San Marcos voters pick between safety and traffic as key issues

San Marcos residents will vote between two candidates who both hold deep local government experience. Mike Sannella currently serves as Deputy Mayor and has been on the city council since 2022. Sharon Jenkins served as Deputy Mayor before ending a 12-year term on the council in 2026.

Mayor Rebecca Jones is leaving the office to run for county supervisor. She publicly backs Sannella, who also has the support of the San Diego Republican Party. Jenkins is backed by the San Diego Democrats. Despite these endorsements, both candidates describe the race as local rather than partisan.

Sannella says his focus remains on public safety, parks and recreation, and economic development. "We remain laser focused on the job at hand, which is really doing the work of the residents in those key areas of public safety and parks and rec and economic development, having a strong local economy," he said.

Jenkins points to traffic congestion as a primary concern for residents. "If I was Queen for a day and there was one thing I could fix, it would be to try to help the traffic flow in San Marcos, because that's what everybody talks about," she said.

Jenkins has spent 26 years in local politics and emphasizes a nonpartisan approach. "I've always had the party of San Marcos mentality. And so as I have said over my 26 years, I've always stayed nonpartisan," she said.

Sannella agrees that the candidates are staying out of national politics. "We believe that we're part of the San Marcos party. We tried to stay outside of national politics and just stay outside of the fray," he said.