Sannella and Jenkins vie for San Marcos mayoral seat
Two former or current deputy mayors compete for the office vacated by Rebecca Jones, who is running for county supervisor.
By Mateo Thompson ·
Mike Sannella and Sharon Jenkins are the final candidates for the San Marcos mayoral seat.
The race pits two individuals with deep roots in local governance against each other. Sannella has served on the city council since 2022. Jenkins completed a 12-year tenure on the council before terming out. Both hold or held the position of deputy mayor.
Mayor Rebecca Jones is stepping down to run for county supervisor. She has publicly backed Sannella. The San Diego GOP also supports his candidacy. Jenkins has the endorsement of the San Diego Democrats. Despite these affiliations, both candidates describe the contest as local rather than partisan.
Sannella cited public safety, parks and recreation, and economic development as his priorities. He stated, “We remain laser focused on the job at hand, which is really doing the work of the residents in those key areas of public safety and parks and rec and economic development, having a strong local economy.”
Jenkins identified traffic flow as the single issue she would address if given immediate authority. She said, “If I was Queen for a day and there was one thing I could fix, it would be to try to help the traffic flow in San Marcos, because that's what everybody talks about.” She emphasized a nonpartisan approach based on 26 years of local service.
Sannella agreed that national politics should remain distant from city hall. He told voters, “We believe that we're part of the San Marcos party. We tried to stay outside of national politics and just stay outside of the fray.”
Voters will cast ballots in November. The mayoral race is one of several local contests on the ballot. These elections could influence the balance of power on the city council.
