This just in. The memo from pollster John Nienstedt regarding a recent City Attorney race survey says it all in the headline: "It is looking more like a two-horse race between City Attorney Mike Aguirre and Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith."
Once again, the bottom line is simple. For those not happy with Democrat Aguirre, well, fellow Dem Scott Peters and Republican Brian Maienschein are serving an opposite purpose, if they are not from an alternate universe. The GOP-endorsed Goldsmith is the contender with viability, not to mention a lack of baggage from the San Diego pension-debacle.
Some excerpts:
Competitive Edge Research & Communication, Inc., conducted a poll on behalf of the Republican Party of San Diego County among 506 randomly selected likely June voters residing in the City of San Diego. The poll was fielded March 20-24 (excluding Easter Sunday). The data was appropriately weighted to reflect known parameters within the likely June electorate. The margin of sampling error is +/- 4.4%.
The results demonstrate that San Diego Superior Court Judge Jan Goldsmith continues to be City Attorney Mike Aguirre’s strongest challenger. The initial trial heat (asked before respondents heard any arguments for or against the candidates) shows that Goldsmith is ahead of Councilman Scott Peters by an 11% margin. The poll was conducted prior to a ruling on the validity of Peters’ and Councilman Brian Maienschein’s employment designations, so the questionnaire used those Council Members’ preferred designations.
Both Goldsmith and Aguirre have slightly improved their standing since late-February, while Peters’ share of the vote dropped by 4%. Maienschein’s support has remained in single digits.
On the "Which candidate would you vote for" question:
Mike Aguirre, San Diego City Attorney 27.8
Jan Goldsmith, San Diego Superior Court Judge 21.3
Scott Peters, Council President, Environmental Lawyer 10.3
Brian Maienschein, Councilmember, Business Attorney 8.5
Amy Lepine, Former Deputy City Attorney 2.8
Not voting (Not Read) 0.2
Unsure (Not Read) 29.1
See the survey results memo, attached below.