Henry Foster III held a wide lead over Chida Warren-Darby and Tylisa Suseberry in early returns Tuesday night in a special election to represent San Diego Council District 4.
The race could tip the balance of power at City Hall. Warren-Darby is an aide to Mayor Todd Gloria, and Foster is closely allied with council members who want to shrink Gloria’s legislative power.
Tuesday’s outcome will also determine whether the southeastern San Diego seat remains open through a summer runoff.
If any candidate receives more than 50 percent of the vote once all the March ballots are counted, they will win without a runoff. Foster was modestly above that threshold in the early returns.
In other city races, Mayor Gloria appears headed for a November runoff against police Officer Larry Turner, while council incumbents Stephen Whitburn and Sean Elo-Rivera also appear headed for runoffs.
In all San Diego races except the special election for District 4, the top two finishers face off in November even if one candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote in Tuesday’s primary.
The battle to face Whitburn in November appeared just after the polls closed Tuesday to be between Coleen Cusack and Kate Callen, who were only a few percentage points apart in the early, unofficial returns.
A fourth candidate in the race, Ellis California Jones, was significantly behind them.
Elo-Rivera appears likely to face police Officer Terry Hoskins in a runoff for south central District 9. Elo held a wide lead over Hoskins, who was significantly ahead of a third candidate, Fernando Garcia, for second place Tuesday night.
In the race for city attorney, Chief Deputy City Attorney Heather Ferbert had a modest lead over Assemblymember Brian Maienschein. As the only two candidates in the race, the two are certain to face each other in a November runoff.
And Measure A, a city ballot proposition that would let San Diego’s city auditor hire outside legal counsel, was leading by a wide margin in early returns.
The special election for District 4 became necessary when then-Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe was elected to the county Board of Supervisors last fall. The two leading candidates, Foster and Warren-Darby, are both Democrats.
Montgomery Steppe’s departure left what had been a 5-4 majority focused on increasing the council’s power relative to the mayor stuck in a 4-4 deadlock that is expected to remain in place until the seat is filled.
Foster was Montgomery Steppe’s longtime chief of staff. He would join a group of council members focused on asserting their legislative power.
“One thing we need to keep in mind is that we’re there to work for the people, and if we can put the people first, we can work through this perceived 4-4 split,” Foster said Tuesday night after the early returns were posted.
He said that with dialogue, understanding and “the willingness to have some uncomfortable conversations,” the council can work together despite their differences.
Regarding the mayor’s power, Foster said he thinks Gloria should focus on running the operations of the city.
“And I think he should leave the legislation to the City Council, simple as that,” Foster said to supporters at Mariscos La Riviera Seafood on Euclid Avenue.
Warren-Darby, a Gloria aide since the mayor took office three years ago, would join a group of council members more inclined to cooperate with him and downplay any divisions at City Hall.
In the mayor’s race, the early returns showed Gloria with a large lead over Turner. But Turner was in second by a wide margin over Geneviéve Jones-Wright, Jane Glasson and Daniel Smiechowski, making it appear highly likely he will face Gloria in November.
Gloria, a former Assembly member first elected mayor in 2020, avoided debating his opponents by skipping multiple candidate forums sponsored by local civic groups.
In the city attorney’s race, Maienschein has dominated political endorsements, including those of the county Democratic Party, Mayor Gloria, seven out of eight City Council members, seven local state lawmakers and three members of Congress.
But Ferbert has been endorsed by seven out of eight legal organizations making endorsements in the race.
Gloria, Maienschein, Whitburn and Elo-Rivera each have significantly more campaign donation money saved up to spend on November runoffs.
Through mid-February, Foster had more than $12,000 to spend going forward, while Warren-Darby had $3,500.
Three other City Council members were scheduled to face re-election this year — Joe LaCava, Marni von Wilpert and Raul Campillo — but no one has challenged them.
Staff writer Maura Fox contributed to this report.
