 | |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||
The 2004 San Diego mayoral special election was a special election held on Tuesday, November 8, 2004, to elect the mayor for San Diego. The special election was necessary due to the resignation of former Mayor Dick Murphy.
Municipal elections in California are officially non-partisan, though some candidates do receive funding and support from various political parties. The non-partisan special primary was held Tuesday, June 3, 2008. San Diego City Council member Donna Frye and former San Diego police chief Jerry Sanders received the most votes and advanced to the November special general election. Sanders was elected mayor with a majority of the votes in November.
Dick Murphy resignation
On April 25, 2005, Dick Murphy announced that he would resign as mayor of San Diego, effective July 15, 2005. Murphy had only recently been reelected as mayor in the highly contested 2004 mayoral election. Murphy's resignation occurred during investigations by the SEC and the FBI into the San Diego pension scandal. The city held a special election to fill the vacancy at mayor. Following Murphy's resignation, Michael Zucchet served as acting mayor for three days before he too resigned due to a corruption conviction that was later overturned. Council member Toni Atkins then served as acting mayor until the mayoral election was complete.
Candidates
Declared
- Jerry Sanders, former San Diego police chief (Voter registration: Republican)
- Donna Frye, city council member (Voter registration: Democratic)
- Steve Francis, businessman (Voter registration: Republican)
- Pat Shea, lawyer (Voter registration: Republican)
- Richard Rider, retired stock broker and financial planner (Voter registration: Libertarian)
- Myke Shelby, Harley Davidson dealer (Voter registration: Republican)
- Shawn A. McMillan, lawyer (Voter registration: Republican)
- Jim Bell, environmental designer (Party preference: Democratic)
- Ed Kolker
- Jeremy Ledford
- Thomas Knapp
Campaign
The special election to replace Murphy attracted a crowded field of eleven official candidates on the ballot. Donna Frye, a member of the San Diego City Council who had almost beaten Murphy with a write-in campaign in the 2004 election, was the only democrat among the top-tier candidates. Former police chief Jerry Sanders ran on a platform of executive experience, having successfully turned around the financial situations of the local chapters of the Red Cross and United Way since retiring as police chief. Steve Francis, founder and chairman of AMN Healthcare Services emphasized downsizing city government and implementing business principles. Francis outspent his rivals in the campaign, putting nearly $2 million of his own money into his campaign. Lawyer Pat Shea ran on a platform that San Diego should declare bankruptcy to deal with the pension scandal, a position that the other front runners disagreed with.
Frye won the plurality of votes in the July primary and advanced to the general election along with runner-up Sanders. However, Sanders and third-place finisher Francis, both republicans, combined for a majority of votes cast in the primary. After conceding the primary election, Francis endorsed Sanders for the general election. Sanders was elected mayor with a majority of the votes in the November general election.
Primary election
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Donna Frye (D) |
Jerry Sanders (R) |
Steve Francis (R) |
Other | Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | July 22–24, 2005 | 804 (LV) | ± 3.5% | 45% | 24% | 23% | 7% | 1% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Donna Frye | 114,573 | 43.1 | |
| Republican | Jerry Sanders | 71,767 | 27.0 | |
| Republican | Steve Francis | 62,500 | 23.5 | |
| Republican | Pat Shea | 6,299 | 2.4 | |
| Libertarian | Richard Rider | 4,173 | 1.6 | |
| Republican | Myke Shelby | 3,881 | 1.5 | |
| Republican | Shawn A. McMillan | 619 | 0.2 | |
| Democratic | Jim Bell | 529 | 0.2 | |
| Nonpartisan | Ed Kolker | 452 | 0.2 | |
| Nonpartisan | Jeremy Ledford | 425 | 0.2 | |
| Nonpartisan | Thomas Knapp | 109 | – | |
| Total votes | 265,573 | 100 | ||
General election
Polling
| Poll source | Date(s) administered |
Sample size |
Margin of error |
Jerry Sanders (R) |
Donna Frye (D) |
Undecided |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SurveyUSA | November 4–6, 2005 | 627 (LV) | ± 4.0% | 52% | 47% | 1% |
| SurveyUSA | October 28–30, 2005 | 532 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 50% | 48% | 3% |
| SurveyUSA | August 27–29, 2005 | 528 (LV) | ± 4.3% | 54% | 44% | 2% |
Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Republican | Jerry Sanders | 176,893 | 53.6 | |
| Democratic | Donna Frye | 152,105 | 46.1 | |
| Total votes | 334,249 | 100 | ||
Notes
References
- "How to Run for Office". The City of San Diego-Office of the City Clerk. Retrieved April 13, 2012.
- "San Diego mayor resigns amid pension fund probe". USA Today. April 25, 2005. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
- Coffey, Daniel (October 14, 2010). "Justice undone: Michael Zucchet and Ralph Inzunza". San Diego Daily Transcript. Archived from the original on February 24, 2021. Retrieved September 2, 2012.
- ^ Pollack, Andrew (July 21, 2005). "Upheaval Continues in San Diego as 11 Vie for Mayor". New York Times. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
- ^ "Election History - Mayor of San Diego" (PDF). City of San Diego. Retrieved December 23, 2012.
- "Third-place finisher backs former police chief in mayoral runoff". Associated Press. July 29, 2005. Retrieved December 24, 2012.
- SurveyUSA
- SurveyUSA
- ^ SurveyUSA
| (2004 ←) 2005 United States elections (→ 2006) | |
|---|---|
| U.S. House | |
| Governors | |
| State Attorneys General | |
| State legislatures | |
| States and Territories | |
| Mayors |
|
| Elections in California | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| General | |||||||
| Governor | |||||||
| Lieutenant Governor | |||||||
| Mayoral |
| ||||||
| State Senate |
| ||||||
| State Assembly |
| ||||||
| U.S. President | |||||||
| U.S. Senate |
| ||||||
| U.S. House |
| ||||||
| An asterisk signifies a special election | |||||||