DEL MAR — Voters in Del Mar and Solana Beach will see some familiar faces running in council and school board races and the San Dieguito Union High School District board is facing a potential majority shift to a more conservative board.
Del Mar voters will be asked to select three individuals to serve on the Del Mar City Council and three to fill seats on the Del Mar Union School District board of trustees.
Del Mar council members and school board members are all elected at large rather than by district, which is common in most other cities.
Del Mar’s council race will be fairly straightforward, with three candidates running for three open general seats. Incumbents Tracy Martinez and Dan Quirk are running for re-election alongside new candidate John Spelich, while incumbent and current mayor Dave Druker is retiring after nearly 21 years on the council and is not seeking re-election.
Both Martinez and Quirk were elected in 2020 and are seeking their second four-year terms.
Del Mar Union School District
In the Del Mar Union School District, two incumbents and four challengers are running for three open school board seats. Trustees Gee Wah Mok and Alan Kholos will both be on the ballot, and Trustee Erica Halpern is not seeking re-election.
Challengers include parents Danielle Roybal and Genevieve Goldstone, retired teacher William Porter III, and Del Mar Schools Education Foundation Vice President Helen Doyle.
Like the city of Del Mar, the Del Mar Union School District holds at-large elections rather than electing board members by area. In this election, the top three vote-getters will be elected to the board.
Kholos will seek election after being appointed to the board in 2023 due to former trustee Scott Wooden’s resignation. While the term for that seat technically lasts until 2026, the election code states that an appointee can only serve until the next regularly scheduled election, which is the upcoming 2024 election.
Mok has been on the board since 2019 and is seeking his third term. Halpern is retiring after serving on the board since 2015.
San Dieguito Union High School District
Five candidates are running for two open seats on the San Dieguito Union High School District board of trustees, a race that could change the board’s balance.
Incumbent Michael Allman is running for re-election to his Area 4 seat, representing Rancho Santa Fe and parts of Carmel Valley, against former Carlsbad Planning Commissioner and political consultant Kevin Sabellico.
Current Area 2 Trustee Katrina Young is not seeking re-election. Jodie Williams, currently a trustee on the Encinitas Union High School District board, and parent Kelly Friis are both running for the SDUHSD Area 2 seat, which covers La Costa Canyon, La Costa Oaks South and Rancho Ponderosa.
While school boards are supposed to be nonpartisan, San Dieguito’s board has been split along hard party lines in recent years. Young, along with trustees Jane Lea Smith and Rimga Viskanta, currently make up a Democratic majority on the board, while Allman and Trustee Phan Anderson are in the minority.
SOLANA BEACH
Solana Beach City Council
All three incumbent Solana Beach City Council members whose seats are up for election are running unopposed in November. This includes Mayor Lesa Heebner, District 1 Councilmember Dave Zito and District 3 Councilmember Jewel Edson.
Heebner is seeking her second term as mayor after winning the city’s first-ever mayoral election in 2020. She previously served 13 years on the City Council.
Zito has served on the City Council since 2012 and is seeking his fourth term. District 1 covers the city’s northwest area, including Skyline, Santa Helena, Solana Mar and Solana Vista.
Edson is running for her third term, having been on the City Council since 2016. District 3 covers the southernmost part of the city south of Nardo Avenue, including Solana Highlands, Del Mar Shores, Seascape Sur, and the southern portion of the Cedros Design District. It also covers the area east of Interstate 5 and south of Highland Drive, including Avocado Place.
Solana Beach School District
In the Solana Beach School District, three individuals are also running for three open seats. These include Area 2 incumbent Dana King, Area 3 appointee Katie Suel and challenger Tanya Koshy.
King has been on the school board since 2020 and is running unopposed for his second term for Area 2, which includes Santa Helena and Solana Vista Elementary School.
Suel was appointed to the board in 2023 to fill the seat for Area 3, which includes Carmel Valley and parts of Rancho Santa Fe, as well as Solana Santa Fe and Solana Highlands elementary schools. She is also running unopposed for a full term.
Koshy, a district parent and business owner, is running unopposed for the Area 5 seat. Incumbent Julie Union is not seeking re-election.
