Tone Deaf: Dem Marni von Wilpert Calls for an End to Trump Tax Cuts

Republican San Diego County Supervisor Jim Desmond trounced Democrat San Diego City Council woman Marni von Wilpert and Democrat Ammar Campa-Najjar in California’s 48th Congressional Primary Election last week.

Desmond and von Wilpert will advance to the general election in November, leaving Campa-Najjar with yet another defeat.

Desmond garnered 63,860 votes, or 39.6% of the total vote. Von Wilpert got 33,973 votes or 21%, and Campa-Najjar received only 16,998 votes or 10.5% of the vote. Even if his voters cast votes for von Wilpert in November, that still only comes to 50,971 votes.

However, fresh off her victory, Marni von Wilpert was rewarded with a spot in House Democrats’ Red-to-Blue program, with House Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries personally congratulating her and declaring that she would help “lower the high cost of living and get our country back on track.”

There is just one correction needed: Marni von Wilpert’s record is the exact opposite of someone who can “lower the high cost of living and get our country back on track.”

And, Marni von Wilpert is calling specifically to undo President Donald Trump’s tax cuts. Contrast that with Jim Desmond, who acknowledged after his win that “voters across CA-48 sent a loud and clear message: they’re done with high taxes, they want a secure border, and they want to be able to afford to live here.”

Marni von Wilpert’s years on the San Diego City Council have made her a perfect fit for a Democrat Party that has spent decades making California the least affordable state in the country, as well as the state with the least opportunity in the country.

During her five-and-a-half years on the San Diego City Council, Marie von Wilpert has voted for every annual city budget, including a bloated $6 billion spending plan, even as San Diego spiraled into budget deficits exceeding $300 million, and residents watched roads, infrastructure, and city services deteriorate.

Marie von Wilpert’s solution was predictable: Tax Californians more. Under von Wilpert’s watch, San Diegans have been squeezed by a growing list of tax hikes and fee increases affecting everything from parking meters and permits to trash collection, to short-term rentals, and event fees. “From parking to sports fields to trash, San Diegans were served a long menu of rising fees in 2025,” Axios reported:

• Trash fees increased
• water rates were increased by 30%
• parking fees increased – Visitors to Balboa Park now have to pay for parking
• the city doubled the rate at parking meters to $2.50 an hour and extended the times you have to pay to park
• Valet parking increased- Hotels and restaurants now must pay more for reserved valet parking spots, from $6 to $20 a day
• Recreation field use increased by 185% – SD City Council approved a 185% fee increase for public fields and courts
• Event fees: Organizers saw on average a 20% increase to fees related to hosting events.

Her vote to increase parking fees was so outrageous that the San Diego Union-Tribune Editorial Board publicly rebuked the decision, writing that von Wilpert had made an “enormous mistake” that “should embarrass” her. The board warned the policy was reducing quality of life for residents and could ultimately cost the city money.

Von Wilpert also backed higher hotel taxes despite warning signs that San Diego’s tourism industry was already struggling to recover. Fewer visitors were booking hotel rooms while local businesses faced growing economic pressure, yet von Wilpert celebrated the additional tax revenue.

In May 2021, Marni von Wilper supported San Diego’s SDG&E franchise agreement that added millions in new costs and obligations that ultimately landed on the backs of Californians. By 2025, San Diegans were paying roughly twice the national average for electricity, with rates skyrocketing 47 percent in just four years.

And if that wasn’t enough, Marni von Wilpert recently openly advocated for undoing President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, as well as the Trump tax cuts of 2017, saying, “We need to undo the permanent tax cuts from 2017 that Donald Trump and Darrell Issa put into national law.”

Repealing the legislation would eliminate No Tax on Tips for service workers. It would eliminate tax relief for overtime workers. It would roll back an expanded Child Tax Credit. It would eliminate new savings accounts for American children funded with an initial $1,000 contribution.

Even earlier this year, von Wilpert opposed suspending Gavin Newsom’s gas tax to provide relief for Californians struggling with some of the highest gas prices in America.

Her record is unmistakable.

Marni von Wilpert has spent years voting for higher spending, higher taxes, higher fees, higher utility costs, and higher gas prices. Now, national Democrats want to send California’s Queen of higher costs to Congress.

“Out of touch Marni von Wilpert helped write the playbook for California’s affordability crisis,” NRCC Spokesman Christian Martinez said. “She voted for bloated government spending, higher taxes, higher fees, soaring utility costs, and even opposed efforts to put money back in taxpayers’ pockets. Marni von Wilpert isn’t running despite California’s affordability crisis, she’s running on the record that helped create it.”