The 2018 San Diego City Council election occurred on November 6, 2018. The primary election was held June 5, 2018. Four of the nine seats of the

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 ...

City Council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, rural counc ...

were contested. 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, although most members do identify a party preference. A

two-round system The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

was used for the election, starting with a primary in June followed by a runoff in November between the top-two candidates in each district. The election resulted in a net gain of one seat for self-identified Democrats. This gave Democrats a two-thirds majority on the City Council, allowing them to override vetoes 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, California from 2014 to 2020. A member of the Republican Party, Faulconer served as the member of the San Diego City Council for th ...

on issues that divide along partisan lines. Additionally two incumbent council members were defeated, marking the first time any incumbent had lost a City Council election in the city since 1992.

Campaign

The even-numbered districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 were up for election in 2018. It was the first City Council election using the new rules that requires a runoff in November between the top-two candidates in the June primary whether or not any of the candidates get a majority of the vote. Incumbents Lorie Zapf (District 2),

Myrtle Cole Myrtle Cole is an American politician in San Diego, California. She was a member of the San Diego City Council representing City Council District 4 from 2013 until 2018. Cole served as president of the City Council from 2017 until 2018. In 2018 C ...

(District 4), and

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 n ...

(District 6) stood for reelection. David Alvarez (District 8) was ineligible to run due to term limits. Republicans were considered more vulnerable to lose seats in the election due to the two Republican-held seats, Districts 2 and 6, being considered swing districts while the two Democrat-held seats, Districts 4 and 8, were considered safe districts. However, incumbents historically had not lost reelection to the San Diego City Council, and both Zapf and Cate had raised far more money than their challengers as of February 2018.

Results

District 2

District 2 consisted of the communities of Bay Ho/ Bay Park/

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, 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 within the city of San Diego, California. Geographically it is a hilly peninsula that is bordered on the w ...

. A large field of seven challengers qualified to run against incumbent council member Lorie Zapf. In the June primary, Zapf advanced to the general election to face retired doctor Jennifer Campbell. Campbell was elected to the City Council in the November general election, making Zapf one of the first incumbents on the City Council to lose a reelection bid since 1992.

District 4

District 4 consisted of the communities of

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, Broadway Heights, Chollas View, Emerald Hills,

Encanto ''Encanto'' is a 2021 American computer-animated musical fantasy comedy film produced by Walt Disney Animation Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures. The 60th film produced by the studio, it was directed by Jared Bus ...

, 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 seven miles (11 km) from Grand Avenue (500 N), on the south, ...

, Lomita Village, North Bay Terrace, Oak Park, O'Farrell, Paradise Hills, Redwood Village, Rolando Park, South Bay Terrace, Valencia Park, and

Webster Webster may refer to: People *Webster (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Webster (given name), including a list of people with the given name Places Canada *Webster, Alberta *Webster's Falls, Hamilton, Ontario United State ...

. Three challengers qualified to run against incumbent Council President

, all from her own party. In the June primary, Cole advanced to the general election to face civil rights lawyer Monica Montgomery. Montgomery was elected to the City Council in the November general election, making Cole one of the first incumbents on the City Council to lose a reelection bid since 1992. This did not impact the partisan composition of the City Council since both Cole and Montgomery are Democrats.

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, C ...

Mira Mesa Mira Mesa (Spanish for "Table View") is a community and neighborhood in the city of San Diego, California. The city-recognized Mira Mesa Community Plan Area is roughly bounded by Interstate 15 on the east, Interstate 805 on the west, the Los Peñ ...

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: Missi ...

, 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 Ai ...

. Five challengers qualified to run against incumbent council member

. In the June primary, Cate advanced to the general election to face environmental advocate Tommy Hough. Cate was reelected in the November general election.

District 8

District 8 consisted of the southern communities of San Diego and those along the

Mexico–United States border The Mexico–United States border ( es, frontera Estados Unidos–México) is an international border separating Mexico and the United States, extending from the Pacific Ocean in the west to the Gulf of Mexico in the east. The border traver ...

, including the communities of

Barrio Logan Barrio Logan is a neighborhood in south central San Diego, California. It is bordered by the neighborhoods of East Village and Logan Heights to the north, Shelltown and Southcrest to the east, San Diego Bay to the southwest, and National Cit ...

, Egger Highlands,

Grant Hill Grant Henry Hill (born October 5, 1972) is an American former professional basketball player who is a co-owner and executive of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He attended Duke University and is widely considere ...

, Logan Heights, Memorial, Nestor, Ocean View Hills, Otay Mesa West, Otay Mesa East,

San Ysidro San Ysidro (Spanish for " St. Isidore", ) is a district of the City of San Diego, immediately north of the Mexico–United States border. It neighbors Otay Mesa West to the north, Otay Mesa to the east, and Nestor and the Tijuana River Valley t ...

, Sherman Heights, Stockton, and

Tijuana River Valley The Tijuana River Valley is a rural community in the southern section of San Diego, California. It neighbors Imperial Beach to the north and west, Egger Highlands and Nestor to the north, San Ysidro to the east, and the U.S.-Mexico border to the ...

. Incumbent council member David Alvarez is ineligible to run due to term limits. Four candidates qualified to run for the open seat. In the June primary, Vivian Moreno, a political staffer in Alvarez's office, and Antonio Martinez, a community health clinic worker and member of the San Ysidro School District Board of Education, advanced to the general election. Moreno was then elected to the City Council in the November general election with a majority of the vote.

Council President

On December 10, 2018, the new council was sworn in. For their first action, the council voted unanimously to appoint Georgette Gomez as council president.

References

{{2018 United States elections

San Diego City Council The San Diego City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of San Diego, California. The city council was first established in San Diego in 1850. The council uses a strong mayor system with a separately elected mayor who acts ...

San Diego City Council elections 2010s in San Diego