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City of Imperial Beach · Statewide General Election

Imperial Beach 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 Imperial Beach's 4-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside the citywide-elected mayor. A 4-year term.

Steve Berry faces Jose A. Lopez Eguino for Imperial Beach City Council, District 1 -- an open seat, since incumbent Carol Seabury isn't running again. Whichever candidate gets the most votes on November 3 wins outright; there's no runoff.

This person holds District 1's seat on Imperial Beach's 4-member City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside the citywide-elected mayor. A 4-year term.

With Seabury stepping aside, this is a genuinely open seat between two candidates who represent different constituencies. Berry, a small-business owner endorsed by the outgoing Republican incumbent, is running on a pro-business, continuity-of-approach message. Lopez Eguino, an elected school-board trustee and a community-organizing group's local director, is running on a more progressive platform built around tenant protections and constituent organizing.

Steve Berry

A lifelong Imperial Beach resident and the owner of IB Printing, a local business. Outgoing incumbent Carol Seabury, a Republican who announced in mid-August 2026 she would not seek re-election citing medical and family issues, endorsed Berry, saying he shares her "pro-business approach to policymaking" (Voice of San Diego). This is Berry's third run for this council seat: CAL-ACCESS shows he also ran, unsuccessfully, in 2010 and 2014.

Strengths

Decades as a local small-business owner give him on-the-ground familiarity with Imperial Beach's commercial corridor, plus two prior campaigns' worth of name recognition.

Trade-offs

Two previous runs for this same seat (2010, 2014) both ended without a win -- a track record voters can weigh alongside his current bid.

Keep in mind

He has an ACTIVE Cal-Access committee for 2026 -- see Financial info.

Jose A. Lopez Eguino

An elected trustee on the South Bay Union School District board since 2022, and a local director for the Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment (ACCE), a tenant- and community-organizing group. In 2025 he backed a push for a tenant-protection ordinance in Imperial Beach. He is endorsed by both the San Diego County Democratic Party and the San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council, and Voice of San Diego frames his likely campaign as centered on "progressive solutions" to the city's problems.

Strengths

Sitting elected experience on the school board plus an organizing background specifically focused on tenant and housing issues -- direct, credentialed experience in a stated priority area.

Trade-offs

His elected experience is on a school board rather than a city council, a different kind of governing body with different budget and land-use responsibilities.

Keep in mind

He has an ACTIVE Cal-Access committee for 2026 -- see Financial info.

Source review: Very strong (90/100) · 8 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 and San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council -- 2026 Endorsements: Imperial Beach Mayor, Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez; City Council District 1, Jose Lopez; City Council District 3, O'mar Diallo may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

  • sdvote.com (opens in a new tab)San Diego County Registrar of Voters -- Candidate List, November 3, 2026 General Election (current through the 8/24/2026 2:44pm snapshot): confirms Mayor, City Council Districts 1 and 3, City Clerk, and City Treasurer as Carlsbad's five November 2026 races, and Mayor plus City Council Districts 1 and 3 as Poway's three November 2026 races, each Vote for 1
  • imperialbeachca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Imperial Beach — Election Information page: candidates for the November 3, 2026 General Municipal Election (Mayor; City Council Districts 1 and 3), each with filing dates, proposed ballot designation, and a "Qualified" status; also confirms a single direct November election with no primary or runoff and a local $250 contribution cap under Ordinance No. 2024-1242
  • imperialbeachca.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Imperial Beach — Staff Directory: City Council roster naming Mitch D. McKay (Mayor), Jack Fisher (Mayor Pro Tempore, District 2), Mariko Nakawatase (Councilmember, District 3), Matthew Leyba-González (Councilmember, District 4), and Carol Seabury (Councilmember)
  • voiceofsandiego.org (opens in a new tab)Voice of San Diego (Jim Hinch) — "Last-Minute Changes Shake Up South County Races": Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez's last-minute entry into the Imperial Beach mayoral race against incumbent Mitch McKay and Karl Bradley; Carol Seabury's decision not to seek re-election to City Council District 1 and her endorsement of Steve Berry over Jose Lopez Eguino
  • sddemocrats.org (opens in a new tab)San Diego County Democratic Party — Democratic Candidates in the 2026 General Election
  • unionyes.org (opens in a new tab)San Diego & Imperial Counties Labor Council — 2026 Endorsements: Imperial Beach Mayor, Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez; City Council District 1, Jose Lopez; City Council District 3, O'mar Diallo
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS — filer search: an ACTIVE "Berry for Imperial Beach City Council 2026 District 1; Steve" committee, alongside terminated committees from unsuccessful 2010 and 2014 council runs
  • cal-access.sos.ca.gov (opens in a new tab)California Secretary of State CAL-ACCESS — filer search: an ACTIVE "Lopez Eguino for IB City Council 2026; Jose" committee, alongside a terminated 2022 "Eguino for South Bay Union School Board Trustee Area 2" committee

Last updated August 31, 2026.