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Lemon Grove Mayor Alysson Snow has been chosen to lead San Diego County’s newly created Consumer Fairness and Public Protection Unit, a specialized team that will litigate against scammers and predatory businesses across the region.
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“My own family’s experience helped inform my legal path, and I really want to help make sure that working class people can make it during tough economic times,” Snow, 48, said. “I’ve been doing this a long time, it is my passion.”
The new consumer watchdog unit, which gives the county additional power to sue companies in civil court, was proposed by Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer, who said there is a countywide need for stronger consumer protections against scams, hidden fees, unsafe products and pollution.
In March, the Board of Supervisors created the unit on a bipartisan vote, with Republican Supervisor Joel Anderson joining the three Democrats. Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Republican, voted against the proposal.
Recruitment for the position was open for two months and included broad outreach to over 100 organizations, according to a county spokesperson.
Seventeen candidates applied for the role and five were interviewed. Ultimately, Snow was selected to lead the unit, which will eventually have up to 30 full-time employees.
Named Consumer Advocate of the Year by Consumer Attorneys of San Diego in 2019, Snow brings over 20 years of experience in consumer protection and affirmative litigation. Aside from her role as mayor of Lemon Grove, she was most recently a professor in practice at the University of San Diego School of Law, where she created and directed the Housing Rights Legal Clinic and pursued consumer protection and housing enforcement cases.
“If I had a magic wand and could create the perfect job for my lawyer life, this would be it,” Snow said.
The consumer protection unit will use California’s Unfair Competition Law to take legal action against bad businesses – a power that was previously granted to just the San Diego District Attorney and the Attorney General.
Lawson-Remer’s push for the unit prompted a turf war with District Attorney Summer Stephan, who said the proposal was duplicative of the work done by her office’s own consumer protection team, called the Economic Crimes and Consumer Protection division.
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The county’s new unit is funded by millions of dollars in settlements and judgments the district attorney’s division has won in court, which Stephan also disagreed with. That money is reserved in a fund, worth over $224 million, that can only be spent on consumer protection efforts, such as staffing for the district attorney’s team.
Similar units in county counsel’s offices coexist – and collaborate with – district attorney’s offices in three other counties in California. But Stephan argued the rollout of the plan would not spur collaboration between the groups, noting it “was not built bringing the real expertise to the table.”
Snow dismissed concerns about redundant efforts, noting there is “more than enough work to go around.”
The supervisors’ approval included direction that the county’s unit work with the district attorney to coordinate efforts, which Snow said is an important component of her team’s effort – and her role as their supervisor.
Whether or not the two offices can work collaboratively is still unclear. The county’s budget for this year included eight positions for the first year, including Snow’s role, and hiring is still ongoing, according to a county spokesperson.
Lawson-Remer originally proposed a 20-person team, comparable in size to the district attorney’s division. But county leaders authorized up to 30 full-time employees for the county’s unit, and Snow said she plans to build a fully-staffed office.
She said her top priorities will be targeting the Tijuana sewer crisis by going after polluters, social media platforms that target children and ghost gun manufacturers. Ultimately, her team’s efforts will be guided by the supervisors, she noted.
Reflecting on her dual roles as a city mayor and new lead county position, Snow said she was confident that she could keep the job duties balanced and separate.
Snow will report to county Counsel Damon Brown. Her annual salary will be $311,210, according to the county.
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This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 5:21 AM.