Heebner next Solana Beach mayor, Measure S trailing by wide margin

Lesa Heebner will be the next mayor of Solana Beach after running unopposed in the city’s first mayoral election, according to unofficial results from the county Registrar of Voters. Incumbent council members David Zito and Jewel Edson will be reelected after running unopposed.

Measure S, which would allow up to two cannabis dispensaries in nonresidential zones, trailed by a wide margin. The ballot measure was one of many throughout the state that sought to legalize cannabis sales in cities that decided to ban it after Proposition 64 passed in 2016.

Solana Beach previously held at-large elections in which five council members were elected by the whole city and rotated the mayoral title each year. The city switched this year to four council districts and an at-large mayor. The change, which will continue to be phased in during the city’s 2022 council election, was made in response to a lawsuit filed against multiple California cities.

Heebner, who has lived in Solana Beach since 1976, served on the City Council for 12 years before stepping down in 2016. She said at the time that she was ready for a “new chapter.” As mayor, one of the key issues Heebner has said she wants to address is housing. She joined the many voices in Solana Beach in opposition to a state-mandated requirement for the city to accommodate 875 new housing units.

Zito will represent the newly formed District 1, located west of I-5 and north of Lomas Santa Fe Drive in the city’s northwestern quadrant. He has served on the City Council since 2012, including two one-year terms as mayor and a half-year term that he completed in 2018 after the sudden resignation of Ginger Marshall. Zito was also part of the opposition against Measure S.

Edson, who has served as mayor over the last year, was elected to the council in 2016. She will serve District 3, which ranges from Coast Highway 101 to I-5 throughout the southernmost portion of the city.