ENCINITAS — Several key races in Encinitas are coming down to the wire.
Mayoral challenger Rimga Viskanta’s lead over incumbent Bruce Ehlers narrowed to 19 votes in the latest unofficial returns, down from 73 votes in a Nov. 6 count.
Viskanta, a school board trustee, had 13,753 votes, or 50.03%, to Ehlers’ 13,734 votes, or 49.97%, in the San Diego County Registrar of Voters’ latest update at 5:56 p.m. Nov. 10.
Ehlers led by 27 votes in the early Nov. 4 returns before Viskanta moved ahead.
The registrar reported 1,144,289 ballots counted and estimated that about 120,000 remained outstanding countywide. The next update is scheduled for Nov. 12 by 6 p.m. The registrar did not specify how many ballots remained in each local contest.
In Encinitas’ District 3 council race, Arielle Golden’s lead over Ed Sprague narrowed from 96 votes to 56. Golden had 3,192 votes, or 50.44%, to Sprague’s 3,136 votes, or 49.56%. In District 4, Brad Lefkowits led Marco San Antonio by 1,015 votes, with 56.84% of the vote.
In San Marcos, Sharon Jenkins widened her mayoral lead over Mike Sannella from 232 votes to 890. Jenkins had 16,102 votes, or 51.42%, to Sannella’s 15,212 votes, or 48.58%.
The San Marcos District 2 council race remained closer. Justin Matsushita led Lindsey Smith by 202 votes, up from 79 in the Nov. 6 count. Matsushita had 4,684 votes, or 51.10%, to Smith’s 4,482 votes, or 48.90%. In District 1, Maria Nuñez held a commanding lead over challenger Thomas Gabriele, 71.43% to 28.57%.
The latest returns showed new leaders in the Vista and Escondido mayoral races compared with the Nov. 6 count. In Vista, Kenneth Zuniga led Joe Green by 674 votes after trailing by 402. Zuniga had 14,930 votes, or 51.15%, to Green’s 14,256 votes, or 48.85%.
The candidates are vying to succeed Mayor John Franklin, who ran for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors and did not advance past the primary.
In District 1, incumbent Councilmember Corinna Contreras led Frank Nuñez, a member of the Vista Irrigation District board, by 352 votes.
In District 4, incumbent Councilmember Dan O’Donnell led challenger Josh Davis with 71% of the vote.
In Escondido, Elias Velazquez led Mayor Dane White by 733 votes after trailing by 1,221 in the Nov. 6 count. Velazquez had 21,341 votes, or 50.87%, to White’s 20,608 votes, or 49.13%.
In Escondido District 2, Anthony DiMartino widened his lead over incumbent Joe Garcia from 277 votes to 765. DiMartino had 7,377 votes, or 52.73%, to Garcia’s 6,612 votes, or 47.27%. Vanessa Valenzuela led Tanner Horsley in District 1 with 68.05%.
In Oceanside, Deputy Mayor Eric Joyce led challenger Michael Cline with 62.16% of the vote in his bid for another four-year term representing District 1. In District 2, Councilmember Richard “Rick” Robinson led Emily Gonzales by 394 votes in a five-candidate field.
Oceanside’s Measure R, which would amend the city charter to require state prevailing wages on public works projects and allow project labor agreements, had 64.43% support.
Measure S, the city’s proposed half-cent sales tax increase, trailed by 199 votes, with 50.16% opposed and 49.84% in favor.
Carlsbad’s local races showed wider margins. Incumbent Mayor Keith Blackburn led the four-candidate field with about 71% of the vote as of Wednesday morning, ahead of Eric Nixon, Stephen Banister and Bill Arsenault.
Blackburn has served as mayor since 2022. He was first elected to the City Council in 2008 and served as mayor pro tem in 2020, 2021 and 2022.
Mayor Pro Tem Priya Bhat-Patel led Wayland T. Lim in District 3, while incumbent Councilmember Melanie Burkholder led Nate Larson in District 1.
Incumbent Treasurer Christian Peacox led Thomas E. Krouse. City Clerk Sherry A. Freisinger ran unopposed.
Planning commissioners Meghan Spieker and Jas Grewal held the top two spots in the race for two at-large seats on the Del Mar City Council, with 1,150 and 938 votes, respectively. Councilmember Terry Gaasterland, the only incumbent in the race, was in third place with 743 votes. Challenger Jeff Sturgis was fourth with 670.
Both Solana Beach City Council candidates ran unopposed. Incumbent Councilmember Kristi Becker ran in District 2, and Jenna Wolfe-Dellamano, who has never served on the council, ran in District 4.
Measure C would raise the city’s tax on hotels and other lodging from 13% to 14%. The rate has remained unchanged for 20 years, according to city documents.
The measure, the only contested item on the ballot in Solana Beach, led by 2,811 votes in unofficial returns, with 4,445 in favor and 1,634 opposed. It needs a simple majority to pass.
“Measure C will not impact your taxes as a resident of Solana Beach; it applies only to visitors who stay in local hotels or lodging to fund the services visitors and resident value in Solana Beach,” the city argued in a statement to voters. “All money raised by Measure C is reinvested back into the community to fund essential services and facilities in Solana Beach. By law, it can’t be taken away by the county, state, or federal governments.”
Education
In the race for three seats on the Encinitas Union School District board, Chris Hargrave, Bill Shen and Jillian Cocayne each had at least 50% more votes than fourth-place candidate Jorge Sanchez.
In three San Dieguito Union High School District board races, Helen Doyle, Justin Moodie and Amy Flicker held sizable leads over Summer Boger, Ginny Merrifield and David Miyashiro, respectively.
In the Oceanside Unified School District, incumbent Nancy Licona led challenger Jerry Garcia Avila with 61.75% of the vote in Trustee Area 1.
Joey Pearson led Nicole Watson with 54.37% in Trustee Area 3, while incumbent Raquel Riojas Alvarez led Jason Bethurum with 59.26% in Trustee Area 4.
Of the two Palomar College board races on the ballot, Area 5 was the closer contest. In Area 1, incumbent Trustee Judy Patacsil had nearly twice as many votes as her closest challenger, Anthony Wiley.
In the open Area 5 race, Jennifer Jeffries, who is backed by the college’s faculty and staff unions, led retired University of San Diego professor Michelle Moore by 1,214 votes, or about 2.5 percentage points.
The Carlsbad Unified School District board could see changes in the next term. Board President Michele Tsutagawa Ward, the incumbent in Area 1, led challenger Amber Martinez.
In Area 4, challenger Tracey Perrault led incumbent Gretchen Vurbeff by 589 votes.
For the Area 5 seat, Chris Waidelich led Joel Gutierrez by 772 votes. Neither candidate has served on the school board.
Samantha Nelson, Jim Trageser and Cameron Adams contributed to this report.
