La Mesa Preliminary Mayor Results: Patricia Normandy-Dillard Leads in Early Election-Night Count

Preliminary election-night results

Official source snapshot: November 3, 2026, 8:05:46 p.m. Pacific. Patricia Normandy-Dillard led La Mesa’s reported mayoral tally at this update, with a margin of 525 votes over Laura Lothian. This is an incomplete count, not a declaration of victory.

La Mesa mayor: unofficial snapshot
Candidate	Votes	Share of reported candidate votes
Patricia Normandy-Dillard	5,866	47.06%
Laura Lothian	5,341	42.84%
Jim Stieringer	640	5.13%
Quinn M. Reese	619	4.97%

The table comes from the San Diego County Registrar of Voters’ results dashboard, linked from its official election page. Percentages describe candidate votes reported in this contest, not the proportion of the final electorate counted.

The registrar says its first release includes mail ballots received before Election Day and early vote-center ballots from October 24 through November 2. Later election-night reports add Election Day vote-center ballots. Additional mail-ballot processing and verification continue after Election Day. Totals and margins may change; these results are unofficial until canvass and certification.

Read the registrar’s explanation of the count and consult its dashboard for later updates. The campaign reporting below supplies context and does not establish a personal voting appearance beyond the sources explicitly identified.

LA MESA, California — Four candidates are seeking La Mesa’s mayoral seat in the November 3, 2026, municipal election: Laura Lothian, Patricia Normandy-Dillard, Quinn M. Reese and Jim Stieringer.

The city’s official qualification register confirms all four names. Its ballot designations identify Lothian as a councilmember/businesswoman, Normandy-Dillard as a councilmember, Reese as a regenerative farmer and Stieringer as a retired city treasurer.

California58 has not independently verified any of the four candidates’ personal voting times, methods or locations. The following comparison draws on their pre-election interviews, not a claimed Election Day polling-place appearance.

Four approaches to city priorities

In interviews published by KPBS, Lothian emphasized police and fire services, faster permitting and scrutiny of consultant contracts. She favored putting essential city services ahead of a Civic Center redevelopment project until funding is available.

Normandy-Dillard prioritized affordable and accessible transportation, housing near transit and expansion of the city library. She connected reliable transportation and affordable housing to access to work and essential services.

Reese emphasized household affordability, small-business support and traffic safety. His proposals included more downtown parking and protections for residents at risk of losing housing.

Stieringer emphasized safer street design and continued support for trolley access. He criticized state-directed housing requirements and called for better-quality housing development.

What the city’s ballot information establishes

The mayoral contest is for a four-year term. The official election notice also lists two council seats and the city treasurer’s office. The mayoral field should therefore be reported as four candidates, rather than treating coverage of two prominent contenders as the complete race.

The policy descriptions above are attributed positions. They do not establish the eventual cost of a proposal, its adoption by the council or its future results. This article makes no winner projection or declaration.

Sources: La Mesa’s official election notice and candidate qualification register; Elaine Alfaro’s KPBS interviews with all four candidates.

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