Dead candidate holds narrow lead in city attorney race, California officials say

Simon Silva holds a 149-vote lead in the race to become Chula Vista’s next city attorney, California vote tallies show as of Nov. 10. But he won’t be taking office if he ends up winning.

Silva died in September, after the deadline to revise ballots for the Tuesday, Nov. 8, election, KNSD reported.

While thousands of votes remain to be counted in the race, Chula Vista officials already have a plan if Silva wins.

“If Mr. Silva were to receive the majority of the votes, he would be considered elected,” the city clerk’s office told KSWB.

“Since Mr. Silva could not be seated, the City Charter would require the City Council to declare the seat vacant and call a special election to fill the position in 2023,” the office said.

His opponent, Dan Smith, told the station he’s willing to accept the results if Silva wins as long as voters are aware that he died and that a special election could cost $2 million.

But Smith, a Republican in the non-partisan race, accused the Democratic Party of trying to cover up Silva’s death among voters, KGTV reported.

“I think they did a disservice to members of their party by not informing them,” Smith said. “My frustration is nothing compared to their frustration once they find out today that Mr. Silva has passed away and they voted for him.”

Democrats responded that Smith “should not be elected by default” just because Silva died, KGTV reported.

Silva, a deputy city attorney, died Sept. 3 of cancer, KNSD reported.

More results are expected to be posted by 5 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 10, county elections officials said. About 500,000 votes remain outstanding in San Diego County.

Chula Vista is a city of 277,000 people about 9 miles south of San Diego.

This story was originally published November 10, 2022 at 2:02 PM with the headline "Dead candidate holds narrow lead in city attorney race, California officials say."