Free Republic

San Diego, the eight-largest city in America, elected a Republican as mayor by a 9% margin that surprised all the "experts," 54.5% to 45.5%. Republican city councilman Kevin Faulconer defeated Democratic Councilman David Alvarez in a city that has been trending both Democratic and Hispanic. There are two hard lessons for the Democrats here in the election. Lesson one, as noted by John Fund of NRO, "..the vaunted Obama election model - flood the zone with negative attack ads and excite the base of the Democratic party - flopped. Faulconer defeated fellow City Council member David Alvarez by nine points...

Kevin Faulconer recaptured the mayor’s office in San Diego for Republicans in a special election yesterday. The polls were skin-tight leading into yesterday’s election, and unions poured in millions to keep control in the nation’s eighth-largest city. But in the end the vaunted Obama election model — flood the zone with negative attack ads and excite the base of the Democratic party — flopped. Faulconer defeated fellow City Council member David Alvarez by nine points in a city that Barack Obama carried by 63 percent to 37 percent only 15 months ago.

Miller wins; bond props pass easily 05/04/2003 By WALT ZWIRKO / Dallas Web Staff The first returns in Saturday's municipal election show Dallas Mayor Laura Miller leading in her re-election bid, while voters in the region's largest city also were deciding the fate of a wide-ranging, $555 million bond issue to upgrade city streets, improve parks and libraries and provide funding to the arts. Dallas voters also picked a new City Council and filled two contested positions on the school board. Ms. Miller had 61 percent of the vote, while her challenger, Councilwoman Mary Poss, trailed with 35 percent, based...