SAN DIEGO -- Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith will challenge incumbent San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre in a November runoff.

With 62 percent of the precincts reporting, Goldsmith had 32 percent of the vote to Aguirre's 29 percent.

In third place with 20 percent of the vote was City Council President Scott Peters, followed by Councilman Brian Maienschein with 13 percent and attorney Amy Lepine with 6 percent.

Because no one candidate got 50 percent-plus-one of the vote, a runoff will be held Nov. 4.

Aguirre, who was out of town at his daughter's graduation on election night, has framed himself as the people's attorney, an independent lawyer whose duty it is to expose wrongdoing in city governance.

"What I did is I launched an attack on the problem and received almost no help from the structure of the city government itself," Aguirre said at a recent debate hosted by the Lincoln Club.

At a campaign event at the Westgate Hotel, Goldsmith said he was happy with the results.

He challenged Aguirre's performance while in office, arguing he is not fulfilling the role of a city attorney.

"The message is clear, the city attorney should not be a would-be mayor," Goldsmith said. "The city attorney should not be a politician operating out of the City Attorney's Office."

Goldsmith, who is on leave from the bench, has accused Aguirre of pandering for headlines instead of following the letter of the law.

During much of his tenure, Aguirre has battled to reverse pension deals he maintains were granted illegally and contributed to San Diego's more than $1 billion retirement fund debt.

Last year, a judge threw out Aguirre's lawsuit. An appeal is pending.

He has attacked both Peters and Maienschein for their role while on the City Council in the pension deals. Peters and Maienschein, who must give up their seats on the City Council due to term limits, have both acknowledged that approving those deals was a mistake.

Aguirre's actions have drawn the ire of numerous city officials, some of whom he has accused of engaging in corruption. His pension proposals have led to fierce opposition by municipal unions. The city attorney has also frequently battled with Sanders.

His tactics also prompted the State Bar of California to open an investigation.

Despite the rancor, Aguirre has maintained a core set of supporters.