Henry Foster III, chief of staff for County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe, appeared Monday to be on his way to representing the San Diego City Council’s District 4, following the latest update of vote-counting from last week’s election.
With around 30,000 ballots left to tally countywide, Foster had 53.8% of the vote, with a simple majority needed to avoid a runoff in November.
Chida Warren-Darby, a boards and commissions director, was second with 27.3% of the vote, followed by Tylisa Suseberry, who works for the state Senate and is a small business owner, with 18.9%.
The seat, which represents south and east San Diego neighborhoods such as Encanto, Lincoln Park, Skyline and Paradise Hills, has been vacant since Montgomery Steppe was elected to the Board of Supervisors.
Montgomery Steppe’s last action in the role was to push Council President Sean Elo-Rivera into another term in that role by a 5-4 margin. The move was contentious among the more moderate council members — although the nonpartisan council was made up of nine Democrats, so the scale is relative. New blood in the vacant council seat will likely have an impact on the dynamic of the council.
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Elo-Rivera also holds the lead in his re-election bid for City Council District 9, which represents the mid-city area, including College Area, Rolando, City Heights, Mountain View and Talmadge. He had 51.5% of the vote over Terry Hoskins, retired police officer/military, with 30.6% and Fernando Garcia, a business owner and a member of the San Diego Association of Realtors, with 17.9%.
Elo-Rivera was originally elected to the council president’s role on Dec. 6, 2021, replacing Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell.
In District 3, which represents downtown and the city core, incumbent Councilman Stephen Whitburn holds a lead over three opponents, pulling in 52.5% of the vote. Second place was held by Coleen Cusack, a trial attorney/educator, with 20.8%, followed by Kate Callen, a community volunteer, with 16.7% and Ellis California Jones III, an inspector, with 10%.
The leadership of Council Districts 1, 5 and 7 — represented by Joe LaCava, Marni von Wilpert and Raul Campillo respectively — will not change. Those leaders ran unopposed in their re-election bids.
