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Gloria Headed For San Diego Mayor Runoff; Sherman, Bry Battling For Second Spot

Assemblyman Todd Gloria is seen in this undated campaign photo.
Todd Gloria campaign
Assemblyman Todd Gloria is seen in this undated campaign photo.
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UPDATE: 10:43 a.m., March 6, 2020

State Assemblyman Todd Gloria appears headed to the November runoff in the San Diego mayor's race with more than 40% of the vote. But the race for the second spot is too close to call, with San Diego City Council members Scott Sherman and Barbara Bry 3,063 votes apart.

The San Diego County Registrar of Voters predicts there are still 350,000 ballots left to be counted countywide.

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Speaking on election night, Gloria was confident in his spot.

"I’ve been feeling pretty good for a while now," he said. "Wherever I go, wherever I’ve been, folks are coming up and saying, ‘We’re with you, we like your vision, we believe in you.' So I’m just glad to see that translate into votes."

Gloria Headed For San Diego Mayor Runoff; Sherman, Bry Battling For Second Spot

Original Story

The race between the candidates for San Diego mayor will be narrowed to two after Tuesday night — will it be two Democrats or the more traditional Republican-Democrat face off?

Polls, fundraising and endorsements all suggest Democratic state Assemblyman Todd Gloria will advance to the November general election. However, it is less clear whether Barbara Bry, a Democrat, or Scott Sherman, a Republican, will join him. Community activist Tasha Williamson is also in the race.

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The top two vote-getters in the March primary, regardless of party, will be on the November ballot. As of the beginning of January, 42.6 percent of the city's registered voters are Democrats in the city, 21.2 percent are Republicans and 30.1 percent are registered with no party preference.

Gloria spent eight years on the City Council and also served as interim mayor in 2013 and 2014 after Mayor Bob Filner stepped down amid a sexual harassment scandal. During his time in the city, he focused on infrastructure issues, including street and sidewalk repair.

Beyond his work on infrastructure, Gloria, who is openly gay, said he's proud to have passed laws protecting the LGBTQ community and increasing access to treatment for HIV.

Gloria touts his successful effort to raise the city's minimum wage and his push for the city's Climate Action Plan.

If elected mayor, Gloria said he'd work on helping San Diego address its affordable housing crisis and win over skeptics of new development.

He's built a coalition of supporters that rarely get behind the same candidate. Among others, he's been endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, as well as the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce, which historically backs Republicans.

Bry has built her platform on a more restrained approach to housing development, as well as opposition to electric scooters and short-term home rental platforms like AirBnb.

Bry had careers as a journalist and businesswoman before her election to City Council in 2016. She puts homelessness among her top priorities and said she supports building more housing. However, she has also attacked the "Yes in My Backyard" or YIMBY movement, which pushes for cities to build more housing, saying the group of mostly younger activists are pawns of Wall Street investors looking to corporatize San Diego neighborhoods.

Sherman has long been known for his disdain for public office, but said he decided to run for mayor after hearing support from so many residents.

If elected, Sherman's biggest issue would be housing.

"Specifically middle-market housing," he said. "What happens is you have people in subsidized housing and they start doing better and moving their way up the economic ladder, and there's no place for them to go."

He'd build more housing by adding density bonuses and changing zoning, like he did in Grantville in his district.

He also said the city needs to be tougher on homelessness, wants to reduce labor unions' power at city hall using collective bargaining and is not a fan of bike lanes.

Williamson made a name for herself by leading protests against city leaders, organizing protests after Earl McNeil died in National City Police custody.

She said there was no one who looked like her in the mayor's race and no one who cared about her community of Southeast San Diego, so she jumped in.

State Assemblyman Todd Gloria has a double-digit lead over San Diego City Council members Scott Sherman and Barbara Bry.
Gloria Headed For San Diego Mayor Runoff; Sherman, Bry Battling For Second Spot
Listen to this story by Andrew Bowen.

The 2024 primary election is March 5. Find in-depth reporting on each race to help you understand what's on your ballot.