Need Some Help Weeding Thru Candidates in the 2024 General Election?

Voting Guide for Props & Measures is a separate post elsewhere on this site

I’ve written so many articles about this country’s condition in the post-Obama era that I overlooked stating the obvious: 

• I am voting for and urging readers to support the Harris/Walz ticket.

I’m voting for a competent government (that’s the goal, anyway), not a firehouse of lies aimed at making me throw up my hands and not care. 

Over the past month I wrote two dozen or so articles focusing on specific contests. In this guide are links to those articles, plus the internet connections to campaigns. In some instances, I’ll make an endorsement. 

• Given the reluctance of the Republican Party to stand against injustice, indignities, and incompetence, I urge readers to abstain from voting for any of their candidates down ballot. 

It’s not that I love Democrats, it’s about negating those capable of enabling or overlooking authoritarian rule.

• I don’t ask you to agree with me, but I do ask you to vote. 

It’s a priority obligation for citizens needed to keep our secular democracy going. The bad guys are at the door. They have a gameplan (Project 2025) and intend to use it.

Personally, I like diversity, freedom of expression, a social safety net, and the humane use of science to advance the world. Vote like your future depends on it, because it does.

***Also, because of all the links in his guide, you may have to click on a ‘continued’ link to see the end. (Google says file is too big)

California Assembly & State Senate Races

Who Is San Diego Sending to Sacramento This Year? by Doug Porter

California Assembly - District 75 
Republican incumbent Marie Waldron Is Termed Out

• There’s a war going on in the Republican Party between these two. One of them is a grifting asshole; the other is endorsed by the County GOP. I’m sure glad I don’t live in D75

Carl DeMaio (Republican) Website | Facebook | Xitter
Andrew Hayes (Republican) Website  | Facebook  | Xitter

California Assembly - District 76 
Democratic Incumbent Brian Maienschein is termed out

• Pick Patel for sure

Darshana Patel (Democrat) Website  | Facebook  | Xitter 
Kristie Bruce-Lane (Republican) Website | Facebook | X itter

California Assembly District 77
Incumbent is Tasha Boerner-Horvath 

• It’s Tasha all the way for me. 

Tasha Boerner-Horvath (Democrat) Website  | Facebook  | X itter
James Browne (Republican) Website | Facebook | X itter

California Assembly District 78 
Incumbent Democrat Chris Ward has no challenger.

California Assembly District 79
Incumbent Democrat Akilah Weber is running for State Senate

• Either candidate could do this job successfully

Colin Parent (Democrat) Website | Facebook  | X itter
LaShae Sharp-Collins (Democrat) Website  | Facebook  | X itter

California Assembly District 80
Incumbent Democrat David Alvarez is running for reelection.

• No reason to change

David Alvarez (Democrat) Website | Facebook | X itter
Michael W Williams (Republican) Website  | Facebook | X itter

California State Senate District 39
Incumbent Democrat Toni Atkins is termed out

• Vote for the candidate who obviously wants the job

Akilah Weber (Democrat) Website  | Facebook | X itter
Bob Devine (Republican) No campaign presence.

***

United States House & Senate contests

Who Will Represent Us in Washington DC? by Doug Porter

California United States Senate (Special election)
California United States Senate (Term starting in 2025)
Incumbent Democrat Dianne Feinstein passed away

The same two candidates are running in both elections. 

• The GOP candidate is unqualified

Adam Schiff (Democrat) Website  | Facebook  |  X itter
Steve Garvey (Republican) Website  | Facebook  | X itter

US House of Representatives, District 49 
Incumbent is Democrat Mike Levin

• Levin is a keeper

Mike Levin (Democrat) Website  | Facebook  | X  itter
Matt Gunderson (Republican) Website  | Facebook  | X itter

US House of Representatives, District 50
Incumbent is Democrat Scott Peters

• We can live with Peters

Scott Peters (Democrat) Website  | Facebook  | X  itter
Peter Bono (Republican) Website  | 

US House of Representatives, District 51 
Incumbent is Democrat Sara Jacobs

• Yes. Yes. Yes! for Sara

Sara Jacobs, Democrat Website  |  Facebook  | X  itter
Bill Wells, Republican Website  |  Facebook  |  X  itter

US House of Representatives, District 52
Incumbent is Democrat Juan Vargas

• Vote for Vargas

Juan Vargas, Democrat Website  |  Facebook | X itter
Justin Lee, Republican Personal X itter Not a serious candidate

City of San Diego

Mayor
Incumbent Democrat Todd Gloria is running for reelection

• Don’t vote for Turner. The Lincoln Club is spending north of $450,000 to elect a rubber stamp for our landholding overlords. Check out the KPBS Mayoral debate.

My analysis of Mayoral contest – It’s Crunch Time for Mayor Todd Gloria
Jim Miller’s take on Larry Turner - Making San Diego Great Again: What Should We Make of Larry Turner Nation?

Todd Gloria - Democrat Website | Facebook | X itter
Larry Turner - Independent Website | Facebook | X itter

City Attorney of San Diego
Incumbent Democrat Mara Elliott is termed out

• Thought about this long and hard. Go with Ferbert

Heather Ferbert -Democrat Website | Facebook | X itter
Brian Maienschein - Democrat Website | 

***

San Diego City Council 2024 Elections
This year the odd-numbered council seats were up for election. General elections for Districts 1,5, and 7 were canceled when nobody filed to oppose the incumbents.

San Diego City Council District 3 
Incumbent Democrat Stephen Whitburn is running for re-election.

• It’s time for a change. Vote for Colleen

Stephen Whitburn - Democrat Website | Facebook | X itter
Colleen Cusack - Democrat Facebook | X itter

San Diego City Council District 9 
Incumbent Democrat Sean Elo-Rivera is running for re-election

• Never, ever, bet against Sean

Sean Elo-Rivera - Democrat Website | Facebook | X itter
Terry Hoskins - Republican Democrat Website | Facebook | X itter

ERROR- Hoskins was mistakenly labeled as a Republican. His endorsement by the SDPOA threw me off.

San Diego County Board of Supervisors

District 1 - Incumbent Nora Vargas is running against Alejandro Galicia. These elections are supposedly nonpartisan affairs, which really means you won’t see a political party next to a candidate’s name on your ballot. (Sorry, U-T interviews are subscriber only)

• Endorsement Vargas; Galicia is a Dodgers fan.

Nora Vargas (Democrat) Website | Facebook | Xitter
Union-Tribune Candidate Interview
Alejandro Galicia (Republican) Facebook | Xitter
Union-Tribune Candidate Interview

District 2 - Incumbent Joel Anderson is running against Gina Jacobs to represent the citizens of east county.

• This might be one of those contests where you don’t vote for the Republican, just because. (Remember what I said about Republicans)

Joel Anderson (Republican) Website  | Facebook Union-Tribune Candidate Interview
Gina Jacobs (Democrat) Website | Facebook Union-Tribune Candidate Interview

District 3 Incumbent Terra Lawson-Remer is running against Kevin Faulconer. This is the most contentious contest on ballots in San Diego. At stake will be partisan control of the Board of Supervisors.

Terra Lawson-Remer (Democrat) Website  | Facebook  | Xitter
Union-Tribune-Candidate Interview
Kevin Faulconer (Republican) Website  | Facebook  | Xitter
Union-Tribune-Candidate Interview

• Union Tribune money quote:  We wouldn’t trust Faulconer to run a lemonade stand. Lawson-Remer for supervisor.

• Me: What they said. First time I’ve ever donated money to support a local candidate

• Also: Faulconer Fronts for Developers, Aims for GOP Control by Doug Porter

• Public Docs Show Supervisor Candidate Faulconer Advised Firm Involved in SANDAG Toll Problems by JW August at Times of San Diego

***

Some Local School Boards

Overview Don’t Get Bored by Board of Education Elections by Thomas Ultican & Doug Porter - Thom & I differ on a couple of endorsements because I’m stubborn and won’t support Republicans. This guide includes my endorsements; the article includes his.

Union Tribune’s herculean survey Who’s running for school board? Meet the candidates in every district around San Diego County (Click on the name of the district for specific results)

San Diego County Board of Education

Incumbents Gregg Robinson in District-1 and Guadalupe Gonzalez in District-2 are running unopposed. Districts 3 and 5 are not up this time around.

In District-4, Erin Evans and Sarah Song, are vying for the seat. 

• Recommended for County Board of Education district-4 is Erin Evans.

San Diego Unified School District (SDUSD)

Richard Barrera (District-D) and Sharon D. Whitehurst-Payne (District-E), are running unopposed.

District-A , Incumbent Sabrina Bazzo is facing challenger Crystal Trull.

• Recommended for SDUSD District-A is Sabrina Bazzo.

Sweetwater Union High School District (SUHSD)

In District-2, Adrian E. Arancibia is facing off against Angelica Martinez.

• Recommended for SUHSD district-2 is Adrian E. Arancibia.

In District 4, there’s a matchup between Olga Espinoza and Rodolfo “Rudy” Lopez.

• Recommended for SUHSD district-4 is Rodolfo “Rudy” Lopez.

Poway Unified School District (PUSD)

Area-A has a contest between Timothy Dougherty and Devesh Vashishtha. 

• Recommended for PUSD trustee area-A is Devesh Vashishtha.

Area-E has three candidates on the ballot, Craig Pond, David Cheng and incumbent Cindy Sytsma.

• Recommended for PUSD trustee area-E is David Cheng

Chula Vista Elementary School District (CVESD)

In District-2, incumbent Lucy Ugarte is challenged by Sharmane Estolano. 

• Recommended for CVESD district-2 is Lucy Ugarte.

District-4’s race is complicated. There are five candidates, incumbent Kate Bishop, Zenith Khan, Jesus F. Partida, Tanya Williams and board member Francisco Tamayo. Tamayo says he disapproves of Bishop’s support of curriculum concerning sexuality, saying it is not age-appropriate. Bishop says Tamayo’s claims that she made racist remarks during a closed board session are false. This LaPrensa article or this inewsource article tell the backstory.

• Recommended for CVESD district-4 is Kate Bishop.

Vista Unified School District (VUSD)

Trustee area 1.  Amanda “Mandy” Remmen is running against Mike Markov.

• Recommended for trustee area 1 is Amanda Remmen

Trustee area-4 has incumbent Cipriano Vargas being challenged by Frank Nunez and Zulema Gomez.

• Recommended for trustee area 4 is Zulema Gomez

In Trustee area 5, Anthony “TJ” Crossman is vying with Sue Martin.

• Recommended for trustee area-5 is Sue Martin.

San Marco Unified School District (SMUSD)

In Trustee area-A, Carlos Ulloa faces off with Heidi Herrick.

• Recommended for trustee area-A is Caros Ulloa.

Trustee area-B has incumbent Sarah Ahmad  being challenged by Brittany Bower. 

• Recommended for trustee area-B is Sarah Ahmad.

Trustee area-D has incumbent Jamie Chamberlain facing Lena Lauer Meum

• Recommended for trustee area-D is Jamie Chamberlain.

Grossmont Union High School District (GUHSD)

Trustee area-1 has Azura Chrisawn vs Randall Dear vs incumbent Chris Fite vs Debra Harrington. 

• Recommended for trustee area-1 is Chris Fite.

Trustee area-2 has five candidates: Jay Steiger, Marsha J. Christman, Scott Eckert, Jim Stieringer, and Andrew Simmerman.

• Recommended for trustee area-2 is Jay Steiger.

San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD)

Trustee area-2 has Kelly Friis running against Jodie Williams.

• Recommended for trustee area-2 is Jodie Williams.

Trustee area-4 incumbent Michael Allman is being challenged by Kevin Sabellico. 

• Recommended for trustee area-4 is Kevin Sabellico.

Escondido Union High School District (EUHSD)

In Trustee area-3 Clay Brown is challenging incumbent Christi Knight. 

• Recommended for trustee area-3 is Clay Brown.

Trustee area-4 is a matchup between incumbent Ryan S. Williams, and Dara Czerwonka.

• Recommended for trustee area-4 is Dara Czerwonka.

Oceanside Unified School District (OUSD)

In Trustee area-2, Emily Wichmann is running to unseat incumbent Eleanor Evans. 

• Recommended for trustee area-2 is Eleanor Evans.

Trustee area-5 matches incumbent Mike Blessing against Rosie Higuera. 

• Recommended for trustee area-5 is Mike Blessing.

Other Voting Guides/Endorsement Lists

Democratic Party (If in doubt…)
Republican Party (So you know who not to vote for)
League of Women Voters 
KPBS Voter Hub
YIMBY Democrats of San Diego
Axios San Diego
Alliance San Diego (Ballot Measures)
San Diego Pride Voter Guide
Courage California
Environmental Health Coalition
Equality California