On Tuesday night the field of candidates running for Chula Vista’s District 4 was whittled down from four to two.
The two men who made the cut for a November run-off are former Councilman Rudy Ramirez and former Escondido firefighter Mike Diaz. The elected candidate on Nov. 8 will represent southwest Chula Vista, which encompasses
Interstate 805 to the bay and includes the Montgomery area.
Ramirez, the top vote-getter in the District 4 contest, received 1,865 votes or 30.2 percent of the votes. Diaz had enough votes 1,659 or 26.93 percent to move into the Chula Vista’s Special Election.
Chula Vista Elementary School Board president Eduardo Reyes finished in third place with 1,495 or 24.47 percent, which takes him out of the District 4 race. Elementary school teacher Emmanuel Soto got the least votes with 1,142 or 18.54 percent also making him ineligible from participating in a run-off election.
Ramirez, 55, was at the forefront of claiming Reyes was a carpetbagger, a term used for a candidate who moves into a district unfamiliar to them just to run for political office. Ramirez and a group of Southwest Chula Vista residents publicly accused Reyes of moving from his home in Eastlake to Southwest Chula Vista to run for city council.
Ramirez believes those carpet-bagging claims are what made a difference in advancing him to November.
“I am proud of the fact that they (voters) were paying attention to what was going on in this race,” Ramirez said. “ I am the local guy and care about different issues in the community.”
Diaz, 58, said he won with little financial help.
“I let my shoe leather do the talking rather than glossy political mailings,” he said. “My assumption is that I probably raised the least resources compared to any other candidate. That sends a big message that people are not buying council races.”
Diaz said he is ready to take on Ramirez in November and will show the voters Ramirez’s track record, which included an inability to get things done.
Diaz said voters in District 4 should elect him in November because he will put them first.
“It appears that City Hall is focusing too much on Otay Ranch and Eastlake that they forget about Southwest Chula Vista,” he said.
Ramirez said voters should elect him over Diaz because he has experience at City Hall.
“I have experience in this,” he said. “He has experience as a firefighter, I understand that, but I am an experienced legislator, I am an experienced community activist. I do not think he has any idea of what that is all about.”
Rounding out election night, Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez secures another term representing the 80th Assembly District. Gonzalez blew away her opponents Lincoln Pickard and Louis Marinelli. Gonzalez received 31,037 votes, 72.62 percent.
Assemblywoman Shirley Weber easily won her race with 37,966 or 66.24 percent.
Juan Vargas wins another term in the U.S. Congress.
Longtime Chula Vista politician Jerry Rindone failed in his bid to unseat Guadalupe Gonzalez in the County Board Of Education second district.
