Michael Inzunza and Cesar Fernandez have comfortably secured their seats on the dais of San Diego County’s second-largest city.
According to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters’ latest tally released Thursday, Inzunza won the Chula Vista City Council District 3 race with 68% of the vote or 18,388 votes. His lone opponent, Leticia Munguia, a human resources manager for Sweetwater Authority, tallied 8,407 votes, or 31%.
For District 4, Cesar Fernandez received 60% or 13,299 votes against former Councilmember Rudy Ramirez, who earned 8,607 votes or 39%.
Voters also overwhelmingly approved renewing Measure P with 73% of the vote or a tally of 80,434. The measure is a half-cent sales tax Chula Vista initially approved in 2016 to repair and replace aging infrastructure. It expires in 2027.
The tax has generated more than $190 million to date and is projected to produce nearly $250 million by 2027. According to a city report, Measure P has funded thousands of infrastructure projects, including upgrading more than 7,000 sidewalk segments and 300 residential streets.
Inzunza will replace Alonso Gonzalez, whom the City Council appointed early last year to finish the remainder of now-state Sen. Steve Padilla’s term.
Inzunza, a public affairs and community engagement representative for the California School Boards Association, said his top priorities are improving public safety and preserving what he termed the district to be “the South Bay’s middle class.” One idea, he has said, is to open a police substation in the Otay Ranch area.
Fernandez will replace Rachel Morineau, who the City Council also appointed. Earlier this year, she took over for former Councilmember Andrea Cardenas, who relinquished her seat. Cardenas pleaded guilty in February to two felony grand theft charges for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars in federal relief funds and state unemployment. She is serving two years of probation.
Fernandez is a Chula Vista Elementary School District trustee. His school district role, to which he was appointed, expires in December 2026. He said he plans on focusing on local job creation so that fewer residents have to travel outside of South County for work. Fernandez envisions working closely with school and college districts, as well as labor organizations, to create those career pathways for people.
