SAN DIEGO -- A judge on Monday refused to halt the vote count in the San Diego mayor's race, a victory for a maverick city councilwoman who has mounted a surprisingly strong write-in campaign.

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Judge Charles E. Jones, a retired Imperial County judge who took over the case after all members of the San Diego Superior Court bench were recused because incumbent Mayor Dick Murphy is a former judge, issued the ruling to a packed courtroom at 3 p.m.

The decision came as the vote tally showed the race tightening between Councilwoman Donna Frye, a 52-year-old surf shop owner, and Murphy.

Monday's ruling is in response to a lawsuit filed by Frye's opponents on the grounds that the election must be a runoff between the top two finishers in the primary -- in this case, Murphy and county Supervisor Ron Roberts. The challenge was brought six days after the election.

Jones stopped short of dismissing the lawsuit, but said that Frye's opponents had waited too long to challenge her campaign. When Frye entered the race five weeks before the Nov. 2 election, there were "no protests, no cries of illegality, no lawsuits."

"It was just the sound of silence," Jones said.

Frye, in court papers filed Monday, said "there is no excuse for [the] unreasonable delay" in filing a lawsuit. Last week, she called the courtroom maneuvering a case of "sour grapes."

Attorney John Howard, who brought the legal challenge, said he planned to appeal.

The presiding judge of the San Diego County Superior Court last week recused all 124 judges on the bench from the lawsuit because Murphy was a San Diego judge for 15 years before he was elected mayor in 2000.

The mayoral race comes during uneasy times for nation's seventh-largest city. Federal officials are investigating the city's financial practices amid questions about whether officials hid bad news from investors and taxpayers.

Three of nine members of the City Council were indicted last year on charges of taking bribes from a strip-club owner who wanted to ease restrictions on touching dancers. And last week, City Manager Lamont Ewell said he was quitting after seven months on the job, citing voter approval of a measure that gives more authority to the mayor.

Unless an appeal court reverses Monday's ruling the registrar office is expected to finish counting the remaining 50,000 or so remaining absentee and provisional ballots by the end of the week.

The write-in ballots, most of them presumably for Frye, still hold a lead in the race, though by less than 1,800 votes over Murphy.

The case was brought by John Howard, a contributor to County Supervisor Ron Roberts' campaign. Howard and his colleagues claimed that the election should be overturned because the city charter requires a majority-vote winner in the general election, even though City Clerk Chuck Abdelnour certified Frye to run because the election code allows for write-in candidacies.

As of Monday morning, Frye continued to hold on to a dwindling lead over Murphy as the final absentee and provisional ballots are added to the totals at the registrar's office.

Murphy wants all of the votes counted before legal action is taken; while Frye maintains that the lawsuit is sour grapes.

The registrar's office released the latest tally at 8 a.m. Monday. The write-in-candidate -- presumably Frye -- is leading the contest with 151,759 votes, followed by Murphy, who has 149,928 votes.

It's worth noting, however, that only 146,737 votes have been verified for Frye. An estimated 50,000 absentee and provisional ballots have still not been factored into the final numbers.

The registrar's office has until the end of the month to certify the election.