SPECIAL ELECTION POSSIBLE FOR CITY COUNCIL
Montgomery Steppe would vacate seat if elected supervisor
San Diego Councilmember Monica Montgomery Steppe’s recently launched campaign to replace county Supervisor Nathan Fletcher could force the city to hold a special election next year to fill her council seat.
Potential candidates emerging for her seat — if it becomes available — include Henry Foster, Montgomery Steppe’s longtime chief of staff, and two local activists who have led nonprofits: Francine Maxwell and Tariq Harris.
Two prominent names who have officially ruled themselves out are Genevieve Jones-Wright, a former county public defender who ran for district attorney in 2018, and Tasha Williamson, a community activist who ran for mayor in 2020.
San Diego would be forced to hold a special election to replace Montgomery Steppe if she wins the supervisor’s election, which is scheduled for Aug. 15 with a possible Nov. 7 runoff if no candidate wins a majority.
The City Council couldn’t appoint a replacement for her because there would be more than one year remaining in her council term, which began in December and is scheduled to run through December 2026.
San Diego’s election rules require special elections — and prohibit appointments — when an elected leader leaves office more than one year before their term ends.
It seems likely the special election would be timed to coincide with the March 2024 primary, which would be allowed under city rules because it’s within 180 days of when the seat would become vacant. Combining the special election with the primary would limit the city’s election costs.
If no candidate for the council seat were to receive more than 50 percent of the vote in March, there would be a runoff during the November 2024 election.
Montgomery Steppe represents District 4, which includes much of southeastern San Diego. Incomes in the district are among the lowest of San Diego’s nine council districts.
Montgomery Steppe is the latest in a long line of Black leaders to represent the district on the council. The early candidates being discussed for the seat — Foster, Maxwell and Harris — are all Black.
Foster worked in the city’s contracting division and was president of a construction company before becoming Montgomery Steppe’s chief of staff in 2018.
Maxwell led the local chapter of the NAACP for three years before she was removed in late 2021 after a dispute with national leaders of the organization.
Harris has been chief executive for the last three years of a nonprofit called The Youth.
Montgomery Steppe is a Democrat, and it seems highly unlikely she would be replaced by someone from another party. Registered Democrats outnumbered registered Republicans by 41,734 to 14,174 — or nearly 3to-1 — in District 4 as of May 1.
While the seat has been reliably Democratic for years, party leaders and labor unions have struggled more to get their preferred candidates elected in District 4 than in other districts where Democrats have large
registration advantages.
Montgomery Steppe ousted incumbent Myrtle Cole in 2018 despite Cole’s strong support from labor unions and the Democratic Party. And George Stevens overcame similar hurdles to take the seat in 1991.
Some community leaders have attributed that perceived political independence partly to the political sway that a large faith-based community holds in the district, especially with the Black community.
Some leaders have expressed concerns that District 4 could become slowly less independent as it becomes more gentrified and more ethnically diverse.
Montgomery Steppe is viewed by some as the favorite in the battle to replace Fletcher because of name recognition and her track record in elected office.
The other candidates are fellow Democrat Janessa Goldbeck and Republican Amy Reichert.
More candidates could join the race before June 6, the tentative filing deadline.