Three North County Mayoral Races Flip

NORTH COUNTY — Three mayoral races have flipped since Election Night as the Blue tsunami continues to roll through local races.

With more than 1 million ballots counted countywide, voter turnout at 53%, and 185,000 ballots still outstanding, several high-profile races remain unsettled. The biggest of those are the mayoral races in Encinitas, Escondido, San Marcos and Vista.

Additionally, those council majorities appear headed toward a partisan shift from conservative to liberal in those cities, or remain in the Democrat camp, as it is in Vista. After a sweeping loss two years ago, Encinitas may return to its more progressive roots, although several races are still too close to call.

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In Escondido, two incumbents are in trouble, while San Marcos is also trending toward a new council majority.

The next update is today by 6 p.m. from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.

City Council, supervisor updates

The closest race is the Encinitas mayoral race, where the lead has changed. On Election Night, incumbent Bruce Ehlers held a 27-vote lead over San Dieguito Union High School District Trustee Rimga Viskanta. Now, Viskanta leads by 57 votes.

A similar reversal happened in Vista as Democratic Socialist Kenneth Zuniga overcame a 470-vote deficit and now leads by 459 votes over former Councilman Joe Green.

The largest turnaround, though, is in Escondido where incumbent Dane White led Elias Velazquez by 1,424 votes on Election Night. White’s advantage has vanished as Velazquez now holds a 240-vote lead.

In San Marcos, former Councilwoman Sharon Jenkins held a slim 36-vote lead over Councilman Mike Sannella and has now extended her lead to 753 votes. Jenkins appears to have pulled away and is likely to become the next mayor of San Marcos.

Several other races appear to be moving toward resolution.

In Oceanside District 1, incumbent Eric Joyce expanded his lead over Michael Cline from 1,742 votes to 2,960, while D2 incumbent Rick Robinson’s lead over Emily Gonzales shrank from 685 to 435 in the five-person race.

In Vista, incumbent Corinna Contreras increased her advantage over Frank Nunez from 29 votes to 246 votes in D1, while incumbent Dan O’Donnell has won re-election in D4.

Escondido City Council candidates have also strengthened their positions. Vanessa Valenzuela’s lead in D1 has nearly doubled, growing from 1,168 votes to 2,231 votes. In D2, Anthony DiMartino’s advantage over incumbent Joe Garcia increased from 213 votes to 600 votes.

Valenzuela is running in D1 after incumbent Councilwoman Consuelo Martinez decided not to run for re-election. If the results hold, it would give Escondido a Democratic majority for the first time in years.

In Del Mar, the race for two City Council seats remains largely unchanged. Meghan Spieker and Jas Grewal continue to occupy the top two positions. Incumbent Terry Gaasterland has gained ground since election night, increasing her share of the vote from 19.88% to 20.85%, but she remains in third place and outside the top two seats. Jeff Sturgis remains fourth.

In the San Diego County Board of Supervisors District 5 race, Republican Rebecca Jones continues to hold a commanding advantage over Democrat Kyle Krahel. Jones finished election night with a 30,430-vote lead and has expanded her margin to 34,945 votes, despite her percentage slipping slightly from 60.7% to 59.0%.

School boards remain steady

Unlike the mayoral contests, school board races across North County have seen little drama since election night. No major race has changed leaders, and most frontrunners have expanded their margins as additional ballots have been counted.

The closest notable contest remains San Marcos Unified Trustee Area E. Christine Baker’s lead over Derrick Davis has increased from 648 votes to 995 votes.

In Oceanside Unified, all three leaders strengthened their positions. In Trustee Area 3, Joey Pearson expanded his lead over Nicole Watson from 174 votes to 442 votes. In Trustee Area 1, Nancy Licona’s lead grew from 718 votes to 1,327 votes, while in Area 4, Raquel Riojas Alvarez increased her advantage from 629 votes to 1,139 votes.

Several Escondido-area races have also become more decisive. In Escondido Union School District Trustee Area 2, Elizabeth Shulok’s lead increased from 785 votes to 1,335 votes. Area 5 saw one of the largest movements among school board contests, with Bonnie Wagner’s advantage over Frank Huston growing from 1,011 votes to 1,887 votes.

In the Escondido Union High School District, Bob Weller, Joe Hinrichs and David Vincent have all maintained their leads throughout the counting process. Vincent’s margin increased from 1,668 votes to 1,777 votes.

The San Dieguito Union High School District races have shown little movement, with Amy Flicker, Helen Doyle and Justin Moodie maintaining comfortable leads. Candidate standings in the Carlsbad Unified, Del Mar Union and Encinitas Union races also remain unchanged from election night.

Measures holding course

North County ballot measures have largely maintained their election-night trajectories, though one contest remains exceptionally close.

Oceanside Measure S, the continuation of a half-cent sales tax, continues to be one of the closest races in San Diego County. Election night results showed the measure failing by 382 votes. The latest count shows 29,996 votes against the measure and 29,758 in favor, narrowing the margin to just 238 votes.

Interestingly, local election expert Mason Herron of Ballot Box reported last week that a majority of Oceanside voters were in favor of the countywide half-cent sales tax. The county tax would mostly be allocated toward healthcare and about 22% toward the Tijuana River crisis.

Oceanside Measure R, meanwhile, continues to enjoy strong support. Approval has increased from 63.91% on election night to 64.39%.

In Solana Beach, Measure C, a 1% increase to the transient occupancy tax, remains headed for a comfortable victory. Support has climbed from 71.91% to 72.81%, giving the measure a lead of more than 2,600 votes.

Vista Unified’s Measure N, a $543 million school bond, has also strengthened. Support rose from 56.34% on election night to 57.99%, increasing its margin from 4,505 votes to 7,907 votes and placing it above the 55% threshold required for approval.

Countywide measures have followed a similar trajectory. Measure A has a 54,899-vote lead. Measure B, a half-cent tax measure with no sunset clause that is expected to generate at least $400 million per year, expanded its lead from 23,505 votes to 57,191 votes.

Three North County Mayoral Races Flip

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