Meet the candidates for San Diego City Council’s fourth district
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SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) — The race to fill the District 4 seat on the San Diego City Council vacated by Monica Montgomery Steppe after she was elected to the County Board of Supervisors is one to watch during the upcoming Mar. 5 election.
The empty seat, which covers the southeast corner of the city including some of its lowest-income neighborhoods, has become a critical seat in shaping the dynamics between the city council and the mayor heading into a new term.
While the race coincides with the Mar. 5 primary, it will operate like a special election. If a candidate garners 50% of the vote, they will win the position outright. In the case that no candidate meets that threshold, it will move to a runoff between the top two vote-getters.
Whoever wins will serve out the remainder of Montgomery Steppe’s term, running through 2026.
San Diego’s guide to elections during the Mar. 5 presidential primary
Official ballots for the election were mailed to registered voters in the county ahead of early voting opening up at the Registrar of Voters office in Kearny Mesa on Feb. 5. Drop boxes for voters to send in a completed mail-in ballot are also available.
Starting Feb. 24, select voting centers will open up across the county to expand early voting options. The remainder of the vote centers will open up on Saturday, Mar. 2. More information about how to vote in the Mar. 5 presidential primary can be found at FOX 5/KUSI’s voting guide.
What does the city council do?
The city council is San Diego’s legislative body. Members on the council can pass new laws for the city and amend existing ones, either by proposing changes on their own or at the suggestion of the mayor.
It is intended to act as a check on the mayor. With this role, one of the most important duties the council has relates to the process of setting the city’s annual budget and monitoring spending throughout the year. In April and May, the city council reviews the budget proposed by the mayor before putting it to a final vote of approval in June.
City councilmembers also approve mayoral appointments, levy taxes and provide services to constituents in their district.
The body is made up of nine districts with an elected representative for each. To find your council district, you can search using your address on the city’s website or view the list of communities by district here.
Who are the candidates for District 4?
Here are the candidates, listed in alphabetical order:
Henry Foster III
Henry Foster III is the former chief of staff for County Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe while she represented District 4 on the city council. The Democrat launched his campaign for the seat in December, shortly after Montgomery Steppe was sworn into her new role.
Background:
Foster III began working for the city of San Diego after 20 years in the construction industry, serving as the Equal Opportunity Contracting Program manager.
After six years in that position, Foster III assumed the role of chief of staff for the then-newly elected Montgomery Steppe. During his tenure with District 4, he played a role in many of the councilmember’s policy initiatives, including implementing Measure B, creating the Commission on Police Practices, and mitigating the effects of gang violence in the district.
Foster III is a third-generation San Diegan living in Valencia Park, a neighborhood in District 4. He graduated from Lincoln Park High School before attending Hampton University, where he was a member of the historically Black fraternity Kappa Alpha Psi.
On the issues:
On his campaign website, Foster III lays out his priorities, should he be elected to the city council, under three themes: “strengthening our communities,” “improving our quality of life,” and “keeping our neighborhoods safe.”
Some of the ways he discussed addressing these priorities include:
Economic Development
Partnering with local organizations like the Black Chamber of Commerce to foster business growth in the district, while focusing on bringing long-term and union jobs to the area.
Working with high schools to create provide students with business skills to encourage entrepreneurship.
Housing and Cost of Living
Using experience in the construction industry to look at ways to impact the local housing market directly through development strategies, such as land banking and leveraging the city’s buying power.
Public Safety
Partnering with law enforcement to have difficult discussions about police oversight and other issues that erode trust with the community.
In an interview with FOX 5, he said he would achieve this by using his experience to bring greater oversight and accountability to city hall to ensure the needs of the community are met.
Endorsements:
According to his campaign website, Foster III has been endorsed by a number of local elected officials and community organizations, including: the San Diego County Democratic Party, San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council; Secretary of State Shirley Weber; Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Nora Vargas; San Diego City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera; and city councilmembers Joe LaCava, Kent Lee and Vivian Moreno.
He has also been endorsed by the San Diego Union-Tribune’s Editorial Board.
Henry Foster III appeared on FOX 5 on Feb. 16:
Tylisa Suseberry
Tylisa Suseberry is an executive assistant in the office of former State Senate President pro Tempore Toni Atkins. The Democrat has also worked for the city of San Diego as a policy advisor and for civil rights-related nonprofits.
Background:
Suseberry has worked for elected officials across the city, county and state levels for decades, most recently serving as an executive assistant in the office of former State Senate President pro Tempore Atkins.
Outside politics, the nearly 50-year resident of District 4 has worked for multiple civil rights-related nonprofits in the area, including the Neighborhood House Association and Urban League of San Diego County.
A small business owner herself, she has also partnered with the Southern Economic Development Corporation, hosting their entrepreneur academy and representing the organization at City of San Diego meetings.
On the issues:
Should she be elected, Suseberry said in an interview with FOX 5 that one of her main priorities would be to “bring back life” into the District 4 community.
As she explained, she would like to do this by focusing on encouraging small business entrepreneurship, fixing critical infrastructure and emphasizing public safety — things she says she would accomplish by leveraging her experience in public service.
In conversation with FOX 5, some of the ways she said she plans to address these issues include:
Homelessness
Working to combat first-time homelessness by keeping people in their homes.
Expanding behavioral health services and accommodations with wrap around services for those experiencing homelessness.
Small Business Entrepreneurship
Partnering with nonprofits and small business owners to encourage growth.
Infrastructure
Ensuring infrastructure is regularly maintained and funding is made available for critical projects.
Endorsements:
Suseberry has not received any public endorsements.
Tylisa Suseberry appeared on FOX 5 on Feb. 14:
Chida Warren-Darby
Chida Warren-Darby is the current director of boards and commissions for San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, and former managing editor at the city’s oldest newspaper geared towards the Black community. The Democrat jumped into the race in early January.
Background:
Raised in southeast San Diego, Warren-Darby has served as Gloria’s director of boards and commissions since 2022, previously serving as the deputy director of communications for his administration. She also serves as a media and marketing consultant.
Prior to her tenure with the mayor’s office, Warren-Darby was co-publisher and the managing editor of her family’s newspaper, San Diego Voice & Viewpoint, for several years. During this time, she also founded a nonprofit organization to empower school-age girls and raise awareness on sex trafficking.
Out in the community, the University of San Diego alumna has served as executive director for San Diego’s Black Chamber of Commerce. A domestic abuse survivor, she has also been an advocate and counselor for victims of intimate partner violence.
On the issues:
If elected, Warren-Darby’s priorities focus on ways to empower and invest in the District 4 community across a wide-range of issues.
In a conversation with FOX 5, she said her most pressing concerns include emergency preparedness and infrastructure in the wake of the Jan. 22 flooding that devastated communities in southeastern San Diego. Public safety and cost of live are also top of mind issues she would take on in the role on the city council.
Some of the ways she said she plans to address these issues include:
Infrastructure
Establishing a new policy that adds a new “equity layer” to regional mapping to make sure people are better prepared for any liabilities like flooding.
Cost of Living
Passing laws to lower the cost of accessing and maintaining housing, including partnering with residents to “overhaul the district’s land use policies” to reimagine how the it can serve the communities’ needs.
Public Safety
Building better trust between San Diego police and the community through the creation of a “pipeline” program that recruits people from the district to work in law enforcement, so it is more inclusive and reflective of the community at large.
Endorsements:
According to her campaign website, Warren-Darby has been endorsed by a number of local elected officials, including: San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, Congressman Juan Vargas, State Senator Steven Bradford, and San Diego city councilmembers, Jennifer Campbell and Marni von Wilpert.
Chida Warren-Darby appeared on FOX 5 on Feb. 13:
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