San Diego City Council Election, 2014
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Municipal elections were held in San Diego in 2014 for city council and propositions. The primary election was held on June 3, 2014, and the general election was held on November 4, 2014. Four of the nine seats of the
San Diego City Council The San Diego City Council is the legislative branch of government for the City of San Diego. The city council was first established in San Diego in 1850. The council is part of a strong mayor system with a separately elected mayor who acts as th ...
were contested. Two city council incumbents ran for re-election in their same district and one ran for election in a new district due to redistricting. Municipal elections in
California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...
are officially non-partisan, although most members do identify a party preference. A
two-round system The two-round system (TRS or 2RS), sometimes called ballotage, top-two runoff, or two-round plurality, is a single-winner electoral system which aims to elect a member who has support of the majority of voters. The two-round system involves one ...
was used for the election, starting with a primary in June followed by a runoff in November between the top-two candidates if no candidate received a majority of the votes in the first round.


City Council

The 2014 election was the second to use the new districts created by the 2010 Redistricting Commission. It was the first time that even-numbered districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 were up for election using the new boundaries. Incumbents
Myrtle Cole Myrtle Cole is an American politician who served as a member of the San Diego City Council from 2013 to 2018, representing District 4. A member of the Democratic Party, Cole was the first African American woman elected to the city council and se ...
(District 4) and David Alvarez (District 8) won re-election by getting more than 50% in the June primary. Lorie Zapf (District 2) was also re-elected in the June primary, but in a different district then the one she previously represented due to redistricting. Chris Cate and Carol Kim were the top two vote-getters in the primary for the open seat in District 6. Cate was elected with a majority of the vote in the November 2014 general election. The primary victories by Cole and Alvarez ensured that self-identified Democrats would continue to control at least a five-seat majority on the City Council. However, the District 6 general election race left open the question of whether or not they would also continue to control a six-seat two-thirds
supermajority A supermajority is a requirement for a proposal to gain a specified level of support which is greater than the threshold of one-half used for a simple majority. Supermajority rules in a democracy can help to prevent a majority from eroding fun ...
of the city council, allowing them to overrule a mayoral veto by Republican Mayor
Kevin Faulconer Kevin Lee Faulconer (born January 24, 1967) is an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of San Diego, from 2014 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Faulconer served as the member of the San Diego City Council for the 2nd dist ...
on issues that split along party lines. Cate ultimately won the District 6 runoff, denying the self-identified democrats a supermajority.


District 2

On March 3, 2014,
Kevin Faulconer Kevin Lee Faulconer (born January 24, 1967) is an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of San Diego, from 2014 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Faulconer served as the member of the San Diego City Council for the 2nd dist ...
resigned from the City Council to assume the office of
mayor of San Diego The mayor of the City of San Diego is the official head and chief executive officer of the U.S. city of San Diego, California. The mayor has the duty to enforce and execute the laws enacted by the San Diego City Council, the legislative branch. ...
, having won the
special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections. A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
to replace
Bob Filner Robert Earl Filner (September 4, 1942 – April 20, 2025) was an American politician who was the 35th mayor of San Diego from December 2012 through August 2013, when he resigned amid multiple allegations of sexual harassment. He later pleaded g ...
. This created a vacancy in District 2. Because the vacancy occurred with less than a year left in Faulconer's term, the vacancy was filled by a City Council appointment per the City Charter. On April 7, 2014, the
San Diego City Council The San Diego City Council is the legislative branch of government for the City of San Diego. The city council was first established in San Diego in 1850. The council is part of a strong mayor system with a separately elected mayor who acts as th ...
voted 5–3 on a second ballot to appoint
Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in '' Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Awa ...
, head of the city's lifeguard's union, to serve the balance of Faulconer's term. Per the City Charter, Harris was ineligible to run for reelection in 2014. District 2 consisted of the communities of Bay Ho/ Bay Park/
Morena Morena or MORENA may refer to: Places * Morena, Madhya Pradesh, a town in central India * Morena (Lok Sabha constituency), Madhya Pradesh * Morena (Vidhan Sabha constituency), Madhya Pradesh * Morena, San Diego, California, a neighborhood * Mo ...
, Midway/ North Bay, Mission Beach, Ocean Beach, Pacific Beach, and
Point Loma Point Loma ( Spanish: ''Punta de la Loma'', meaning "Hill Point"; Kumeyaay: ''Amat Kunyily'', meaning "Black Earth") is a seaside community in San Diego, California, United States. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the ...
. Incumbent council member
Ed Harris Edward Allen Harris (born November 28, 1950) is an American actor and filmmaker. His performances in '' Apollo 13'' (1995), '' The Truman Show'' (1998), '' Pollock'' (2000), and '' The Hours'' (2002) earned him critical acclaim and Academy Awa ...
, who had been appointed to finish the balance of
Kevin Faulconer Kevin Lee Faulconer (born January 24, 1967) is an American politician who served as the 36th mayor of San Diego, from 2014 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Faulconer served as the member of the San Diego City Council for the 2nd dist ...
's term, was ineligible to run for reelection. Lorie Zapf, who had been serving as the council member representing District 6, was forced to run in District 2 due to a 2010 redistricting. Zapf was elected with a majority of the votes in the June primary.


District 4

District 4 consisted of the communities of
Alta Vista AltaVista was a web search engine established in 1995. It became one of the most-used early search engines, but lost ground to Google and was purchased by Yahoo! in 2003, which retained the brand, but based all AltaVista searches on its own sear ...
, Broadway Heights,
Chollas View Chollas View is an urban community in the southeastern section of San Diego, California. It is bordered by Webster and California State Route 94 on the north, Mount Hope and Interstate 805 on the west, Emerald Hills and Euclid Avenue on t ...
, Emerald Hills,
Encanto ''Encanto'' is a 2021 American animated Musical film, musical fantasy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and released by Walt Disney Pictures. It was directed by Jared Bush and Byron Howard, co-directed by Charise Castro Smith, and ...
, Greater Skyline Hills, Jamacha,
Lincoln Park Lincoln Park is a park along Lake Michigan on the North Side of Chicago, Illinois. Named after US president Abraham Lincoln, it is the city's largest public park and stretches for from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, to near Ardmore Avenu ...
, Lomita Village, North Bay Terrace, Oak Park, O'Farrell, Paradise Hills, Redwood Village, Rolando Park, South Bay Terrace,
Valencia Park Valencia Park is an urban community in the southeastern section of San Diego, California, United States. It is bordered by Emerald Hills and Market Street on the north, Lincoln Park and Euclid Avenue to the West, Encanto to the east, and Alta V ...
, and Webster. Incumbent council member
Myrtle Cole Myrtle Cole is an American politician who served as a member of the San Diego City Council from 2013 to 2018, representing District 4. A member of the Democratic Party, Cole was the first African American woman elected to the city council and se ...
was reelected with a majority of the vote in June primary.


District 6

District 6 consisted of the communities of Clairemont Mesa,
Kearny Mesa Kearny Mesa is a community in the central part of San Diego, California. It is bounded by State Route 52 to the north, Interstate 805 to the west, Aero Drive to the south, and Interstate 15 to the east. Adjacent communities include Serra Mesa, ...
, Mira Mesa,
Mission Valley Mission Valley is a wide river valley trending east–west in San Diego, California, United States, through which the San Diego River flows to the Pacific Ocean. For planning purposes the City of San Diego divides it into two neighborhoods: Mi ...
, North Clairemont, and
Rancho Peñasquitos Rancho or Ranchos may refer to: Settlements and communities *Rancho, Aruba, former fishing village and neighbourhood of Oranjestad *Ranchos of California, 19th century land grants in Alta California ** List of California Ranchos * Ranchos, Buenos ...
. Incumbent council member Lorie Zapf shifted from District 6 to District 2 due to the 2010 redistricting.
Chris Cate Chris Cate is an American elected official in San Diego, California. He served as a member of the San Diego City Council representing City Council District 6 from 2014 to 2022. He is a Republican; although city council positions are officially ...
and Carol Kim received the most votes in the June primary. Since no candidate won a majority, a runoff was held in November to determine the winner. Cate won a majority in the runoff and was elected to the City Council.


District 8

District 8 consisted of the southern communities of San Diego and those along the
Mexico–United States border The international border separating Mexico and the United States extends from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traverses a variety of terrains, ranging from urban areas to deserts. It is the List of ...
, including the communities of Barrio Logan,
Egger Highlands Egger Highlands is a residential neighborhood in the southern section of downtown San Diego, California. It neighbors Palm City and Nestor to the east, San Diego Bay to the north, Imperial Beach to the southwest and Chula Vista to the northea ...
,
Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American professional basketball executive and former player who is a co-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a part-owner of Orlando City SC of Major League ...
, Logan Heights, Memorial, Nestor, Ocean View Hills,
Otay Mesa West Otay Mesa West is a residential neighborhood in the southern section of San Diego, California. It borders Interstate 805 to the east, Interstate 5 to the west, and California State Route 905 to the south. It neighbors Ocean View Hills to the e ...
, Otay Mesa East, San Ysidro, Sherman Heights, Stockton, and Tijuana River Valley. Incumbent council member David Alvarez was elected after receiving a majority of the votes in the June primary.


Council President

On December 10, 2014, the new council was sworn in. For their first action, the council voted 4–5 on a motion of whether to reappoint
Todd Gloria Todd Rex Gloria (born May 10, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 37th mayor of San Diego since 2020. As mayor, he is the chief executive officer of the City of San Diego. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic P ...
as council president, with Sherri Lightner joining the four council republicans to defeat the measure. The council then successfully voted to appoint Lightner as the council president with a vote of 7–2, with only Gloria and David Alvarez in opposition.


June propositions


Proposition A

Ballot Title: Amends City Charter Related to Elections Ballot Language: " Shall the Charter be amended to: (1) set a later date for elected officials to be sworn into office; (2) extend the deadlines to call special elections to fill vacancies for Mayor and City Council; and (3) make non-substantive revisions, to provide additional time to comply with state and federal deadlines to certify election results, provide mail ballots to military and overseas voters, and translate ballot materials?"


Proposition B

Ballot Title: Referendum of a Resolution Related to Barrio Logan Community Plan Update Ballot Language: "Shall Resolution No. R-308445, which provides for a comprehensive update to the Barrio Logan Community Plan, be approved?"


Proposition C

Ballot Title: ''Referendum of Ordinances Related to Barrio Logan Community Plan Update Ballot Language: "Shall Ordinances 0-20312 and 0-20313, which amend the San Diego Municipal Code related to the Barrio Logan Community Plan Update, and affect the zoning of999.61 acres located within the Barrio Logan Community Plan Area, be approved?"


References


External links


San Diego Office of the City Clerk

Voter Pamphlets and Election Results by Election Date (from 1970 forward)

Propositions: Ballot Questions and Results by Decade (from 1900 forward)
{{2014 United States elections
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...
2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...
Elections 2014