The former chief of staff to Councilmember Charles Lewis, who died suddenly last August, won the special runoff election to fill the vacant District 4 seat. On Jan. 4, Tony Young garnered 59.42 percent of the vote in a decisive victory over the Rev. George Stevens, who had held the seat prior to Lewis for 11 years. Stevens received 40.58 percent of the vote.

Though approximately 750 provisional ballots have yet to be counted as of press time, the count is well under the amount Stevens would need to win – 6,911 ballots were cast for Young and 4,719 for Stevens, according to the Registrar of Voters. Nineteen percent of District 4’s voters turned out for the runoff election, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported.

In the Nov. 16 special election for the seat, Young and Stevens beat out six other candidates, including openly gay candidate Dwayne Crenshaw, to compete in the runoff. GLBT community endorsements were largely split between Young and Crenshaw, with GLBT activists loudly decrying the possible election of Stevens, whose anti-gay stances while serving on the council were well known.

The hopes of Stevens, who said he was called “by God” to run for a fourth term on the council, were temporarily dampened when a lawsuit sought to block him from running due to term-limits laws. An Oct. 6 court ruling, however, said the interim two years that Lewis had served negated those laws and Stevens was allowed to run, putting him among the favorites in the race.

Young received endorsements from six San Diego City Council members, including Councilmember Toni Atkins. Stevens did not receive any San Diego City Council endorsements.

During his two years as Lewis’ chief of staff, Young proved that he was supportive of and willing to work with the GLBT community, Atkins said in her endorsement. Young is opposed to same-sex marriage for religious reasons and supports civil unions, he told the Gay & Lesbian Times.

The new District 4 council member, who is expected to be sworn in at the next council meeting, advocates for better education in public schools, economic development and job creation, and increased neighborhood development and safety.

In conjunction with entities like the Southeaster Economic Development Corporation and the City of San Diego Park and Recreation Department, Young has plans to improve parks and add fire stations, a library and a skateboard park, he said. l