SAN DIEGO (KGTV) — Tuesday marked special election day in the South Bay as voters cast their ballots for the vacant District 1 seat on the San Diego County Board of Supervisors.
Voters had to choose between Chula Vista Mayor John McCann and Imperial Beach Mayor Paloma Aguirre. Polls closed at 8 p.m.
According to the San Diego Registrar of Voters' initial results, Aguirre leads with 37,324 votes (53.22% of ballots cast) while McCann has 32,805 votes (46.78%). At this point, 70,276 ballots have been counted, with a 19.0% voter turnout. The vast majority, 67,794 ballots, were cast via mail, while 2,482 votes were cast in person (by the current count).
There are 370,801 registered voters in District 1.
The final, unofficial election night results may not come in until 10 p.m. Tuesday or later, per the media coordinator for the San Diego Registrar of Voters. Follow this link to see the latest results from the registrar.
The seat has been vacant since early January, when former District 1 Supervisor Nora Vargas officially resigned. The winner of the election will remain in the District 1 County supervisor role until Jan. 2029, when the current term ends.
ABC 10News spoke to both candidates over the weekend to ask how they were feeling in the final moments before election day.
"I'm feeling ready to finish this campaign strong. We've been at it for 11 weeks. This people-powered grassroots campaign is coming to an end. We have seen it now be more energized in these last few days before Election Day. We're feeling really good," said Aguirre.
"Well, this weekend has been a whirlwind. We've been walking all the way from Shelltown to Spring Valley to Bonita to San Ysidro and Chula Vista. I just love our voters, I love our community, and just trying to get everybody to get out to vote for John McCann," McCann said.
This is a crucial district, with about 650,000 residents. Some of the county's largest issues, including the sewage crisis, homelessness and affordable housing, impact the district.
