Dianne Jacob: confronting issues head on

There would be no crying over spilled milk, no giving in to the taunts.

As a young girl, Dianne Jacob’s eyes were crossed so badly she’d constantly knock over her drink glass while she was eating. Outfitted with thick glasses, classmates teased her incessantly as “four eyes” and she became painfully shy.

They were challenging times for any kid. Which only made Jacob more determined to confront them head on.

For hours at a time, she’d wear a patch on one eye and sew cross stitches, eventually training her eyes straight. And when she got to high school, the girl who cringed at the thought of being called on in class forced herself to take a speech class.

“I made myself learn to sew, and getting up in front of people and talking scared the heck out of me. But there was something inside of me that said I had to prove to myself, ‘I can do this,’ and I did. I survived,” Jacob recently recalled. “When I get something in my head, I’m pretty headstrong.”

Today, as the chairwoman of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Jacob, 75, is taking on one of society’s biggest challenges, the scourge of Alzheimer’s, a fatal disease afflicting an estimated 60,000 people in the region. On Tuesday, the county launched the Alzheimer’s Project, a five-year initiative spearheaded by Jacob, that brings together the leading neuroscientists from four of San Diego’s prestigious research institutes in search of a cure.

The Alzheimer’s Project is ambitious — some would say audacious — in scope and arguably the most high-profile endeavor of Jacob’s six-term tenure representing the 2,000-square-mile second supervisorial district. That it’s a tough fight should come as no surprise to her fans or foes: In her 22 years in office, she has built a reputation as a straight-talking, unwavering combatant for the interests of her East County and backcountry constituents.

“I had heard that Dianne was a fighter. … Everything I have seen of her suggests she sticks to her proverbial guns, that she is fierce when attacking an issue that matters to her and to others,” said philanthropist Darlene Shiley, a member of the Alzheimer’s Project’s steering committee, along with Jacob, San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer and others.

“At (Jacob’s) State of the County address in January, when she assumed the chair, she could have played it safe; she could have picked some small, far less complicated issue to focus on. But she lead out with Alzheimer’s.”

‘Can you believe that?’

A big part of Jacob’s schedule is filled with small, far less complicated — by comparison — community events.

One day, it’s a meeting with Lakeside leaders on revitalization projects; the next day it’s off to Alpine for one of her “Coffee with Constituents” events. Lions Club speeches, Rotary Club appearances, groundbreakings, parades — Jacob logs hundreds of miles a month traveling from Julian to Santee, Ramona to La Mesa, Jamul to Lemon Grove.

“What I’ve always admired about her is she’s accessible and out in the community,” said former San Diego City Councilwoman Donna Frye. “It’s not photo-op stuff, I’m talking about legitimate going out and talking to people.”

Jacob, a Republican and third-generation San Diegan, uses these constituent forums to keep residents informed about county business, answer questions and let people air grievances. Sometimes, she’s the one complaining.

At a recent lunch meeting with the East County Chamber of Commerce in El Cajon, Jacob took on her familiar fighting-for-the-little-guy stance, which played well to this crowd.

On SDG&E: The bad news, Jacob told the business owners, is SDG&E is seeking a 7.5 percent rate hike. The worse news is “you can count on all of these (costs) to fall back on ratepayers.”

On the Metropolitan Water District: “I don’t trust them — how can you trust an agency that won’t open its books and show you where the money is going?”

On Caltrans: “I’ll tell you, they’re the most difficult to deal with in state or federal government.”

On Sacramento: “There was a pimp-free zone bill that would have kept pimps 1,000 feet from schools and we couldn’t even get it out of the public safety committee, can you believe that?”

To the casual observer, a longtime government official so clearly frustrated with government and big institutions might appear to be engaging in classic political posturing, but to her longtime allies, it’s just classic Dianne Jacob.

“She is willing to step up and speak out if she feels an idea is good, and if she thinks it’s bad, she’s not afraid to speak out either,” said Donna Tisdale, Boulevard Community Planning Group chair, who has worked with Jacob on backcountry conservation and land-use issues. Some who have been on the receiving end of Jacob’s skewer — like SDG&E, particularly for its Sunrise Powerlink project — declined to comment for this story. But others commend her for sticking to her beliefs and listening to those with whom she differs.

“We certainly haven’t agreed with how she’s always voted or where she stands on some issues, but what she has done is meet with our rank-and-file members so she understands the issues and that matters to people,” said David Lagstein, political director for the Service Employees International Union Local 221, the county’s largest employee union.

Lagstein said SEIU 221 and Jacob have found common ground of late in their support of extricating the county pension system from a Texas portfolio strategist. “Our members have really appreciated that she has stood up for the retirement security for all county employees,” Lagstein said.

Frye said Jacob doesn’t bully or play her adversaries. “There’s not a lot of games going on with Dianne,” Frye said. It’s ‘Let’s figure out a way to solve a problem; let’s work through it.’ It’s just good government.”

‘Nothing’s impossible’

Jacob developed a love for the outdoors as a young girl when she would spend hours every day riding her beloved horse, Smokey. Never mind that she had a fear of horses.

“She had all kind of confidence in her ability to handle that horse,” said Jacob’s cousin, Jill Quigly, who lives near Mission Valley.

Quigly said she and her cousin “didn’t do girlie things, we didn’t play with dolls or anything.” Instead, they’d go exploring, and Dianne, a natural athlete, would play sports, often as the only girl on the baseball, softball or basketball team.

Jacob finds an amusing parallel to her status today as the only woman on the five-member Board of Supervisors. “I’ve always played well with the boys and I think I play well with the boys now, too,” she said, chuckling.

Decades before she got into politics, Jacob and her son, Tom, now 47, operated a 90-acre working Angus cattle ranch in the Jamul area, while Jacob’s husband, Paul, was off flying as a pilot for TWA.

They raised chickens, turkeys and pigs, grew vegetables, made soap out of beef fat and pickled pig’s feet.

“I wanted to live off the land and now I know how to do it. I was an organic farmer before it became popular,” Jacob said.

A neighbor taking a bulldozer and “raping the heck out of the land,” spurred her interest in conservation; a desire to keep government from interfering in the backcountry lifestyle led her to politics.

But her approach to public service had been formed long before, from lessons she taught herself and the values instilled by her parents, Arno and Dolly Mueller.

“My dad taught me … if you have a vision, or if you have a goal that can be achieved — first of all, don’t do it alone — then nothing’s impossible. My mother taught me where there’s a will, there’s a way, so you put those two together and, well …”

When she first started talking about the Alzheimer’s Project, Jacob said she got pushback from those around her.

“People were questioning, ‘Why would you want to do this? It’s not something you’re going to be able to say at the end of the year you’ve solved, and maybe not even for years.’ Most elected officials like to show results right away,” she said. “I pushed right back and said we have to, it’s important. This is bigger than any of us.”

Quigly isn’t surprised her cousin would focus on such a monumental challenge.

“If she sets her mind to something that she wants to accomplish,” Quigly said, “she goes full-bore and just get out of the way.”