Imperial Beach Mayor Mitch McKay held an early lead over his two challengers as the first results trickled in from Tuesday's election, though San Diego County officials caution that nothing is final yet. McKay, appointed to the mayor's seat in 2025, is seeking his first full term in the role against Councilmember Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez and retired public administrator Karl Bradley.
County election officials stressed that early returns are far from the final word. The San Diego County Registrar of Voters says all results from Tuesday's election remain unofficial until the completion of the official canvass and certification, which is expected to happen on or before Dec. 3. That means the current standing in Imperial Beach's three-way mayoral contest could still shift before the outcome is locked in.
McKay, 68, was elected to the District 3 council seat in 2022 and was later appointed mayor in 2025, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. He also previously served on the U.S. International Boundary and Water Commission Citizens Forum Board from 2019 to 2022, the paper reported, giving him direct experience with the binational agency tied to the region's chronic sewage problems. Tuesday's election marked the first time McKay has run for mayor, having only reached the post through appointment rather than a public vote, per KPBS's rundown of the candidates.
A Crisis That Shaped the Campaign
The Tijuana River sewage and pollution crisis has dominated Imperial Beach politics for years, and it loomed over this race from the start. The Union-Tribune reported that the city continues to confront the ongoing contamination problem even as candidates debated how loudly officials should be pushing for solutions.
That tension became a defining question of the campaign. KPBS reported that the candidates revealed a diverging set of opinions on how the city's elected officials should talk about the crisis — essentially a debate between public activism and quieter, behind-the-scenes advocacy. Bradley, a retired public school administrator making his first run for office, said he decided to run in part because he viewed the current City Council as inactive on the sewage crisis, and told the outlet that, if elected, he would be more vocal about the problem going forward.
Leyba-Gonzalez, who was first elected to the council in 2020, works as an organizer for LIUNA Local 89, according to the same KPBS report. Age has been described inconsistently for one candidate in the race: the Union-Tribune reported Bradley as 70 years old, while Voice of San Diego put his age at 69. Hoodline could not independently confirm which figure is accurate.
Cost of Living Adds to the Stakes
Beyond the sewage fight, affordability has become its own flashpoint in Imperial Beach. KPBS reported that market-rate rent in the city has climbed to nearly $3,000 this year, a jump of $1,400 since 2016 — a trend that has shaped how residents are weighing the candidates' platforms heading into this contest.
Voice of San Diego framed the three-way contest between McKay, Leyba-Gonzalez and Bradley as one with broader implications for political control in the city. The outlet's coverage placed the local mayoral fight within a wider pattern of shifting political dynamics across Imperial Beach this cycle.
Down-Ballot Races Also Still Unsettled
Imperial Beach voters were also deciding a District 1 council race, where Jose A. Lopez Eguino, a South Bay Union School District board member, held an early lead over small-business owner Steve Berry, per the Union-Tribune's reporting. The paper noted that Lopez Eguino had not responded to several requests to answer an earlier candidate questionnaire.
District 3 incumbent Mariko Nakawatase, 31, ran unopposed after challenger O'mar Diallo withdrew from the race the previous month. Nakawatase, a small-business owner who also works as district director for County Supervisor Joel Anderson, has said she has represented Imperial Beach in Washington, D.C., advocating for coordination among local, state and federal agencies, according to the Union-Tribune's reporting.
With the county's canvass and certification process not due to wrap up until on or before Dec. 3, Imperial Beach residents will have to wait before any of Tuesday's early leads — in the mayoral race or down the ballot — become official.
