Chula Vista

McCann and Campa-Najjar Face Off in Chula Vista Mayor's Race

Chula Vista's current mayor, Mary Salas, is termed-out, so new leadership is on the horizon for San Diego County's second-largest city

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Chula Vistans will get a new mayor for the first time in eight years as two men from opposing political parties square off for the position previously held by termed-out Mayor Mary Casillas-Salas.

A primary field with six contenders was narrowed down to two for the 2022 General Election: John McCann, a Republican, earned 30% of the vote in the primary, while, Ammar Campa-Najjar, a Democrat, garnered 22% of the vote.

Early results include mail-in ballots and vote center ballots counted through Nov. 7. Here's where the results stand for the general election so far:

John McCann is still in the lead over Ammar Campa-Najjar in the race for Mayor of Chula Vista, according to results from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters Office. McCann is holding onto 53% of the vote, or about 24,017 votes.

McCann has served on Chula Vista's City Council for four terms in the past 20 years. He's deputy mayor and has served in the Navy Reserves, where he was on active duty in Iraq for a year.  He said his top priorities are public safety, helping small businesses recover after the pandemic and fixing city streets. 

His opponent, Campa-Najjar, worked on former President Barack Obama's 2012 campaign, including a public relations position in the Employment & Training Administration. He unsuccessfully ran for Congress twice in the 50th District. He wants to create an extension campus in Chula Vista for UCSD, hire more police officers and invest more in the western part of the city. 

Campa-Najjar has been endorsed by the union for Chula Vista's firefighters, while McCann has been endorsed by the union for Chula Vista's police officers.  

Mayor Salas reflects with NBC 7's Mark Mullen on the many changes to Chula Vista during her leadership.
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