Three candidates ran for the San Diego City Council District 1 seat currently held by termed-out council president Scott Peters. Preliminary results of the June 3 primary election show La Jollan Sherri Lightner leading the pack. She will face Phil Thalheimer in a November runoff.
According to reports published Wednesday, with all 148 precincts counted in the first district that includes La Jolla, University City, Carmel Valley, Torrey Hills and Rancho Penasquitos, the race was too close to call, but Lightner came out on top with 36.43 percent of the vote.
Thalheimer was second with 33.65 percent, followed by Marshall Merrifield with 29.92 percent of the vote.
Because one candidate did not get more than 50 percent of the votes, Lightner will face Thalheimer in November.
During a previous debate, Lightner stressed the insight she has gained from volunteering and serving on various La Jolla boards, including her recent positions as secretary of the La Jolla Community Planning Association and president of both La Jolla Town Council and La Jolla Shores Association.
“There’s a tradition in San Diego that goes back generations,” Lightner said. “That is a failure of government to listen to its citizens, but I know I can make a difference.”
Thalheimer, president of San Diego Flight Training International, served as chairman of San Diegans for the Mount Soledad National Memorial and led a campaign for an initiative in support of Jessica’s Law.
“We need to get away from back-room deals,” Thalheimer said during an election forum last month. “With that, comes accountability.”
Meanwhile, San Diego voters re-elected Mayor Jerry Sanders, who won a second term outright with 52 percent of the vote. Early returns showed Sanders’ chief rival, wealthy businessman Steve Francis, with 38 percent of the vote.
From a pack of five candidates vying for city attorney, incumbent Mike Aguirre will face Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith in the November election. The Aguirre-Goldsmith race was close, with Goldsmith leading 31 to 28 percent for Aguirre. The thin margin will require a runoff Nov. 4, the date of the 2008 general election. City councilmen Peters and Brian Maienschein, and private attorney Amy Lepine, were eliminated. Peters came in third.
Voters also OK’d Proposition 99, the measure that protects owner-occupied homes from government seizure. Proposition 98, which would have similarly protected businesses, was rejected.
For more election results, go to www.sdcounty.ca.gov/voters/results.