2020 San Diego elections
Municipal elections were held in San 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.
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5 of the 9 seats on the San Diego City Council | |||||||||||||||||||||
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| Elections in California |
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Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, although most members do identify a party preference. A two-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.
Mayor
City Attorney
City Council
Seats in San Diego City Council districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 were up for election. Incumbents Mark Kersey (District 5) and Scott 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) for mayor of San Diego, Chris Ward (District 3) for California's 78th State Assembly district, and Georgette Gómez (District 9) for California's 53rd congressional district.[1]
District 1
District 1 consists of the communities of Carmel Valley, Del Mar Mesa, Del Mar Heights, La Jolla, Pacific Highlands Ranch, Torrey Hills, Torrey Pines, and University City. No Republican candidates contested the race.[2][3]
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Joe LaCava | 10,355 | 24% | |
| Democratic | Will Moore | 7,054 | 16% | |
| Democratic | Aaron Brennan | 6,399 | 15% | |
| Democratic | Sam Nejabat | 5,884 | 14% | |
| Independent | Lijun (Lily) Zhou | 3,910 | 9% | |
| Democratic | James P. Rudolph | 3,505 | 8% | |
| Democratic | Harid "H." Puentes | 3,340 | 8% | |
| Democratic | Louis A. Rodolico | 2,484 | 6% | |
| Total votes | 42,911 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Joe LaCava | 42,105 | 61.1% | |
| Democratic | Will Moore | 26,848 | 38.9% | |
| Total votes | 68,953 | 100% | ||
District 3
District 3 consists of the communities of Balboa Park, Bankers Hill/Park West, Downtown San Diego, Golden Hill, Hillcrest, Little Italy, Mission Hills, Normal Heights, North Park, Old Town, South Park, and University Heights.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Stephen Whitburn | 14,844 | 31% | |
| Democratic | Toni Duran | 10,836 | 23% | |
| Democratic | Chris Olsen | 9,705 | 20% | |
| Republican | Michelle Nguyen | 8,340 | 17% | |
| Democratic | Adrian Kwiatkowski | 3,996 | 8% | |
| Total votes | 47,721 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Stephen Whitburn | 48,549 | 63.1% | |
| Democratic | Toni Duran | 28,393 | 36.9% | |
| Total votes | 76,942 | 100% | ||
District 5
District 5 consists of the neighborhoods of Black Mountain Ranch, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Miramar, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Encantada, Rancho Peñasquitos, Sabre Springs, San Pasqual Valley, Scripps Ranch, and Torrey Highlands.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Marni von Wilpert | 18,084 | 40% | |
| Republican | Joe Leventhal | 16,778 | 37% | |
| Democratic | Isaac Wang | 8,764 | 19% | |
| Republican | Simon Moghadam | 1,836 | 4% | |
| Total votes | 45,462 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Marni von Wilpert | |||
| Republican | Joe Leventhal | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 7
District 7 consists of the neighborhoods of Allied Gardens, Del Cerro, Grantville, Linda Vista, Mission Valley, San Carlos, Serra Mesa, and Tierrasanta.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Raul Campillo | 15,025 | 36% | |
| Republican | Noli Zosa | 12,783 | 31% | |
| Democratic | Wendy Wheatcroft | 8,526 | 20% | |
| Democratic | Monty McIntyre | 5,558 | 13% | |
| Total votes | 41,892 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Raul Campillo | |||
| Republican | Noli Zosa | |||
| Total votes | ||||
District 9
District 9 consists of the communities of Alvarado Estates, City Heights, College Area, College View Estates, El Cerrito, Kensington, Mountain View, Mount Hope, Rolando, Southcrest, and Talmadge.
| Primary election | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
| Democratic | Kelvin H. Barrios | 7,426 | 32% | |
| Democratic | Sean Elo | 4,819 | 21% | |
| Independent | Johnny Lee Dang | 3,473 | 15% | |
| Republican | Andrew Gade | 2,222 | 9% | |
| Democratic | Ross Naismith | 1,997 | 9% | |
| Democratic | Sam Bedwell | 1,986 | 8% | |
| Democratic | Alex Soto | 1,564 | 7% | |
| Total votes | 23,487 | 100% | ||
| General election | ||||
| Democratic | Sean Elo | |||
| Democratic | Kelvin H. Barrios | |||
| Total votes | ||||
Council President
At their first meeting on December 10, 2020, the newly seated City Council selected Jen Campbell to serve as the Council President on a 5-4 vote. The other four council members supported Monica Montgomery Steppe.[9]
Ballot Measures
Primary Election
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[lower-alpha 1] |
Margin of error |
For Measure C | Against Measure C | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | February 6–8, 2020 | 527 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 61% | 21% | 18% |
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | 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[lower-alpha 1] |
Margin of error |
For this proposal | Against this proposal | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | September 3–5, 2019 | 550 (LV) | ± 4.9% | 50% | 34% | 15% |
General Election
- Measure A
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[lower-alpha 1] |
Margin of error |
For Measure A | Against Measure A | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | October 1–5, 2020 | 547 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 38% | 33% | 29% |
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | August 28–31, 2020 | 517 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 36% | 32% | 32% |
- Measure B
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[lower-alpha 1] |
Margin of error |
For Measure B | Against Measure B | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | October 1–5, 2020 | 547 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 53% | 21% | 27% |
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | August 28–31, 2020 | 517 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 55% | 19% | 26% |
- Measure C
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[lower-alpha 1] |
Margin of error |
For Measure C | Against Measure C | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | October 1–5, 2020 | 547 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 39% | 14% | 47% |
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | August 28–31, 2020 | 517 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 39% | 12% | 49% |
- Measure E
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size[lower-alpha 1] |
Margin of error |
For Measure E | Against Measure E | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | October 1–5, 2020 | 547 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 37% | 25% | 38% |
| SurveyUSA/KGTV-TV/San Diego Union-Tribune | August 28–31, 2020 | 517 (LV) | ± 5.3% | 31% | 29% | 39% |
Notes
- Key:
A – all adults
RV – registered voters
LV – likely voters
V – unclear
References
- Garrick, David (December 7, 2019). "Forty candidates battling for seven open seats in San Diego next year". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved February 9, 2020.
- Bowen, Andrew (January 23, 2020). "Different Shades Of Blue In City Council District 1 Race". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- Garrick, David (November 9, 2019). "Five Democrats battling to replace Bry on San Diego council". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Election History - Council District 1" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Election History - Council District 3" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Election History - Council District 5" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Election History - Council District 7" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- "Election History - Council District 9" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved April 11, 2020.
- Bowen, Andrew (December 10, 2020). "Jen Campbell Chosen As New San Diego City Council President". KPBS Public Media. Retrieved December 11, 2020.