Longtime San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn, 83, dies in Escondido

What the report says

KPBS, citing City News Service, reported that former San Diego County Supervisor Bill Horn died Friday in Escondido at age 83, with friends and family around him. Horn was a former Marine and business owner who became a major figure in North County politics, representing District 5 on the county Board of Supervisors for more than two decades after first winning the seat in 1994.

District 5 covers a large northern stretch of San Diego County, described in the report as about 1,800 square miles from the coast toward Imperial County. Before joining the county board, Horn served on the Escondido Union High School District board in the early 1990s. He left the Board of Supervisors in 2018, when Jim Desmond succeeded him.

The report noted Horn’s military service, including receipt of the Purple Heart and the Bronze Star Medal with Combat V. Dustin Steiner of the Associated General Contractors of America’s San Diego chapter said Horn emphasized veterans’ services, including an annual veterans conference and a “Year of the Veteran” declaration. San Diego County Chief Administrative Officer Ebony Shelton also issued condolences, saying Horn had served both the public and the nation.

KPBS also reported on Horn’s later philanthropic work tied to the Emmaus School in Uganda, which his family said began on rural farmland and grew into an educational center with nearly 1,200 students and 75 staff. His son Geoff Horn described him as devoted to the children there and remembered him as generous, decisive and resilient.