SAN DIEGO — San Marcos Mayor Rebecca Jones and Democratic Party official Kyle Krahel appeared headed for the November runoff election Tuesday night in the race for the San Diego County Board of Supervisors District 5 seat.
With ballots still being counted, Jones led the field with 41% of the vote, followed by Krahel with 20.3% and Vista Mayor John Franklin with 19.4%, according to the San Diego County Registrar of Voters.
The top two finishers in the nonpartisan primary advance to the Nov. 3 general election. The winner will succeed Supervisor Jim Desmond, a Republican who is termed out of office and is running for the 48th Congressional District seat.
In a statement late Tuesday, Jones said she was “grateful for the support” from voters and “(looks) forward to uniting voters to win the election in November so we can bring common-sense back to county government and reduce the cost of living in San Diego.”
The remaining candidates, tribal leader Norma Contreras and former public health professor Sasha Miller, received 10.79% and 7.93% of the vote, respectively. Write-in candidates accounted for 0.32%.
Desmond was leading the congressional race Tuesday night with nearly 46% of the vote.
Jones, who has served as San Marcos mayor since December 2018, said her top priorities are public safety, quality of life, housing affordability and government accountability.
She was first appointed to the San Marcos City Council in 2007 and served for a decade before seeking the mayor’s office.
“The county needs steady, competent leadership that can navigate challenges in a balanced and productive way,” Jones wrote.
Jones said that during her tenure, San Marcos “achieved the lowest crime rate in our city’s 63-year history, ranked among the top 15 safest cities in California, and became one of America’s safest college towns.”
She also pointed to a reported 76% reduction in homelessness in San Marcos.
“We banned street encampments while investing in shelter partnerships and mental health support,” Jones said.
Krahel, an Oceanside native and former deputy chief of staff for U.S. Rep. Mike Levin, said affordability, housing and securing additional county resources for North County would be among his priorities if elected.
North County has experienced significant housing growth over the past decade and needs corresponding infrastructure investments, he said.
Krahel supports building more housing and updating county zoning ordinances to encourage suitable housing projects. He said increasing housing supply could help address homelessness, alongside expanded behavioral health outreach and shelter services.
He also highlighted his experience securing federal funding, including $1 million for Oceanside’s first permanent homeless shelter.
Krahel, who earned a bachelor’s degree in government from Harvard University, said he has working relationships with all members of the current Board of Supervisors.
“When it comes to getting things done, sometimes the solution is finding compromise,” Krahel said, “or disagreeing without being disagreeable.”
Franklin, who was elected Vista mayor in 2022 after serving two terms on the City Council, campaigned on affordability, public safety, fire prevention, road improvements, opposition to tax increases and efforts to address homelessness.
“I’m a passionate opponent of higher taxes because they always fall on the backs of working families, cutting into your paycheck and your purchasing power,” Franklin said on his campaign website.
Franklin also advocated for greater use of California’s conservatorship laws to help individuals experiencing severe mental illness or substance use disorders.
He cited his role in creating Vista’s strategic plan on homelessness and noted his experience as a former congressional policy adviser and business owner.
For residents in unincorporated communities, county government serves as the primary provider of services, including law enforcement, public health, infrastructure and animal control.
Although the Board of Supervisors is officially nonpartisan, recent years have highlighted ideological divisions between its three Democratic and two Republican members on issues ranging from homelessness to immigration policy.
District 5, the county’s largest supervisorial district by geographic area, is home to roughly 685,000 to 700,000 residents. It includes the cities of Escondido, Oceanside, San Marcos and Vista, along with Camp Pendleton, portions of the North County coastline, extensive agricultural and forest lands and numerous tribal reservations.
The district also includes unincorporated communities such as Borrego Springs, Fallbrook, Pauma Valley, Rainbow, Valley Center and Warner Springs.
In the race for county treasurer-tax collector, incumbent Larry Cohen led with 45.79% of the vote. Shirley Nakawatase was second with 34.72%, followed by Supervisor Joel Anderson with 16.01% and Victor Roy with 3.11%.
An unidentified write-in candidate received 0.37% of the vote.
