San Diego City Council to discuss election for Montgomery Steppe’s seat

SAN DIEGO — The San Diego City Council is set to discuss how to fill the impending vacancy of the District 4 seat after Monica Montgomery Steppe declared victory in the race to succeed Nathan Fletcher on the County Board of Supervisors.

An agenda item for Tuesday’s meeting indicates that the board will be exploring options for when and how to hold a special election for the soon-to-be empty seat on the council.

This will include whether the race for the District 4 seat can be scheduled on Tuesday, Mar. 5 to consolidate it with election day for California’s Presidential Primary.

However, it is unclear exactly when Montgomery Steppe’s seat on the City Council — and the position of President pro Tem — will become vacant.

Results of the Board of Supervisors race have until Dec. 7 to be certified by the county Registrar of Voters’ office and timeline for when Montgomery Steppe might assume the Fourth Supervisorial District seat after they are has not been announced.

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Unofficial results from the special election run-off had Montgomery Steppe with nearly 62% of the vote for the Fourth Supervisorial District. Her opponent, “Reopen San Diego” founder Amy Reichert, received about 38%, according to the Registrar of Voters.

With the resounding lead on Tuesday, Montgomery Steppe proclaimed victory in a statement posted to X, formerly Twitter, saying “Words are not enough to thank you for showing up for our County.”

“It has been the honor of my life to serve the community I grew up in as its City Councilmember,” she continued. “It will be an honor to represent the County I grew up in as the first Black Woman Supervisor in San Diego’s history.”

No candidates have announced their intention to run for Montgomery Steppe’s current City Council seat.

The District 4 seat is one of the most diverse on the San Diego City Council. It is home to the largest population of Black residents in the city and the second-largest population of Hispanic residents.

The district is comprised of neighborhoods in southeastern San Diego, including Paradise Hills, Bay Terraces, Mountain View, Chollas View, Emerald Hills, Ridgeview/Webster, Jamacha Lomita, Skyline, Alta Vista and Encanto.

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