Last September, worry had surged for residents along the Tijuana River Valley. Research teams announced they had found concerning levels of toxic gas emanating from the millions of gallons of raw sewage that have, for years, spilled over from Mexico via the river. By the next day, San Diego County Supervisor Nora Vargas, South County’s top local elected official, tried to assuage concerns, downplaying researchers’ findings and how they collected their data. … Vargas’ stance on the Tijuana River Valley issue would cement a rift between her and many environmentally minded residents, but also with one of the area’s rising Democrats — Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre. … Hopes of fixing the sewage crisis have created some overlap between Aguirre’s labor base and some of the very groups that spent hundreds of thousands of dollars opposing her candidacy — the region’s business establishment.

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