UPDATE 1:48 a.m.: Councilwoman Mary Salas defeated opponent Jerry Rindone, a former Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce president, in the race for mayor. Salas will take over for Mayor Cheryl Cox, wife of a county supervisor, who is termed out after 8 years.
Councilwoman Pat Aguilar sailed to re-election over attorney Dan Smith. Aguilar ran in one of two council races this election. The other race for council is separated by nearly 3 points. Sweetwater Union High School Board President John McCann leads Steve Padilla, who previously served on the council and as mayor.
UPDATE 12:22 a.m. With 95 percent of the votes in, Councilwoman Pat Aguilar defeats attorney Dan Smith to win re-election. Councilwoman Mary Salas looks like she's on her way to mayoral victory over Jerry Rindone.
The race for council seat 1 is still tight — only 3 points separate John McCann from Steve Padilla.
UPDATE 11:41 p.m.: Almost two-thirds of the votes counted and Councilwomen Mary Salas and Councilwoman Pat Aguilar remain the frontrunners in race for mayor and council seat 2, respectively. Aguilar is running for re-election.
Meanwhile the race for council seat 1 has grown tighter. With 52 percent of the vote, John McCann is 4 points ahead of Steve Padilla.
UPDATE 9:59 p.m.: Now with 20.5 percent of the vote counted, Councilwoman Mary Salas is holding her 4 point lead over Jerry Rindone in mayor's race. The two are competing to replace outgoing Mayor Cheryl Cox, who is termed out after eight years.
Council seat 1 candidate John McCann maintains lead over opponent Steve Padilla. Councilwoman Pat Aguilar, who's running for re-election against attorney Dan Smith, loses a few tenths of a percent in her lead but is ahead of Smith by 14 points.
UPDATE 8:12 p.m.: In the race for mayor, Councilwoman Mary Salas is ahead of former Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce President Jerry Rindone with 52 percent of the vote. Rindone has 48 percent with nearly 19 percent of the vote counted.
Council seat 1 candidate John McCann is leading opponent Steve Padilla by nearly 6 percentage points. In the race for Council seat 2, Councilwoman Pat Aguilar, who's running for re-election, has a larger lead on her opponent Dan Smith. Aguilar has 58 percent of the vote to Smith's 43 percent.
Chula Vista voters Tuesday will elect more than half of their city’s decision-making body.
The mayor and two City Council seats are on the ballot in the county’s second largest city, and residents have plenty of familiar names to choose from.
In the race for mayor, Councilwoman Mary Salas is running against Jerry Rindone, a former president of the Chula Vista Chamber of Commerce who previously served on the City Council. He currently serves on the board of Metropolitan Transit System. Salas, who is two years into her council term, already served eight years on the council and four years as a California assemblywoman.
Chula Vista Mayor Cheryl Cox, wife of a county Supervisor Greg Cox, is stepping down because of term limits.
Steve Padilla, who was mayor before Cox, is facing John McCann for Seat 1 on the four-member City Council. McCann is president of the Sweetwater Union High School District board and is a former city councilmen. Councilwoman Pat Aguilar is running for re-election against attorney Dan Smith for council Seat 2.
The six candidates agree Chula Vista’s job market is the top issue in the election. Nearly one-third of the city’s population commutes elsewhere in the county for work.
Mayoral candidate Salas said she’ll focus on retaining the city’s industrial lands instead of converting it to residential. Her opponent Rindone said growing jobs relies on completing the city’s development projects, like the bay front plan, something he’ll work to do.
