ESCONDIDO — The candidates for the November elections have been finalized. Three candidates will be running for mayor, current Mayor Sam Abed, Deputy Mayor Olga Diaz and Stephen Siaw.
Siaw was unavailable for comment.
This will be Mayor Abed’s second time running for Mayor. He has been a councilman since 2004.
Diaz is running against him. If she loses, she will keep her seat as Councilwoman of District Three, which she’s held since 2008.
Councilman Ed Gallo will run against Consuelo Martinez for District One. Gallo has served since 2000.
Martinez is a legal assistant for The American Civil Liberties Union and is endorsed by Diaz.
District Two residents will decide between current Councilman John Masson, Nicole Downey, Chad “Shad” Hunziker and Rick Paul.
Masson was appointed in 2012 and is Escondido’s representative on the League of California Cities.
Downey is an accountant and Hunziker owns Our Planet Recycling.
Rick Paul was a founding member of El Caballo Park Conservancy and of the Escondido Charitable Foundation.
Only residents in the district can vote for their council representative.
All Escondido residents can vote for mayor on Election Day, Nov. 4.
