2024 San Diego elections


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.
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.

Mayor

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.

City Attorney

Incumbent city attorney Mara Elliott was ineligible for re-election due to term limits. Chief Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert and California state assemblymember Brian 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.

City Council

Background

Seats in San Diego City Council districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9 were up for election. Incumbents Joe LaCava, Stephen Whitburn, Marni von Wilpert, Raul Campillo, and Sean Elo-Rivera ran for re-election. LaCava, von Wilpert and Campillo won re-election unopposed in the March primary, while Whitburn and Elo-Rivera defeated fellow Democratic challengers in the November general election.
Top election issues included homelessness, infrastructure deficits, and housing affordability, part of a broader housing crisis statewide.

Results

District 1

District 1 consists of the communities of Carmel Valley, Del Mar Heights, Del Mar Mesa, Pacific Highlands Ranch, La Jolla, Torrey Hills, Torrey Pines, University City, and the University of California, San Diego campus.
Incumbent Joe LaCava ran unopposed for re-election and won the election outright in the primary on March 5, 2024.

District 3

District 3 consists of the communities of Balboa Park, Bankers Hill/Park West, Downtown, Golden Hill, Hillcrest, Little Italy, Middleton, Mission Hills, North Park, South Park, and University Heights.
Incumbent Stephen Whitburn and Coleen Cusack, both Democrats, defeated two other candidates and advanced from the primary on March 5, 2024. Whitburn went on to defeat Cusack in the general election.
Candidates
Qualified
  • Stephen Whitburn, San Diego City Councilmember from District 3
  • Coleen Cusack, public interest attorney and community activist
  • Kate Callen, writer and community activist
  • Ellis T. California Jones III, home energy inspector and ex-felon
    Endorsements

District 4 Special

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. 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.
Candidates
Qualified

District 5

District 5 consists of the communities of Black Mountain Ranch, Carmel Mountain Ranch, Miramar, Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Encantada, Rancho Peñasquitos, Sabre Springs, San Pasqual Valley, Scripps Ranch, and Torrey Highlands.
Incumbent Marni von Wilpert ran unopposed for re-election and won the election outright in the primary on March 5, 2024.

District 7

District 7 consists of the communities of Allied Gardens, Del Cerro, Grantville, Linda Vista, Mission Valley, San Carlos, Serra Mesa, and Tierrasanta.
Incumbent Raul Campillo ran unopposed for re-election and won the election outright in the primary on March 5, 2024.

District 9

District 9 consists of the communities of Kensington, Normal Heights, and East San Diego, as well as the main campus of San Diego State University.
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.
Candidates
Qualified
  • Sean Elo-Rivera, San Diego City Council president, San Diego City Councilmember from District 9
  • Terry Hoskins
  • Fernando Garcia
    Endorsements

Council president

After the election, incumbent council president Elo-Rivera, who had served since 2021, announced that he would not seek another term as council president. He was succeeded by president pro tempore Joe LaCava, who was elected in a 9–0 vote on December 10, 2024.