Bart Miesfeld has a narrow lead in the special election for Chula Vista City Attorney.
Unofficial early results show Miesfeld leading Marco Verdugo by less than 300 votes. Dan Smith Diaz is running a distant third.
Given the close margin between Miesfeld and Verdugo the race will go to a runoff, according to a KPBS race call.
Smith Diaz emailed a statement to KPBS saying he was disappointed in the early results.
"There is no climbing out of this hole," the email read.
Whoever wins will become Chula Vista’s top lawyer. They will lead an office that provides legal advice on a myriad of issues from the bayfront development to addressing the city’s homeless situation.
They will lead an office that works with the city’s boards and commissions and each of its municipal departments, including the city clerk’s office, public works, and the police and fire departments.
Chula Vista is having a special election because voters selected a dead candidate in the November 2022 race.
The winner of that race, Simon Silva, died of cancer before the election but after his name could be removed from the ballots. The San Diego Democratic Party told voters to vote for Silva anyway.
This special election, and a likely runoff if none of the three candidates get more than 51% of the vote, will cost Chula Vista taxpayers as much as $2 million.
Miesfeld has more than 20 years of experience in the Chula Vista City Attorney’s Office. He joined in 1998 to help build its litigation branch. He worked his way up the ranks from assistant city attorney to senior assistant city attorney and finally appointed city attorney from 2008 to 2010 – before the role became an elected position.
Verdugo began his legal career as an intern in the Chula Vista City Attorney’s Office in 2011. He went on to work as a deputy city attorney in San Diego and currently works for a private law firm that provides legal services to local cities. Verdugo serves as deputy city attorney of both Coronado and Solana Beach.
Smith Diaz lost the 2022 city attorney election by 679 votes – out of a total 59,975 votes cast. He was listed as “Daniel Smith” on that ballot and said he chose to add his Diaz surname for this election at the request of his mother.
He was, and remains, critical of the fact that the local Democratic Party told voters to run for Silva even though he had passed away.
Smith Diaz started his career as a federal public defender. He then started a private practice in Chula Vista while simultaneously running a small business.
Votes will continue to be counted in the coming weeks, with the San Diego County Registrar of Voters releasing periodic updates. The final vote will be certified on Dec. 7.
