San Diego City Council President Sherrie Lightner's time in office is coming to an end.
Five candidates are vying to replace her as First District representative.
The race is among three of five council contests that have an open seat at stake.
Barbara Bry and Ray Ellis, the best-known and best-funded, tout strong backgrounds in business.
Bry is a Democrat; Ellis is a Republican – as is the term-out incumbent’s husband Bruce Lightner, an engineer who’s running to keep his wife’s political approach in play.
If Ellis wins the race, the partisan balance of power on the council would flip to 5-4 in the GOP’s favor.
Sherrie Lightner, who topped Ellis in the 2008 race, has been council president for a year and a half.
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Yet another of her would-be successors is a member of her staff, Kyle Heiskala.
District One encompasses the coastal zone from La Jolla, through the U-C San Diego campus, north to Del Mar, along with University City, Carmel Valley and Pacific Highlands Ranch.
Demographically speaking, it's one of the most -- if not the most -- upscale council districts in the city.
Bry, Ellis and Lightner all cite public safety and infrastructure issues as top priorities for the council to maintain focus on.
As they examine ballot issues involving a new Chargers stadium downtown in East Village, their thinking is generally aligned, as outlined in interviews Monday with NBC 7.
Bry: “I don't want to see a football stadium downtown. It's an area where the 'Innovation Economy' can expand -- it's already starting to grow there. And this is prime real estate to create more good-paying jobs and housing around that."
Ellis: "We don't want to tie up X-number of blocks that's not going to be utilized. And we do have an opportunity to attract our Millennial group -- that workforce in the innovation sector -- by creating that 'live, work and play' environment."
Lightner: "I think investing in a high-tech sports stadium over a 30-year period is like taking out a 30-year mortgage to buy a motor home. It's just a bad investment."
When it comes to fundraising, Ellis is way out in front, with $530,000 for the entire campaign cycle so far.
Bry has amassed $340,000 -- pointing out that Ellis has benefited from big independent expenditures by political action committees.
None of the other candidates has raised more than $2,000.
