La Jolla Has a New City Council Rep: Barbara Bry wins District 1 seat, marks Election Night with supporters

Although she was the foreseeable winner of the San Diego City Council District 1 race, Democrat and La Jolla resident Barbara Bry spent every minute of Election Day campaigning — right up until the polls closed at 8 p.m. Nov. 8.

Based out of a call center on Governor Drive, she and supporters canvassed the streets and made phone calls asking if District 1 constituents had voted (and in some cases, reminded them that polls closed at 8 p.m. and they still had time). And although she was running unopposed after opponent Ray Ellis dropped out of the run-off race in August, she kept a watchful eye on early voting percentages.

After the polls closed, her campaign manager Hilary Nemchik announced Bry had garnered more than 65 percent of the vote, and the council seat was hers. Following a brief celebration with Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers “American Girl” playing in the background, Team Bry made their way to the San Diego Democratic Party Headquarters downtown at the Westin Hotel, 910 Broadway Circle.

There, Bry addressed those in the room, “I know it’s a tough night for us nationally ... I was hoping I would be elected at the same time as our country elected its first (female) President. But there is good news in San Diego. We elected a lot of great Democratic leaders all over the County tonight, thanks to all of you,” she said.

To introduce herself and her efforts thus far, she added, “We ran a grassroots, volunteer-driven campaign with over 300 people volunteering. We almost won it outright in June, and in the early results tonight, we are at 68 percent. I want to get to City Hall and make sure we keep our communities safe, clean and prosperous. I’m an entrepreneur and I want to make local government more responsible and more accessible to all of you. I’m looking forward to getting there, finally, and thanks to all of you, it’s a reality.”

Bry will replace termed-out, two-term District 1 City Council member (and president) Sherri Lightner of La Jolla Shores. Bry’s inauguration/term of office begins Monday, Dec. 12 at City Hall. Her term will expire in 2020.