The 2008 San Diego City Council election occurred on November 4, 2008. The primary election was held on June 5, 2008. Four of the eight 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. This was the last election for the odd-numbered districts using the boundaries created by the 2000 Redistricting Committee. No incumbent council members were eligible 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, 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 if no candidate received a majority of the votes in the first round.

Campaign

The 2008 election was the last to use the eight district boundaries created by the 2000 Redistricting Commission for the odd numbered districts. Seats in districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 were up for election. Prior to 2008, there had been two openly gay members of the San Diego City Council: Christine Kehoe and Toni Atkins, both from the Third District. In the June primary for District 5, Carl DeMaio, a Republican, won a majority of the vote to become San Diego's first openly gay man and gay Republican elected to city council (after Christine Kehoe and Toni Atkins, both lesbians and Democrats). In the November general election, Todd Gloria, joined him, resulting in the first occasion that two openly gay council members served concurrently.

Results

District 1

District 1 consisted of the communities of Black Mountain Ranch, Carmel Valley, Del Mar Mesa,

La Jolla La Jolla ( , ) is a hilly, seaside neighborhood within the city of San Diego, California, United States, occupying of curving coastline along the Pacific Ocean. The population reported in the 2010 census was 46,781. La Jolla is surrounded on ...

, Pacific Highlands Ranch,

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 ...

, Torrey Highlands,

Torrey Hills Torrey Hills is a community of located in northern San Diego, California, United States. Torrey Hills is a part of District 1 which is represented by Councilmember Joe LaCava on the San Diego City Council. Geography Torrey Hills is bordered to ...

, Torrey Pines, and University City. Incumbent council member Scott Peters was ineligible to run due to term limits. After advancing out of the primary with a plurality of the vote Sherri Lightner was elected with a majority of the vote in the general election.

District 3

District 3 consisted of the communities of Balboa Park, City Heights, Golden Hill, Hillcrest,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West End of London, West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up b ...

, Normal Heights, North Park,

South Park ''South Park'' is an American animated sitcom created by Trey Parker and Matt Stone and developed by Brian Graden for Comedy Central. The series revolves around four boys Stan Marsh, Kyle Broflovski, Eric Cartman, and Kenny McCormickand th ...

, Talmadge, and University Heights. Incumbent council member

Toni Atkins Toni Gayle Atkins (born August 1, 1962) is an American politician serving as the 51st and current President pro tempore of the California State Senate since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served as the 69th Speaker of the ...

was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits. After advancing out of the primary with a plurality of the vote

Todd Gloria Todd Rex Gloria (born May 10, 1978) is an American politician serving as the 37th and current mayor of San Diego since 2020. As a strong mayor, he is the chief executive officer in the city of San Diego. A member of the Democratic Party, he is t ...

was elected with a majority of the vote in the general election.

District 5

District 5 consisted of the communities of Carmel Mountain Ranch,

Mira Mesa Mira Mesa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Mesa, 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 o ...

Rancho Bernardo Rancho Bernardo is a master-planned community in the northern hills of the city of San Diego, California. Geography The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral bio ...

Sabre Springs Sabre Springs is a community in San Diego, California, located in the northeastern part of the city. It is bounded by the city limits of Poway on the east, Ted Williams Parkway on the north, Interstate 15 on the west, and the community of Mira ...

Scripps Ranch Scripps Ranch is a community of San Diego, California in the northeastern part of that city. Its ZIP code is 92131. It is located east of Interstate 15, north of Marine Corps Air Station Miramar, and south of Poway. Scripps Ranch is a coastal/i ...

, and San Pasqual. Incumbent council member

Brian Maienschein Brian Maienschein (born May 22, 1969) is an American attorney and politician currently serving in the California State Assembly, representing the 77th district, encompassing parts of northeastern San Diego since 2012. Prior to serving in the st ...

was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits.

Carl DeMaio Carl David DeMaio (born September 14, 1974) is an American politician from San Diego, California. DeMaio hosts a radio show on NewsRadio 600 KOGO. He also founded and served as Chairman of Reform California, a conservative political action commi ...

was elected with the majority of the vote in the primary election.

District 7

District 7 consisted of the communities of

Allied Gardens Allied Gardens is a residential neighborhood in the eastern Navajo community of San Diego, California. It neighbors San Carlos to the east, Del Cerro to the south, the College Area to the southeast and Grantville to the southwest. History Alli ...

, City Heights,

College Area The College Area is a residential community in the Mid-City region of San Diego, California, United States. The College Area is dominated by San Diego State University (SDSU; once known as San Diego State College), after which the area is named. Se ...

Del Cerro Del Cerro (Spanish for "of the hill") is a hilly residential neighborhood of approximately 2,300 residents in the eastern part of San Diego, California. Del Cerro borders the communities of San Carlos, Allied Gardens, College Area, Grantville, a ...

, El Cerrito, Grantville,

MCAS Miramar Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (MCAS Miramar) , formerly Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Miramar and Naval Air Station (NAS) Miramar, is a United States Marine Corps installation that is home to the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, which is the av ...

Mission Trails Regional Park Mission Trails Regional Park is a open space preserve within the city of San Diego, California, established in 1974. It is the sixth-largest municipally owned park in the United States, and the largest in California. Description The park cons ...

, Redwood Village – Oak Park,

Rolando Rolando may refer to: Entertainment *'' Rolando'', a 2008 puzzle-adventure video game *'' Rolando 2: Quest for the Golden Orchid'', a 2009 puzzle-adventure video game *"Rolando", a song by Roland Kirk from the album ''Domino'' People *Rolando (gi ...

, San Carlos, Stonebridge Estates, and

Tierrasanta Tierrasanta, Spanish for "holy land," or "holy ground", is a community within the city of San Diego, California. The symbol of Tierrasanta is an encircled Conquistador cross, similar to one atop Montserrat (mountain) near Barcelona, Spain, though ...

. Incumbent council member Jim Madaffer was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits. After advancing out of the primary with the second-most votes,

Marti Emerald Marti Emerald is a California politician and former television journalist. She was a member of the San Diego City Council in San Diego, California. She represented San Diego's Council District 7 from 2008 to 2012 and Council District 9 from 2012 to ...

was elected with a majority of the vote in the general election.

Council President

The new city council was sworn in December 2008.

Ben Hueso Benjamin "Ben" Hueso (born September 2, 1969) is an American politician currently serving in the California State Senate. A Democrat, he represents the 40th Senate District, which encompasses Imperial County and the border regions of San Diego ...

was elected as council president in a 6-2 vote by his fellow council members.

References

{{California 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 ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

Election 2008