2008 San Diego City Council election
November 4, 2008 (2008-11-04)
4 of the 8 seats on the San Diego City Council
  Majority party Minority party
 
Party Democratic Republican
Seats before 5 3
Seats after 6 2
Seat change Increase 1 Decrease 1
Council President before election

Scott Peters
Democratic

 Elected Council President

Ben Hueso
Democratic

The 2008 San Diego City Council election occurred on November 4, 2008. The primary election was held on June 5, 2008. Four of the eight seats of the San Diego City Council were contested. This was the last election for the odd-numbered districts using the boundaries created by the 2000 Redistricting Committee. No incumbent council members were eligible to run for reelection due to term limits.

Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, although most members do identify a party preference. A two-round system was used for the election, starting with a primary in June followed by a runoff in November between the top-two candidates if no candidate received a majority of the votes in the first round.

Campaign

Council Districts used for the 2008 election

The 2008 election was the last to use the eight district boundaries created by the 2000 Redistricting Commission for the odd numbered districts. Seats in districts 1, 3, 5, and 7 were up for election.

Prior to 2008, there had been two openly gay members of the San Diego City Council: Christine Kehoe and Toni Atkins, both from the Third District. In the June primary for District 5, Carl DeMaio, a Republican, won a majority of the vote to become San Diego's first openly gay man and gay Republican elected to city council (after Christine Kehoe and Toni Atkins, both lesbians and Democrats). In the November general election, Todd Gloria, joined him, resulting in the first occasion that two openly gay council members served concurrently.[1]

Results

District 1

District 1 consisted of the communities of Black Mountain Ranch, Carmel Valley, Del Mar Mesa, La Jolla, Pacific Highlands Ranch, Rancho Peñasquitos, Torrey Highlands, Torrey Hills, Torrey Pines, and University City. Incumbent council member Scott Peters was ineligible to run due to term limits. After advancing out of the primary with a plurality of the vote Sherri Lightner was elected with a majority of the vote in the general election.

San Diego City Council District 1 election, 2008[2]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Sherri Lightner 12,708 36.56
Republican Phil Thalheimer 11,777 33.88
Republican Marshall Merrifield 10,278 29.57
Total votes 34,763 100
General election
Democratic Sherri Lightner 40,282 51.80
Republican Phil Thalheimer 37,360 48.20
Total votes 77,855 100

District 3

District 3 consisted of the communities of Balboa Park, City Heights, Golden Hill, Hillcrest, Kensington, Normal Heights, North Park, South Park, Talmadge, and University Heights. Incumbent council member Toni Atkins was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits. After advancing out of the primary with a plurality of the vote Todd Gloria was elected with a majority of the vote in the general election.

San Diego City Council District 3 election, 2008[3]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Todd Gloria 9,288 40.64
Democratic Stephen Whitburn 6,543 28.63
Democratic John Hartley 4,018 17.58
Nonpartisan Paul Broadway 1,428 6.25
Nonpartisan Robert E. Lee 840 3.68
Nonpartisan James Hartline 739 3.23
Total votes 22,856 100
General election
Democratic Todd Gloria 27,922 54.60
Democratic Stephen Whitburn 23,191 45.40
Total votes 51,398 100

District 5

District 5 consisted of the communities of Carmel Mountain Ranch, Mira Mesa, Rancho Bernardo, Sabre Springs, Scripps Ranch, and San Pasqual. Incumbent council member Brian Maienschein was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits. Carl DeMaio was elected with the majority of the vote in the primary election.

San Diego City Council District 5 election, 2008[4]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican Carl DeMaio 19,461 66.16
Democratic George George 9,953 33.84
Total votes 29,414 100

District 7

District 7 consisted of the communities of Allied Gardens, City Heights, College Area, Del Cerro, El Cerrito, Grantville, MCAS Miramar, Mission Trails Regional Park, Redwood Village – Oak Park, Rolando, San Carlos, Stonebridge Estates, and Tierrasanta. Incumbent council member Jim Madaffer was ineligible to run for reelection due to term limits. After advancing out of the primary with the second-most votes, Marti Emerald was elected with a majority of the vote in the general election.

San Diego City Council District 7 election, 2008[5]
Primary election
Party Candidate Votes %
Republican April Boling 13,794 46.55
Democratic Marti Emerald 13,392 45.19
Nonpartisan David Tos 1,442 4.87
Nonpartisan Bill Daniel 1,004 3.39
Total votes 29,632 100
General election
Democratic Marti Emerald 27,836 50.55
Republican April Boling 27,228 49.45
Total votes 55,197 100

Council President

The new city council was sworn in December 2008. Ben Hueso was elected as council president in a 6-2 vote by his fellow council members.[6]

References

  1. ↑ Hope, Randy (November 6, 2013). "Gloria wins District 3 City Council Seat". Gay & Lesbian Times.
  2. ↑ "Election History - Council District 1" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Election History - Council District 3" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  4. ↑ "Election History - Council District 5" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  5. ↑ "Election History - Council District 7" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved January 12, 2013.
  6. ↑ Gupta, Rani (2 January 2009). "The New Council Prez". Voice of San Diego. Archived from the original on 7 November 2012. Retrieved 20 January 2013.
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