Voters to Settle Race in 6th District Today

With the balance of the San Diego City Council at stake, 6th District voters will go to the polls today in a council runoff election that could have ramifications far beyond the district’s boundaries.

The acrimonious race between Councilman Bruce Henderson and challenger Valerie Stallings could significantly alter the council’s political dynamics and legislative agenda for the next two years.

Henderson’s reelection to a second four-year term would give a strategic edge to a generally pro-development council coalition, and a victory by Stallings probably would tip the council’s philosophical balance toward a more moderate bloc.

The 6th District race assumed that pivotal position when the three other City Council seats being contested this year were decided in the September primary. In those races, Councilmen Ron Roberts and Bob Filner were easily reelected, and Councilman Wes Pratt was defeated by the Rev. George Stevens.

Stallings, a Pacific Beach activist and Salk Institute cancer researcher, narrowly outpolled Henderson in the 6th District primary, but fell 14 votes short of the 50%-plus margin needed for outright victory.

Both candidates spent as much, if not more, of the runoff campaign attacking each other as they did extolling their own virtues. Henderson, a staunch conservative, consistently labeled Stallings a “tax-and-spend liberal,” while Stallings responded by calling Henderson an “obstructionist” at the center of much of the infighting that has divided the council in recent years.

The polls in the 6th District, which includes eastern Pacific Beach, Bay Park, Clairemont, Mission Valley and Serra Mesa, will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. Voters uncertain of where to vote or who experience other Election Day problems can contact the San Diego County voter registrar’s office at 565-5800 for assistance.

Two other issues also will be on the ballot in portions of the county today. In Coronado, voters will cast ballots on an advisory measure concerning construction of a new city hall, and voters in the Jacumba Community Services District will decide whether to approve a special parks benefits tax.