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5 of the 9 seats on theSan Diego City Council | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Municipal elections were held inSan Diego in 2020 for mayor, city attorney, and city council. The primary election occurred Tuesday, March 3, 2020, and the general election occurred Tuesday, November 3, 2020. Five of the nine council seats were contested. No council incumbents stood for reelection.
Municipal elections inCalifornia are officially non-partisan, although most members do identify a party preference. Atwo-round system was used for the elections, starting with primaries in March followed by runoff elections in November between the top-two candidates in each race.
Seats inSan Diego City Council districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 were up for election. IncumbentsMark Kersey (District 5) andScott Sherman (District 7) were ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits. The other three incumbent council members chose to run for higher office rather than seek reelection:Barbara Bry (District 1) formayor of San Diego,Chris Ward (District 3) forCalifornia's 78th State Assembly district, andGeorgette Gómez (District 9) forCalifornia's 53rd congressional district.[1]
District 1 consists of the communities ofCarmel Valley,Del Mar Mesa,Del Mar Heights,La Jolla,Pacific Highlands Ranch,Torrey Hills,Torrey Pines, andUniversity City. No Republican candidates contested the race.[2][3]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Joe LaCava | 10,355 | 24.1 | |
| Democratic | Will Moore | 7,054 | 16.4 | |
| Democratic | Aaron Brennan | 6,399 | 14.9 | |
| Democratic | Sam Nejabat | 5,884 | 13.7 | |
| Independent | Lijun (Lily) Zhou | 3,910 | 9.1 | |
| Democratic | James P. Rudolph | 3,505 | 8.2 | |
| Democratic | Harid "H." Puentes | 3,340 | 7.8 | |
| Democratic | Louis A. Rodolico | 2,484 | 5.8 | |
| Total votes | 42,911 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Joe LaCava | 42,613 | 61.0 | |
| Democratic | Will Moore | 27,250 | 39.0 | |
| Total votes | 69,863 | 100% | ||
District 3 consists of the communities ofBalboa Park,Bankers Hill/Park West,Downtown San Diego,Golden Hill,Hillcrest,Little Italy,Mission Hills,Normal Heights,North Park,Old Town,South Park, andUniversity Heights.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Stephen Whitburn | 14,844 | 31.1 | |
| Democratic | Toni Duran | 10,836 | 22.7 | |
| Democratic | Chris Olsen | 9,705 | 20.3 | |
| Republican | Michelle Nguyen | 8,340 | 17.5 | |
| Democratic | Adrian Kwiatkowski | 3,996 | 8.4 | |
| Total votes | 47,721 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Stephen Whitburn | 49,119 | 63.0 | |
| Democratic | Toni Duran | 28,813 | 37.0 | |
| Total votes | 77,932 | 100% | ||
District 5 consists of the neighborhoods ofBlack Mountain Ranch,Carmel Mountain Ranch,Miramar,Rancho Bernardo,Rancho Encantada,Rancho Peñasquitos,Sabre Springs,San Pasqual Valley,Scripps Ranch, andTorrey Highlands.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Marni von Wilpert | 18,084 | 39.8 | |
| Republican | Joe Leventhal | 16,778 | 36.9 | |
| Democratic | Isaac Wang | 8,764 | 19.3 | |
| Republican | Simon Moghadam | 1,836 | 4.0 | |
| Total votes | 45,462 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Marni von Wilpert | 43,630 | 53.2 | |
| Republican | Joe Leventhal | 38,308 | 46.8 | |
| Total votes | 81,938 | 100% | ||
District 7 consists of the neighborhoods ofAllied Gardens,Del Cerro,Grantville,Linda Vista,Mission Valley,San Carlos,Serra Mesa, andTierrasanta.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Raul Campillo | 15,025 | 35.9 | |
| Republican | Noli Zosa | 12,783 | 30.5 | |
| Democratic | Wendy Wheatcroft | 8,526 | 20.4 | |
| Democratic | Monty McIntyre | 5,558 | 13.3 | |
| Total votes | 41,892 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Raul Campillo | 40,310 | 55.0 | |
| Republican | Noli Zosa | 32,963 | 45.0 | |
| Total votes | 73,273 | 100% | ||
District 9 consists of the communities ofAlvarado Estates,City Heights,College Area, College View Estates,El Cerrito,Kensington,Mountain View,Mount Hope,Rolando,Southcrest, andTalmadge.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Kelvin H. Barrios | 7,426 | 31.6 | |
| Democratic | Sean Elo-Rivera | 4,819 | 20.5 | |
| Independent | Johnny Lee Dang | 3,473 | 14.8 | |
| Republican | Andrew Gade | 2,222 | 9.5 | |
| Democratic | Ross Naismith | 1,997 | 8.5 | |
| Democratic | Sam Bedwell | 1,986 | 8.5 | |
| Democratic | Alex Soto | 1,564 | 6.7 | |
| Total votes | 23,487 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Sean Elo-Rivera | 26,835 | 62.7 | |
| Democratic | Kelvin H. Barrios | 15,990 | 37.3 | |
| Total votes | 42,825 | 100% | ||
At their first meeting on December 10, 2020, the newly seated City Council selectedJen Campbell to serve as the Council President on a 5–4 vote. The other four council members supportedMonica Montgomery Steppe.[9]
Measure C in the primary was distinct from Measure C in the general election. The first of these did not pass.
Measure C
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | For Measure C | Against Measure C | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[10] | February 6–8, 2020 | 527 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 61% | 21% | 18% |
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[11] | January 16–19, 2020 | 518 (LV) | ± 5.2% | 51% | 27% | 22% |
On whether to raise taxes to pay for the expansion of the San Diego convention centre (Measure C fit this building)
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | For this proposal | Against this proposal | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[12] | September 3–5, 2019 | 550 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 50% | 34% | 15% |
Measure A
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | For Measure A | Against Measure A | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[13] | October 1–5, 2020 | 547 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 38% | 33% | 29% |
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[14] | August 28–31, 2020 | 517 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 36% | 32% | 32% |
Measure B
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | For Measure B | Against Measure B | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[15] | October 1–5, 2020 | 547 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 53% | 21% | 27% |
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[16] | August 28–31, 2020 | 517 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 55% | 19% | 26% |
Measure C
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | For Measure C | Against Measure C | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[17] | October 1–5, 2020 | 547 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 39% | 14% | 47% |
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[18] | August 28–31, 2020 | 517 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 39% | 12% | 49% |
Measure E
| Poll source | Date(s) administered | Sample size[a] | Margin of error | For Measure E | Against Measure E | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[19] | October 1–5, 2020 | 547 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 37% | 25% | 38% |
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune[20] | August 28–31, 2020 | 517 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 31% | 29% | 39% |
