Two Del Mar planning commissioners, Meghan Spieker and Jas Grewal, are leading a four-candidate race for two city council seats, a contest that will finally settle who fills a seat that has sat empty for two years. The other two candidates, incumbent Terry Gaasterland and former finance committee member Jeff Sturgis, are trailing behind them. At stake are both a third term for Gaasterland and the long-vacant seat left by Dwight Worden's 2024 resignation.
The vacancy dates back to Worden's resignation, which he attributed to health concerns, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. His departure left Del Mar's council with just four members, and the remaining members could not agree on an appointee or on whether to call a special election ahead of this year's midterm, according to the Union-Tribune's earlier reporting. That stalemate was Del Mar's third failed attempt to resolve the vacancy, the paper reported in November 2024, leaving the city council shorthanded for two years while the seat waited for this fall's ballot.
Two First-Term Planning Commissioners Now in the Lead
Spieker and Grewal are both serving their first terms on Del Mar's Planning Commission, and if elected, their move to the council would open up two commission vacancies, the Union-Tribune reported. Spieker, an attorney who has practiced business litigation, has lived in Del Mar for 25 years, per the same account. In describing her background to the paper for its October coverage of the race, Spieker said, “As a lawyer and 25-year resident,” she brings both legal experience and long ties to the community.
Grewal, a retired banker and former Finance Committee member, is serving on Del Mar's Planning Commission. Sturgis, who is trailing in the race, is a former Finance Committee member.
Rail Relocation and Housing Dominate the Debate
All four candidates have expressed support for more local control over issues including the rail relocation project and new housing, according to the Union-Tribune's October report. The project explores long-term solutions to move the rail corridor away from the fragile Del Mar bluffs, but the regional planning agency overseeing the work has not settled on a route. SANDAG says its board approved analysis of four alignment options, including a no-build option, and that no decision has been made on which one will move forward. Technical studies supporting draft environmental review documents began in September 2025, according to the agency.
Housing has also featured heavily in the race. Sturgis argued during the campaign that only five of California's 538 jurisdictions are on pace to issue housing permits across all income levels, a figure he cited to the Union-Tribune. The city itself has pointed to recent progress on its own housing targets: as of September 2026, Del Mar reported a 50-unit affordable housing project under construction and 189 net-new units produced for the current housing cycle, according to the City of Del Mar. That tally, the city says, exceeds its cumulative 175-unit regional housing target as well as separate targets of 31 units each for above-moderate- and moderate-income housing.
A Seat Two Years in the Making
Whichever two candidates ultimately prevail, the result will close out a vacancy that has shaped Del Mar's council dynamics since Worden's exit in 2024. The seat he left behind, along with Gaasterland's, was always slated for the November 2026 ballot, the Union-Tribune reported at the time of the 2024 stalemate. For now, Spieker and Grewal hold the lead in the four-way contest, with Gaasterland and Sturgis trailing behind, though the available results do not establish a final outcome.
