This was a non-partisan special election, in by far the most right-leaning large city in California, in which the Republican ran on a scrupulously moderate platform and the Democrat conspicuously wed himself to public employee unions and Mexican nationalism ... and still got 45% of the vote. A conservative who takes much satisfaction from this win is kidding himself.
Well summarized. In the San Diego of just 20 years ago, Faulconer would have won by 50 points.
While not as large as San Diego but still a major city, Fresno has elected a string of Republican mayors over the past couple of decades. Among them was actor Alan Autry. The current Republican mayor Ashley Swearengin won with 55% in her first election and was re-elected to her second term with 75%. Interestingly, Fresno actually has a higher percentage of Hispanics than does San Diego (47% vs. 29%).