S.D. Runoff Foes Vow Clean Race

On the first day of their runoff campaign, Councilwoman Donna Frye and former Police Chief Jerry Sanders promised a rancor-free race, which would be something unusual in a San Diego mayoral contest.

They also promised to wake up voters to the seriousness of the city’s problems.

Frye, a Democrat, had hoped for an outright win Tuesday but captured 43% of the vote, short of the majority needed for a victory without a runoff.

On Wednesday, several analysts suggested that she was now the underdog, although Sanders, a Republican, came in a distant second with 27%.

A second Republican, healthcare business owner Steve Francis, had 24% of the vote, and many political watchers believe that most of Francis’ votes will go to Sanders.

“Sanders has to be considered the favorite at this point,” said pollster John Nienstedt, whose firm, Competitive Edge Research, is not affiliated with any candidate. “The police chief beats the surfer chick, the moderate Republican beats the liberal Democrat.”

Nienstedt said polling showed that Frye, as the only Democrat in the race to succeed Dick Murphy, got 85% of the Democratic vote. Sanders and Francis split about the same percentage of the GOP vote, he said.

Nienstedt said Frye could be helped if more Democrats and labor union members vote in the November election, which is tied to a statewide ballot. Turnout on Tuesday was 44%.

At his first post-primary news conference, Sanders called for clean campaigning: “I think it’s important we talk about issues -- that we not talk about each other.”

But Sanders also criticized Frye for being “a member of the City Council that has mismanaged public money and lost the public trust.”

Frye’s campaign said Sanders’ criticism shows that he has no plans to stick to his clean-campaign promise and that he lacks experience as an elected official.

“I am the only candidate who has been in the hot seat at City Hall, with all the pressures,” Frye said. “I know what’s wrong with the city and I know how to fix it.”

The Nov. 8 runoff will be the fourth time in 17 months that San Diego voters have gone to the polls to elect a mayor. Murphy was reelected last November but resigned July 15 amid continued criticism of his leadership style and the city’s $2-billion pension deficit.

Although Tuesday’s election got San Diego closer to having an elected mayor, it highlights the fact that it will be at least three months before Sanders or Frye is sworn in as mayor -- months in which the city must grapple with fiscal and legal problems and prepare for a new “strong-mayor” form of government.

“We’re right where we started: in limbo, waiting for leadership at City Hall,” said Carl Luna, political science instructor at San Diego’s Mesa College. “It may be closer to Christmas before Santa brings San Diego a mayor.”

The winner will be the city’s fourth mayor -- acting, deputy, or elected -- this year.

After Murphy resigned, Deputy Mayor Michael Zucchet was to become acting mayor. But he was convicted of corruption charges and forced to resign last week. The City Council this week chose Councilwoman Toni Atkins as deputy mayor until an elected mayor is sworn in.

Meanwhile, the U.S. attorney and the Securities and Exchange Commission are investigating the pension board, and six board members face criminal charges. The city also is blocked from selling pension bonds to stretch out payments on the pension deficit, a common method used by cities and counties with such deficits.

If the first day was any indication, the runoff campaign will be high-energy. Unlike any election in San Diego history, the race has brought national media attention as the city struggles with political turmoil.

From the beginning, Frye, co-owner of a surf shop, was considered the front-runner in the primary race, on the strength of her write-in candidacy last November in which she outpolled Murphy and a second Republican. She was denied victory by a judge’s ruling that thousands of her votes were invalid.

Steve Erie, a political science professor at UC San Diego, said questions remain about Sanders and Frye. “Is Sanders tough enough to turn around this city or is he just a more affable Dick Murphy?” Erie asked.

Despite Frye’s sizable margin in the primary, Erie said, it remains to be seen whether her 43% “is a floor or a ceiling.”