Todd Gloria and Scott Sherman took early leads among the six candidates seeking to succeed Mayor Kevin Faulconer in Tuesday’s election.
Gloria, 41, an assemblyman, has lived in San Diego all his life. With 83% of precincts reporting, he has captured 40.2% of the vote.
The Democrat has represented the 78th District in the state legislature since 2016, after serving two terms on the City Council. Gloria’s signature issues include homelessness, housing and climate change. He said as mayor he will set a housing production goal for the city and be “aggressive” on transit.
Following Gloria is Republican Scott Sherman, 56, also a lifelong San Diego resident, who was narrowly edging Barbara Bry, a council member.
Sherman received 25.2% of the vote, ahead of Bry’s 23.6%.
Tuesday’s top two vote-getters will move on to the November general election.
Sherman has represented Council District 7 since 2012 and previously owned a small insurance business. Homelessness is also one of Sherman’s biggest issues, and he says the city needs to provide services to those with mental health issues or treatment for those battling substance abuse.
As mayor he has proposed cutting regulations and red tape to allow developers to build.
Bry, 70, has lived in San Diego for 39 years. She has represented Council District 1 since 2016 and has been council president pro tempore. She has sought to pare down short-term rentals to allow for more housing.
As mayor, she would focus on mental health and adding trained professionals on the street to tackle homelessness, along with embracing government transparency.
Other candidates include Gita Appelbaum Singh, 57, is a 27-year San Diego resident and CEO of La Jolla Integrative Health and Charter Academy, Rich Riel, 72, who has lived in San Diego for 66 years and once worked for the San Diego Housing Commission, and Tasha Williamson, 48, who has spent the last 20 years working for nonprofits advocating for racial and criminal justice.
Collectively, those three candidates received about 10% of the vote in early returns.
Updated 2:07 a.m. March 4, 2020
– Staff reports