Brad Lefkowits, a landscape designer and member of Encinitas’ Urban Forest Advisory Committee, declared victory in his race for City Council in an Instagram post on Thursday.
His inauguration next month will oust incumbent Marco San Antonio, who was appointed to the District 4 seat to represent New Encinitas and Olivenhain in January 2025. Lefkowits had sought the position at the time.
Lefkowits has held a commanding lead since the first results were released after polls closed on election night. A week later, after San Diego County voting officials announced updated tallies Tuesday night, he had 56.84% of the vote to San Antonio’s 43.16%.
While City Council races are technically nonpartisan, candidates’ party affiliations can play a role in endorsements and fundraising. San Antonio is a Republican small business owner endorsed by Republican state Assemblymember Carl DeMaio’s conservative Reform Party. Lefkowits is a Democrat endorsed by the San Diego County Democratic Party.
Lefkowits said he will be focused on solutions to make streets safer, realistic conversations about housing and development, and the passage of a climate action plan in Encinitas.
With 120,000 ballots left to be counted countywide — a small percentage of which remain to be tallied in Encinitas — and most other races already called, two other Encinitas City Council races — for mayor and in District 3 — remain too close to call.
“We’re still waiting to see who will serve on the council, and that will help shape what we can accomplish together,” Lefkowits said. “But my priorities are clear: Let data, expertise and resident input guide our decisions, and make sure everyone who speaks at City Hall is heard and treated with respect, even when we disagree.”
Lefkowits campaigned as part of a slate of Democratic candidates with mayoral challenger Rimga Viskanta and Arielle Golden, who is running for the Cardiff seat on the Encinitas City Council. Both of those candidates have slim margins in their races, Viskanta over independent incumbent mayor Bruce Ehlers and Golden over Republican Ed Sprague.
San Antonio could not immediately be reached for comment on Thursday. Monday night, with about the same vote margin between him and Lefkowits, he told inewsource he was still hoping the tide would turn, and he wasn’t ready to concede yet.