UPDATE: 1:19 a.m. Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Councilman Mark Kersey cruised to an easy win Wednesday morning with over 70 percent of the vote in District 5. Scott Sherman comfortably held his seat with more than 60 percent of the vote for District 7. The easy wins mean neither has to run for election again in November.
Update: 8:43 p.m., June 7, 2016
As expected, incumbents in San Diego City Council Districts 5 and 7 are running strong in early returns. Mark Kersey in District 5 leads with about 72 percent of the vote, while Scott Sherman in District 7 has about 64 percent so far.
Original post
The two Republican incumbents who represent City Council Districts 5 and 7 in San Diego are hoping to win outright Tuesday and avoid November runoff elections.
That will happen if Mark Kersey and Scott Sherman get more than 50 percent of the votes in their respective races. Kersey represents District 5, which includes Rancho Bernardo, Rancho Peñasquitos and Scripps Ranch. The district is the only one in the city with more registered Republicans than Democrats.
Sherman represents District 7, which includes Tierrasanta, Del Cerro, Mission Valley and Linda Vista. Registered Democrats have a slight margin in the district, which gives Sherman's two competitors hope of an upset.
One is Democrat Justin DeCesare, a Navy veteran and real estate broker who served a term as president of the Tierrasanta Community Council. He's been endorsed by groups such as the firefighters union, the Municipal Employees Association and the San Diego County Democratic Party.
The other is another Navy veteran, Jose Caballero, who is running as a progressive who endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders.
In response to a KPBS questionnaire, Caballero and DeCesare agreed on most issues except affordable housing — Caballero supports rent stabilization, while DeCesare supports increasing density.
Sherman disagreed with both on most of the issues.
Two Democrats are also running to unseat Kersey: political newcomer Keith Mikas and Frank Tsimboukakis, an investment manager. Tsimboukakis was endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party.
In response to a KPBS questionnaire, all three candidates only agreed on not spending public money on a new Chargers stadium or San Diego Convention Center expansion.
Much of the attention this election season focused on the District 1 City Council seat, which Democrats risk losing to the Republicans. If that happens, Republicans would likely hold a 5-4 majority on the City Council. That means they could elect the council president, who decides council agendas and makes committee appointments.
Sherman has said he "wouldn't mind taking a shot" at the position.
