San Diego City Council could look much different with four seats on ballot

SAN DIEGO (CNS) - Four San Diego City Council races on Tuesday's ballot could significantly change the city's legislative body, with two incumbents seeking reelection and two seats open.

In District 2, former Coronado Mayor Richard Bailey faces Deputy City Attorney Nicole Crosby for the right to represent Point Loma, Ocean Beach, Mission Bay, Midway, Bay Park and Clairemont. Councilwoman Jennifer Campbell is termed out.

Bailey, a former Republican who changed his registration in February and is running as "no party preference," won the June primary with 35% of the vote, about 1 percentage point ahead of Crosby. The two Democratic candidates, Crosby and Josh Coyne, together received about 47% of the vote.

The council races, like all municipal races in California, are nonpartisan.

Bailey has been linked to President Donald Trump, whom he has voted for three times and publicly supported. He has sought to distance his campaign from the White House, focusing instead on City Hall and what he describes as mismanagement by Democratic Mayor Todd Gloria and the all-Democratic City Council. The council has not had a Republican member since Chris Cate was termed out in 2022.