’s GDP each year, yet has no say in the committee that decides where those dollars flow.
When the Rules & Appropriations Committee debates what bills get funded, from housing and infrastructure to education and public safety, San Diego’s perspective isn’t directly represented. Projects that could reshape the border region, improve coastal resiliency, or modernize transportation often depend on these budget decisions. Without a local voice in the room, priorities for Southern California’s southernmost corner risk being lost in translation.
It’s not about partisanship; it’s about presence. The city that helps fund California’s growth should have a role in guiding it.
For a region that prides itself on innovation, global leadership, and economic strength, San Diego deserves more than a silent seat in the state’s most influential committee.
