San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond spent $249,470 of his taxpayer-funded office budget on advertising between January and early September, Voice of San Diego first reported Monday, Oct. 19.
Desmond represents District 5, which includes Del Mar, Solana Beach and Rancho Santa Fe. He is termed out and running as a Republican for the 48th Congressional District seat.
The spending came from Desmond's supervisor office budget. Each supervisor's office received about $3.6 million for the 2025-2026 fiscal year, county communications director Tammy Glenn confirmed to Voice of San Diego. That money typically covers office supplies, printing and event fees.
Desmond's office directed its ad dollars to a range of platforms and vendors, according to public records reviewed by Voice of San Diego. About $62,000 went to Target River, a Salt Lake City marketing agency. The rest went directly to Google, Meta, Disney and X. Invoices were billed to Desmond or Miles Himmel, his communications director.
The ads included paid promotions of hundreds of videos on Desmond's official social media accounts and paid spots on television platforms like Hulu and HBO Max.
No other supervisor spent comparable amounts.
Only Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer used office funds for advertising during the same period, spending about $11,300 on Facebook ads. The remaining three supervisors spent nothing on advertising.
The paid promotion drove a sharp increase in Desmond's reach. YouTube videos posted to his office account in the past six months received between 140,000 and nearly 600,000 views each, Voice of San Diego reported. Videos posted before that period drew views in the hundreds. Records show his office began paying for YouTube advertising in late April.
Several of the promoted videos take positions on policy issues heading to voters this fall. One video opposing the countywide sales tax measure, Measure B, drew 352,000 views.
"Your own money was spent out to find the best way to reach deeper into your pockets," Desmond says in the video, according to Voice of San Diego.
Glenn, the county communications director, did not say whether restrictions exist on how supervisors spend their office budgets. She did not comment on Desmond's expenditures specifically.
Desmond's chief of staff, Darren Gretler, defended the spending in an emailed statement to Voice of San Diego, calling constituent outreach a top priority and citing emergency alerts and community notifications as examples of the office's communication work.
Desmond faces Marni von Wilpert, a Democrat and San Diego city councilmember, in the 48th Congressional District race on Nov. 3. The district was redrawn after California voters passed Proposition 50 last year. Rep. Darrell Issa dropped out in April and endorsed Desmond to succeed him.
