Democrat Janessa Goldbeck on Thursday conceded her loss in Tuesday’s county supervisor election, saying in a statement: “It appears that our campaign does not have a path to victory.”
That means fellow Democrat Monica Montgomery Steppe, the San Diego councilwoman with a sizable lead in the District 4 race to fill the Nathan Fletcher vacancy, will face Republican Amy Reichert in a Nov. 7 runoff.
“I just called Councilmember Montgomery Steppe to congratulate her and her team on a decisive first place finish,” Goldbeck said. “It’s clear that San Diegans want strong Democratic leadership on the county Board of Supervisors, and Councilmember Montgomery Steppe will deliver that.”
In its latest tally, posted Thursday, the county Registrar of Voters Office had Montgomery Steppe boosting her lead to 41.4% with Reichert at 28.9% and Goldbeck nearly 25%. Republican Paul McQuigg trailed at 4.7%
Reichert led Goldbeck by 3,591 votes — and the voter office estimated that only 6,000 ballots were left to count.
Goldbeck again thanked her supporters, “especially those of you who spent your personal time, treasure and talent to help us talk to voters about our vision for a brighter, better San Diego County. Despite the outcome, I am proud of the campaign we ran and remain deeply committed to delivering change that makes a real difference in people’s lives. Thank you for believing in me. Onward!”
Reichert said: “This is a momentous step forward, and I want to express my immense gratitude to every person who supported our campaign. Your belief in our vision has brought us to this point, and I’m excited to continue pushing for positive change as we move toward the November election.”
The successful candidate will fill the seat for the remainder of the current term, which ends in January 2027.
Mail ballots are still coming in. Those sent right before or on Aug. 15 have seven days to arrive if postmarked by Election Day. Additionally, there are provisional ballots. People who missed the July 31 registration deadline could have conditionally registered and voted provisionally in person up to and on Election Day.
The next release of results is scheduled for 5 p.m. Friday. The results must be certified by Sept. 14.
District 4 is the smallest geographically of the county’s five districts, consisting of central San Diego, La Mesa, Lemon Grove, as far north as Clairemont Mesa and portions of Kearny Mesa, as far south as Paradise Valley, as far east as south El Cajon and west as far as Mission Hills.
In an X post (formerly Twitter), Reichert said she was excited and grateful to make the runoff, adding: “The road ahead leads to November, and I can’t wait to keep pushing for positive change together.”
Her path has speed bumps, however, since registered Democrats in the district outnumber Republicans by almost 3-to-1. In the latest count, the district had 192,673 Democrats and 78,802 Republicans — but 394,179 voters overall.
Reichert lost to Fletcher last November by 29 percentage points. Fletcher stepped down following what he describes as an “inappropriate relationship” with a subordinate. The woman has alleged sexual assault and harassment, but Fletcher has denied those claims.
Updated at 2:39 p.m. Aug. 17, 2023
City News Service contributed to this report.
