Official Statement: Court Affirms San Diego LAFCO Executive Officer’s Statutory Authority on La Jolla Petition

October 24, 2025

We are pleased with the trial court’s ruling affirming San Diego LAFCO’s Executive Officer, Keene Simonds, acted fully within his statutory authority when overruling the Registrar of Voters’ improper rejection of signatures due to minor misspellings, nonstandard abbreviations, or legibility issues.

The City’s challenge to this authority – while alleging bias and arbitrariness – was found to be without merit, stricken in its entirety, and reflects a disregard for the La Jolla community and the public resources expended on an unfounded complaint.

Today’s ruling confirms the Executive Officer’s actions empowered the petitioners and enables LAFCO staff to move forward with the La Jolla incorporation application process.

For questions please contact, Assistant Executive Officer, Priscilla Mumpower (858) 276-9414.

Official Statement: May 13, 2025

Yesterday we were made aware that the City of San Diego has decided to initiate litigation against San Diego LAFCO. While we have yet to see the lawsuit, we believe we addressed the City's concerns in our May 2nd correspondence, and at our May 5th Commission hearing. We have, and will continue to remain, open and transparent with the LAFCO Commission, the City, applicants, and the public regarding the process and status of this proposal. We remain committed to fulfilling the obligations and responsibilities outlined to San Diego LAFCO in state law, which grants LAFCO with the authority to be inclusive in enfranchising residents, rather than disenfranchising them. We look forward to continuing our efforts in reviewing this proposal, and working with all parties on next steps.

Amended Certificate of Sufficiency for Proposed Special Reorganization for Incorporation of the City of La Jolla

San Diego County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) has determined the Association's petition submittal to initiate incorporation proceedings for La Jolla is signed by more than 25% of the requisite number of registered voters. This determination draws from the review of the Registrar of Voters’ Office (ROV) and their benchmarking the Association needs 6,549 valid signatures to meet the 25% threshold. LAFCO confirms the Association has submitted 6,772 valid signatures – or 22 more than needed under statute.

For more information, click on the image above to read the full notice.