San Diego voters in a rapidly shifting political landscape chose Todd Gloria as their mayoral frontrunner and picked La Jolla’s Joe LaCava to lead the Council District 1 race in the March 3 primary election. 

Voters also narrowly turned thumbs down on Proposition C, a proposed tourist hotel tax to expand the downtown convention center and pay for road repairs and homeless services. 

Candidate fields in all races were paired to the two top vote-getters, who will go head-to-head in the Nov. 3 general election.

A blue “drift,” clearly in evidence the past couple years, continued as voters cast their preferences in five City Council District races on the nine-member council. The outcome will likely maintain the present council Democrat majority. 

Even the Board of Supervisors, a Republican bastion for years, will likely see at least one — and perhaps two —more Democrats joining the five-member board that currently has Nathan Fletcher as its lone Democrat.

With 100% of precincts in, but a lot of mail-in ballots yet to be tallied, which is likely to take some time, here are some of the voting results from the March 3 primary:

Mayor: 

Todd Gloria — 78,964 (40.23%)

Scott Sherman — 49,403 (25.17%)

Barbara Bry — 46,340 (23.61%)

Tasha Williamson —11,248 (5.73%)

Gita Appelbaum Singh — 5,844 (2.98%)

Rich Riel — 4,474 (2.28%)

Council District 1:

Joe laCava 5,912 (25.54%)

Aaron Brennan 3,679 (15.90%)

City Attorney:

Mara W. Elliott 113,108 (66.31%)

Cory Briggs 41,986 (24.62%)

Prop. 13 authorizing $15 billion bond for school facility repairs:

No: 56.84%

Yes: 43.16%

Prop. C (two-thirds needed for passage) for convention center expansion, infrastructure improvements and homeless services:

Yes: 63.55%

No: 36.45%

The Registar of Voters said the March 3 Presidential Primary Election was more complicated than past elections because of:

• A record-high number of registered voters: San Diego County has more than 1.8 million registered voters.

• More mail ballots than ever before: over 1.35 million, and many voters do not turn them in until Election Day. As of March 2, only 354,887 voters had returned their mail ballots.

• Conditional voter registration at the Registrar of Voter’s office and, new this election, at the polls and four satellite voting locations on Election Day. That means voters who missed the traditional registration deadline can still register to vote and cast a provisional ballot.

Republican mayoral candidate Scott Sherman discussed the primary’s outcome. “We got in this race just 90 days ago and raised about $312,000 and we were able to overcome the huge advantages of the other candidates who have been in the race for over a year and each spent in excess of $1 million,” Sherman said. “Voters responded to our common-sense message and I’m proud of the result. I’m also proud that my charter amendment to create an independent City Auditor passed overwhelmingly.”

Reacting to his first-place finish in the District 1 Council primary, longtime community planner Joe LaCava said, “It was a good night. We were getting a lot of positive vibrations when we were knocking on doors and calling people. We had some amazing support. We were prepared for any kind of outcome.”

Asked why he felt he topped the primary field, LaCava said, “I was the only candidate who had real experience. I’ve been working for the last 20 years with residents and businesses down at city hall. That translates into my being able to hit the ground running.”

Added LaCava, “Also, my technical expertise and skill set as a civil engineer resonated with people.” 

Of running for office, LaCava noted: “It’s a surreal experience to see your name on the ballot and yard signs popping up with your name on them.”

Not a career politician, LaCava said, “This (politics) was not a path I’d even thought of.”

If elected LaCava said, “I’ve been hired to do this job and I’ll give the City my best for four years. I’m not looking beyond that.”