When Dianne Jacob arrived on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in 1993, she received a less than warm welcome from the incumbent supervisors and entrenched county bureaucrats.
A Jamul resident and former Spring Valley elementary teacher, Jacob had jousted with the county for more than a decade, objecting to a few development projects in East County. She also campaigned as someone who would challenge the status quo and bring more accountability and community focus to county government.
She laid out two initiatives during her first address at a board meeting: one, to bring a citizen-based budget approach to a county that was on the verge of financial ruin and, two, to shutter the El Cajon jail nicknamed the “Styrofoam palace” and instead reopen the East Mesa jail, which was sitting vacant while costing the county about $2 million a year.