Voters in in central San Diego County have until Tuesday, Aug. 15, to cast their ballots in the special primary election for a successor to county Supervisor Nathan Fletcher, who resigned in disgrace earlier this year.
There are four candidates: veteran’s nonprofit executive Janessa Goldbeck, retired Marine Paul McQuigg, small businesswoman Amy Reichert, and San Diego City Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe.
If no candidate receives a majority of the vote, a special runoff will be held on Nov. 7.
All registered voters have been mailed ballots, which can be returned by mail or dropped off at over 27 locations.
Starting Saturday, Aug. 5, seven vote centers will be open daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. until the final day of voting on Tuesday, Aug. 15, when fourteen vote centers will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.
The supervisor position is officially nonpartisan, but the candidates have been vocal about their party allegiance. Goldbeck and Montgomery Steppe are Democrats, while McQuigg and Reichert are Republicans.
Goldbeck is a former Marine captain and CEO of the nonprofit Vet Voice Foundation. She is a graduate of Northwestern University and earned a master’s degree in public leadership at the University of San Francisco. Goldbeck, who ran unsuccessfully for Congress in 2020, serves on a number of community boards, including the county’s Behavioral Health Advisory Board and the San Diego Mayor’s LGBT Task Force. She says her Marine Corps experience taught her to overcome obstacles and solve problems. Goldbeck is endorsed by many high-profile Democrats, including California Senate President pro Tem Toni Atkins and Rep. Scott Peters.
McQuigg is a first-time candidate who served on Oceanside’s police and fire commission before moving to San Diego. He is a Marine Corps veteran who was injured in Iraq and now works for the U.S. Census Bureau.
Reichert, who ran unsuccessfully against Fletcher last year, is the co-founder of ReOpen San Diego. Her organization sought to reopen schools and businesses closed during the pandemic and fought against vaccine and mask mandates. The San Diego State graduate is married with two sons. She describes herself as “a mom who cares, a leader who listens.” Her endorsements include Rep. Darrell Issa, Republican activist Carl DeMaio and the San Diego County Republican Party.
Montgomery Steppe is an attorney serving her second term on the San Diego City Council as president pro Tem. She is a graduate of Spelman College in Atlanta and California Western School of Law who worked on city staff before running for office. She describes herself as an inclusive leader, saying, “When I’m in the room, WE are in the room.” Her endorsements includes the San Diego County Democratic Party, numerous labor unions and Rep. Sara Jacobs.
Fletcher was one of the most powerful politicians in the county when he announced March 26 that he was entering a treatment center for post-traumatic stress, trauma and alcohol abuse, and was abandoning a planned run for state Senate. Days later he resigned as a supervisor, admitting to an affair with a Metropolitan Transit System employee who is suing him for alleged sexual assault and harassment. He has denied those allegations.
The fourth district spans much of central San Diego, including Clairemont, Mission Valley, Hillcrest, North Park, City Heights, Encanto, Paradise Hills and the SDSU area, plus the cities of La Mesa and Lemon Grove, and adjoining areas to the east and south.
