Two San Diego councilmembers, Democrat David Alvarez and Republican Kevin Faulconer, will square off in a runoff election in February for mayor of San Diego.

In a special election on Nov. 19, Faulconer brought in 101,944 votes (42.17 percent), with Alvarez at 65,722 votes (27.19 percent) and fellow Democrat Nathan Fletcher closely behind him with 58,346 votes (24.3 percent). As of press time, county officials report that mail-in and provisional ballets have been tallied but results are still unofficial.

Alvarez, who is 33-years-old, created a strong surge with voters in recent weeks, securing a major endorsement from the county Democratic Party on the efforts of local campaign finance masters, San Diego and Imperial counties’ Labor Councils.

On the night of the election, Nov. 19, he fought through a hoarse voice to explain for KUSI News why he felt his campaign flourished as of late. “People are coming together because they see in my story —– the story of many San Diegans —- that you work hard, and you make things possible.”

Faulconer, 46, benefited from being the only viable Republican candidate in the election, and from his familiarity with the citizens in his work on the San Diego City Council.

“The experience that I bring —- I served seven years on the council and my ability to work with my friends on the council —- I’m going to need that as mayor,” spoke Faulconer confidently to KUSI News.

As of Nov 26, only 241,734, or roughly 35 percent of the 683,370 registered citizens participated in the special election. Nearly double the amount of San Diegans (466,962) rolled out to the polls last November.

Many potential voters knew the city was facing another runoff election in February, and some voters reported seeing little difference in Faulconer and Alvarez from 2012’s candidates, Carl DeMaio or Filner respectively.

Please see sdcitytimes.com for February dates and polling place information.