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Municipal elections were held in San Diego in 2024 for mayor, city attorney, and city council. The primary election occurred Tuesday, March 5, 2024, and the general election occurred Tuesday, November 5, 2024.

Quick Facts 5 of the 9 seats on the San Diego City Council, Majority party ...
2024 San Diego City Council election

 2022 November 5, 2024 (2024-11-05) 2026 

5 of the 9 seats on the San Diego City Council
  Majority party
 
Party Democratic
Seats before 9
Seats after 9
Seat change Steady

Council President before election

Sean Elo-Rivera
Democratic

Elected Council President

Joe LaCava
Democratic

Close

Five of the nine city council seats were up for election, with all five incumbents winning re-election. A special election was also held at the time of the primary to fill the District 4 seat vacated by Monica Montgomery Steppe, who had resigned following her election to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in 2023.[1][2]

Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, although most members do identify a party preference. A two-round system is used for the elections, starting with primaries in March followed by runoff elections in November between the top-two candidates in each race.

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Mayor

Incumbent Todd Gloria, a Democrat, and Larry Turner, an independent, defeated three other candidates and advanced from the primary on March 5, 2024. Gloria went on to defeat Turner in the general election.

More information Primary election, Party ...
2024 San Diego mayoral election[1][3]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Todd Gloria (incumbent) 132,055 50.0
Independent Larry Turner 60,931 23.1
Democratic Geneviéve Jones-Wright 42,196 16.0
Republican Jane Glasson 18,990 7.2
Democratic Dan Smiechowski 9,973 3.8
Total votes 264,145 100.0
General election
Democratic Todd Gloria 301,923 55.4
Independent Larry Turner 243,467 44.6
Total votes 545,390 100.0
Democratic hold
Close
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City Attorney

Incumbent city attorney Mara Elliott was ineligible for re-election due to term limits. Chief Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert and California state assemblymember Brian Maienschein advanced from the March primary with 53.2% and 46.8% of the vote, respectively. Ferbert went on to defeat Maeinschein in the general election.[4]

More information Primary election, Party ...
2024 San Diego city attorney election[1][3]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Heather Ferbert 122,894 53.2
Democratic Brian Maienschein 108,264 46.8
Total votes 231,158 100.0
General election
Democratic Heather Ferbert 280,368 56.8
Democratic Brian Maienschein 213,211 43.2
Total votes 493,579 100.0
Democratic hold
Close
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City Council

Background

Seats in San Diego City Council districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 were up for election. Incumbents Joe LaCava, Stephen Whitburn, Marni von Wilpert, Raul Campillo, and Sean Elo-Rivera ran for re-election. LaCava, von Wilpert and Campillo won re-election unopposed in the March primary,[5] while Whitburn and Elo-Rivera defeated fellow Democratic challengers in the November general election.[6]

Top election issues included homelessness,[5][7][8] infrastructure deficits,[9] and housing affordability,[10] part of a broader housing crisis statewide.

Results

District 1

District 1 consists of the communities of Carmel Valley, Del Mar Heights, Del Mar Mesa, Pacific Highlands Ranch, La Jolla, Torrey Hills, Torrey Pines, University City, and the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) campus.

Incumbent Joe LaCava ran unopposed for re-election and won the election outright in the primary on March 5, 2024.[11]

More information Primary election, Party ...
2024 San Diego City Council District 1 election[1]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Joe LaCava (incumbent) 24,283 100.0
Total votes 24,283 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

District 3

District 3 consists of the communities of Balboa Park, Bankers Hill/Park West, Downtown, Golden Hill, Hillcrest, Little Italy, Middleton, Mission Hills, North Park, South Park, and University Heights.[5]

Incumbent Stephen Whitburn and Coleen Cusack, both Democrats, defeated two other candidates and advanced from the primary on March 5, 2024.[12] Whitburn went on to defeat Cusack in the general election.[13][6]

Candidates
Qualified
  • Stephen Whitburn, San Diego City Councilmember from District 3 (2020–present)
  • Coleen Cusack, public interest attorney and community activist[14]
  • Kate Callen, writer and community activist
  • Ellis T. California Jones III, home energy inspector and ex-felon[15]
Endorsements
Stephen Whitburn

Organizations

U.S. Representatives

Local politicians

  • Nora Vargas, member of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors (2021–present)
  • Todd Gloria, 37th mayor of San Diego (2020-Present), former State Assemblymember from the 78th District (2016-2020), former San Diego City Councilmember from District 3 (2008-2016)[8]
  • Joe LaCava, San Diego City Councilmember from the District 1 (2020-present)
  • Jennifer Campbell, San Diego City Councilmember from District 2 (2018-present), former President of the San Diego City Council (2020-2021)
  • Marni von Wilpert, San Diego City Councilmember from District 5 (2020–present)
  • Raul Campillo, San Diego City Councilmember from District 7 (2020–present)
Coleen Cusack

Organizations

  • California Democratic Renters Council[8]
  • Run Women Run[8]
  • San Diego Education Association[8]

Newspapers

Local politicians

Ellis T. California Jones III

Organizations

Individuals

More information Primary election, Party ...
2024 San Diego City Council District 3 election[1][3]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Stephen Whitburn (incumbent) 17,033 52.4
Democratic Coleen Cusack 6,811 20.9
Democratic Kate Callen 5,417 16.7
Republican Ellis T. California Jones III 3,254 10.0
Total votes 32,515 100.0
General election
Democratic Stephen Whitburn 37,374 58.1
Democratic Coleen Cusack 26,923 41.9
Total votes 64,297 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

District 4 Special

District 4 consists of the communities of Alta Vista, Broadway Heights, Chollas View, Emerald Hills, Encanto, Greater Skyline Hills, Jamacha, Lincoln Park, Lomita Village, Mountain View, North Bay Terrace, Oak Park, O'Farrell, Paradise Hills, Ridgeview, South Bay Terrace, Valencia Park, and Webster.

Monica Montgomery Steppe, who had represented district 4 since 2018, won election to the San Diego County Board of Supervisors in a special election on November 7, 2023.[2] She resigned from her seat on the city council on December 5, 2023. During the vacancy, her Chief of Staff, Henry Foster III, acted as the de facto manager of the District 4 office.

Foster won the special election on March 5, 2024, to serve the remainder of the term until 2026. His election resulted in the restoration of a 9-0 Democratic supermajority on the city council.[20]

Candidates
Qualified
  • Henry Foster III, Chief of Staff to former city councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe
  • Tylisa Suseberry, executive assistant in the office of State Senator Toni Atkins
  • Chida Warren-Darby, Boards and Commissions Director for Mayor Todd Gloria
Endorsements
Henry Foster III

Organizations

Local politicians

Chida Warren-Darby

Organizations

U.S. Representatives

Local politicians

  • Todd Gloria, 37th mayor of San Diego (2020-Present), former State Assemblymember from the 78th District (2016-2020), former San Diego City Councilmember from District 3 (2008-2016)[21]
More information Primary election, Party ...
2024 San Diego City Council District 4 election[1]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Henry Foster III 8,840 53.83
Democratic Chida Warren-Darby 4,481 27.29
Democratic Tylisa D. Suseberry 3,100 18.88
Total votes 16,421 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

District 5

District 5 consists of the communities of Black Mountain Ranch, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Miramar, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Encantada, Rancho Peñasquitos, Sabre Springs, San Pasqual Valley, Scripps Ranch, and Torrey Highlands.

Incumbent Marni von Wilpert ran unopposed for re-election and won the election outright in the primary on March 5, 2024.

More information Primary election, Party ...
2024 San Diego City Council District 5 election[1]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Marni von Wilpert (incumbent) 28,231 100.0
Total votes 28,231 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

District 7

District 7 consists of the communities of Allied Gardens, Del Cerro, Grantville, Linda Vista, Mission Valley, San Carlos, Serra Mesa, and Tierrasanta.

Incumbent Raul Campillo ran unopposed for re-election and won the election outright in the primary on March 5, 2024.

More information Primary election, Party ...
2024 San Diego City Council District 5 election[1]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Raul Campillo (incumbent) 23,196 100.0
Total votes 23,196 100.0
Democratic hold
Close

District 9

District 9 consists of the communities of Kensington, Normal Heights, and East San Diego, as well as the main campus of San Diego State University.

Incumbent Sean Elo-Rivera and Terry Hoskins, both Democrats, advanced from the primary on March 5, 2024, to the general election. Elo-Rivera went on to defeat Hoskins in the general election.[6]

Candidates
Qualified
  • Sean Elo-Rivera, San Diego City Council president (2021–present), San Diego City Councilmember from District 9 (2020–present)
  • Terry Hoskins
  • Fernando Garcia
Endorsements
Sean Elo-Rivera

Organizations

U.S. Representatives

Local politicians

Terry Hoskins

Organizations

  • San Diego Police Officers Association[5]

Local politicians

  • Myrtle Cole, former San Diego City Councilmember from District 4 (2008-2016)[5]
  • Marti Emerald, former San Diego City Councilmember from District 7 (2008-2012) and District 9 (2012-2016)[5]
More information Primary election, Party ...
2024 San Diego City Council District 9 election[1][3]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sean Elo-Rivera (incumbent) 10,042 51.9
Democratic Terry Hoskins 5,816 30.1
Independent Fernando Garcia 3,491 18.0
Total votes 19,349 100.0
General election
Democratic Sean Elo-Rivera 26,765 60.9
Democratic Terry Hoskins 17,213 39.1
Total votes 43,978 100.00
Democratic hold
Close

Council president

The city council will select a council president on December 10, 2024, following the swearing in of the elected city council members. The incumbent council president is Sean Elo-Rivera of District 9, who has served since 2021. After the election, Elo-Rivera announced that he would not seek another term as council president.[24][25] He was succeeded by president pro tempore Joe LaCava, who was elected in a 9–0 vote on December 10, 2024.[26]

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References

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