Kevin Faulconer, David Alvarez Headed To Runoff In Race To Succeed Bob Filner

[frylock]

SAN DIEGO, Nov 20 (Reuters) - A Republican city councilman and a Latino Democrat with party backing appeared headed for a runoff in an election to replace former San Diego Mayor Bob Filner, who resigned in a sexual harassment scandal, unofficial returns showed on Wednesday.

Republican Kevin Faulconer and Democrat David Alvarez were the top two vote-getters in a race crowded with 11 candidates vying to succeed Filner, the first Democrat elected mayor of California's second-largest city in two decades.

Faulconer garnered 44 percent of the vote, and Alvarez trailed him with 26 percent, appearing to edge out fellow Democrat Nathan Fletcher by just over 2,600 votes out of more than 200,000 cast in Tuesday's officially nonpartisan election, the returns showed.

But the results were still unofficial. Some 34,500 mail and provisional ballots had yet to be counted, well above the number needed by Fletcher to inch back into second place, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters, which posted returns online with 100 percent of precincts reporting.

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/20/san-diego-mayor-election_n_4309962.html

[KamaAina]

1. Fletcher is an ex-repuke

who switched to indy, then to Dem, after he decided the repuke party had become too unhinged for him.

It'll certainly be interesting to see where Fletcher voters came from, and how they'll break. Alvarez needs almost all of them, plus a decent turnout. Otherwise, the second-largest city in California goes back to the repukes because Filner couldn't keep it in his pants.

[frylock]

2. hard to believe that we have a good shot at getting a progressive mayor..

after all of Filner's fuckups.

[pinto]

5. Good luck SD Dems. GOTV!

[haele]

7. Love to keep Gloria, but he's got legislative ambitions.

Mayor of San Diego tends to be a tail end of a government career type of job, not a stepping-stone in politics. With the exception of Wilson, it's pretty much been the next step to an NGO or private sector career (or shock radio - cough-cough-Hedgekook...).

Perhaps one could get a Port District or County district job out of it, but it's pretty much a local politics position - mainly because the power Downtown is its own little kingdom, and they got their power playing with the wealthy or political movers-n-shakers vacationing down here. Military doesn't really count when it comes to playing political games with Sacramento and Washington; the trick with keeping the military down here is not to rock the boat and mess with any of the contracts as it were. The scientific community/technocrats who build businesses here also don't want any drama or earth-shattering innovations in community building; they want a nice, quiet, sleepy neighborhood sort of town with nice, quiet, sleepy politics.

Those movers and shakers don't want their vacation world interfering with their "business" world, so San Diego stays in the corner. Downtown knows which side of the bread the butter is on; don't want to risk losing it playing LA or NorCal politics.

Just my take.

Haele

[Agnosticsherbet]

3. The real question, can Faulconer improve on his 44%?

If Fletcher drew a lot of Republicans they will probably migrate back. Democrats will stick with Alvarez.

[haele]

4. If Fletcher drew the Republicans, they didn't want to vote for Faulconer.

They'd stay at home rather than vote for either Faulconer or Alvarez. Maybe a few mistook Fletcher for Faulconer, but Faulconer was at the top of the ballot, and Fletcher was towards the middle, so they would have most likely picked the republican if they wanted the republican.
Fletcher would have been pretty much the heir to Sander's policies - maybe a Pete Wilson, who many old school Republicans around here liked (he was supported by the BBB), while Faulconer would have been like a sanctimonious Murphy with just a touch of sectarianism.

I'm glad there's a run-off. Fletcher was too much of a spoiler.

Haele

[frylock]

6. excellent insight, as always