The 2000 San Diego mayoral election was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2000 to elect the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

for

San Diego San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the List of United States cities by population, eigh ...

. Incumbent mayor

Susan Golding Susan G. Golding (born August 18, 1945) is an American Republican politician from California, best known as the former two-term mayor of San Diego. She is currently president and CEO of the Child Abuse Prevention Foundation in San Diego. and for ...

was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits. Municipal elections in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

are officially non-partisan, though some candidates do receive funding and support from various political parties. The non-partisan primary was held Tuesday, March 7, 2000. County supervisor Ron Roberts and superior court judge

Dick Murphy Richard M. Murphy (born December 16, 1942) is a former American politician who served as the 33rd mayor of San Diego, California from 2000 to 2005. Early life Murphy was born 1942 in Oak Park, Illinois. He was captain of the varsity basketbal ...

received the most votes and advanced to the November general election. Murphy was elected mayor with a majority of the votes in the November runoff election.

Candidates

, superior court judge (Voter registration:

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

) *Ron Roberts, San Diego County supervisor and mayoral candidate in

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

(Voter registration:

) *Peter Q. Davis, banker (Voter registration:

) *Barbara Warden, San Diego City Council member (Voter registration:

) *George Stevens, San Diego City Council member (Voter registration: Democratic) *Byron Wear, San Diego City Council member (Voter registration:

) *Jim Bell, environmental designer (Party Preference: Democratic) *

Janice Jordan Janice Jordan (born 1964 in Ojai, California), is a Californian activist and health advocate who was a candidate for Vice President of the United States, U.S. Vice President in the 2004 United States presidential election, 2004 election as the ca ...

(Party Preference:

Peace and Freedom Party The Peace and Freedom Party (PFP) is a left-wing political party with affiliates and former members in more than a dozen American states, including California, Colorado, Florida, Hawaii, Indiana and Utah, but none now have ballot status besides C ...

) *Loch David Crane *Glen D. Adkins *Robert H. Schmitt *Jim Hart, aircraft mechanic and

perennial candidate A perennial candidate is a political candidate who frequently runs for elected office and rarely, if ever, wins. Perennial candidates' existence lies in the fact that in some countries, there are no laws that limit a number of times a person can ...

(Voter registration:

)

Campaign

With incumbent mayor

termed out and ineligible to run, the primary election attracted a crowded field of candidates. Despite Democrats in San Diego holding 39% to 36.5% lead in registered voters, all but one of the candidates considered serious contenders by the media were Republicans. Many of the candidates had ties to

Pete Wilson Peter Barton Wilson (born August 23, 1933) is an American attorney and politician who served as the 36th governor of California from 1991 to 1999. A member of the Republican Party, he also served as a United States senator from California bet ...

, the former mayor of San Diego, U.S. senator, and California governor. County supervisor Ron Roberts advanced to the November runoff with 25% of the primary vote. He was joined by Superior Court Judge Dick Murphy, who narrowly defeated banker Peter Q. Davis for second place and a place in the runoff with 15% of the vote. Due to his advantages in fund raising, endorsements, political experience and his comfortable lead in the primary election Roberts was initially considered the front runner. However, Murphy was able to pull even by campaigning as an incorruptible political independent compared to his "career politician" opponent. Sports also played a large role in the general election campaign, including controversy over a deal where the city agreed to pay the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

for unsold tickets and city participation in the financing of a new stadium for the

San Diego Padres The San Diego Padres are an American professional baseball team based in San Diego. The Padres compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1969, the club has won two NL penna ...

. Murphy ultimately defeated Roberts 52% to 48% and was elected mayor.

Primary election results

General election results

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:San Diego mayoral election, 2000 2000 United States mayoral elections

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

2000 California elections