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.
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.
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.
Incumbent city attorney Mara Elliott was ineligible for re-election due to term limits. Chief Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert and California state assemblymemberBrian 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]
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]
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)
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]
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]
2024 San Diego City Council District 4 election[1]
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]
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)
Joe LaCava, San Diego City Councilmember from District 1 (2020-present)
Kent Lee, San Diego City Councilmember from District 6 (2022-present)
After the election, incumbent council president Elo-Rivera, who had served since 2021, 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]
^ ab"2023-2024 Endorsements". San Diego Democrats for Equality. November 18, 2022. Archived from the original on October 4, 2023. Retrieved November 27, 2024.