2004 San Diego mayoral election

Candidates

Declared

• Dick Murphy, incumbent mayor of San Diego (Voter registration: Republican)
• Ron Roberts, San Diego County supervisor and mayoral candidate in 1992 and 2000 (Voter registration: Republican)
• Peter Q. Davis, banker (Voter registration: Republican)
• Jim Bell, environmental designer (Party preference: Democratic)

Write-in

• Donna Frye, city council member (Voter registration: Democratic)

Campaign

In the March primary Dick Murphy received the most votes but not a majority, denying him the outright majority needed for an outright victory. This was the first time in twenty years that an incumbent mayor was forced to face a runoff election. San Diego County Supervisor Ron Roberts received the second most votes and advanced to the general election alongside Murphy. Roberts had also been the runner-up in the 2000 mayoral election against Murphy.

After the primary elections, San Diego City Council member Donna Frye announced that she would run as a write-in candidate. Frye ran a maverick campaign against Murphy and Roberts, who were both considered establishment candidates by the media. Frye was the only member of the city council to vote against the underfunding of San Diego's pension liabilities that led to the San Diego pension scandal. As mayor, Murphy had voted in favor of the underfunding.

Recount and litigation

In the general election, Dick Murphy was certified as winner of a plurality of votes by a margin of 2,108 votes over runner-up Frye. However, news outlets uncovered 5,547 ballots that were not counted on which voters had written in Frye's name but not filled in the adjacent oval. If these votes had been counted, Frye would have been elected mayor instead of Murphy. Members of the media requested a recount indirectly on Frye's behalf, leading to allegations of bias from Murphy's lawyers.

Attorney Fred Woocher filed a lawsuit on behalf of three voters contesting Murphy's victory due to the 5,000 uncounted ballots. On February 2, 2005, Judge Michael Brenner ruled that the unfilled ovals did not count as votes under California state law, ending the post-election litigation battle.

Aftermath

In April 2005, only two months after the results of the election were officially upheld by the courts, Murphy announced that he would be resigning as mayor. In the face of a deepening pension scandal that he was personally involved in, Murphy stated that San Diego needed a mayor with the support of the majority of residents and a clear mandate to lead the city out of its crisis. The city held a special election to fill the vacancy at mayor.

In response to Donna Frye's nearly successful write-in candidacy, the San Diego City Council amended the municipal code so that write-in candidates could not run in general elections or run-off elections. Write-ins are still permitted in primary elections and recall elections.

Primary election results

General election results

References

References

1. "How to Run for Office". The City of San Diego-Office of the City Clerk.
2. (February 12, 2000). "In San Diego Mayor's Race, Wilson Still Sets the Style". Los Angeles Times.
3. Vigil, Jennifer. (22 April 2004). "Ewell orders big changes at City Hall". San Diego Union-Tribune.
4. Rainey, James. (25 December 2004). "Media's role clouds San Diego recount: Push to examine ballots stirs debate on impartiality". Los Angeles Times.
5. Moran, Greg. (3 February 2005). "Quick decision turns aside challenges in mayoral race". San Diego Union-Tribune.
6. (25 April 2005). "San Diego mayor resigns amid pension fund probe". USA Today.
7. "Article 7: Elections, Campaign Finance and Lobbying, Division 3: Write-In Candidates". City of San Diego.
8. "Election History - Mayor of San Diego". City of San Diego.