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City of Chula Vista · Statewide General Election

Chula Vista City Council, District 1

Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.

This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.

On the ballot

This person holds your district's seat on Chula Vista's 5-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside the directly elected Mayor. A 4-year term.

Incumbent Councilmember Carolina Chavez faces Greg Martinez, a CPA and small-business owner, after Chavez led June's five-candidate primary with a plurality — 43.4% to Martinez's 23.9% — short of a majority. Chula Vista's charter sends the top two from any 3-or-more-candidate primary to a November runoff regardless of the leader's share, so the race continues even though three other candidates were eliminated in June.

This seat holds one of Chula Vista's four district seats on a council that also includes the directly elected Mayor: city ordinances, the budget, and land-use decisions. A 4-year term.

Chavez, elected in 2022, separately ran for San Diego County Supervisor, District 1 in a 2025 special election, finishing fourth in that race's primary with 7.7% of the vote. Martinez has not previously run for or held elected office in Chula Vista.

Carolina Chavez

The incumbent, on the council since December 2022 and a candidate for San Diego County Supervisor, District 1 in a 2025 special election, where she placed fourth in a seven-candidate primary field. Her campaign's stated priorities include neighborhood safety, workforce-housing solutions, small-business support, a proposed District 1 senior center, and expanding access to city services and homelessness assistance (per her campaign site).

Strengths

On the council since 2022; led a 2025 countywide bid for County Supervisor District 1, finishing fourth in a seven-candidate primary field.

Trade-offs

That Supervisor run drew just 7.7% of the primary vote, well behind the two finalists who advanced to that race's runoff.

Keep in mind

She and Martinez are the top two of five June primary candidates; her 43.4% share was the largest but short of a majority.

Greg Martinez

A challenger, certified public accountant and small-business owner (Greg Martinez CPA Inc.), running as a self-funded fiscal watchdog, per the San Diego Union-Tribune's coverage of the race. He has not previously run for elected office in Chula Vista.

Strengths

A CPA and small-business owner running as a self-funded fiscal watchdog, per the San Diego Union-Tribune, with no reliance on outside campaign money reported so far.

Trade-offs

No elected or appointed government experience; this is his first campaign for any office in Chula Vista.

Keep in mind

He placed second in June with 23.9%, nearly 20 points behind Chavez, ahead of three other challengers who did not advance.

June 2 primary — how they advanced

Carolina Chavez43.4% · 7,112 votes
Greg Martinez23.9% · 3,921 votes
Joy Emmanuel17.7% · 2,905 votes
Sergio Vargas8.2% · 1,344 votes
Chuck Sanfilippo6.7% · 1,098 votes
Source review: Strong (89/100) · 7 cited sources

Official records anchor this contest, with several source types checked for context; advocacy or endorsement sources are treated as attributed perspective.

Review note: San Diego County Democratic Party -- Democratic Candidates in the 2026 General Election: Imperial Beach Mayor, Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez; City Council District 1, Jose Lopez Eguino; City Council District 3, O'mar Diallo may have more bias because it is an advocacy voter guide compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

Last updated August 31, 2026.