Monica Montgomery, civil rights advocate and attorney who fought for homeowners during the mortgage crisis, has won the primary election for San Diego City Council District 4. With all ballots counted, a margin of six votes between Montgomery and the incumbent shows the importance of every single vote.

“These results show what we already knew: The community is ready for change,” said Montgomery. “The people of District 4 deserve representation that stands with the community, fights for the community, and does not look to special interests and the political machine for cues.” Over sixty percent of the votes cast in this race were cast against the incumbent. When factoring in historically high primary turnout for the council district, it’s easy to see that the community is engaged and ready to fight for the type of leadership and representation they deserve.

“I am honored and humbled that my home is calling on me to serve,” said Montgomery. “But we cannot allow this victory to make us complacent. I expect that the political machine will step up in a big way to protect the status quo and special interests. We will have to keep up the hard work to win the seat in November.” Montgomery will face incumbent Councilmember Myrtle Cole in the November runoff. “I am proud of my community’s strength, resilience, and tradition of standing up for itself when the political machine would ignore our needs. I look forward to earning the trust of the voters and bringing my vision, experience, dedication, and passion to this council seat.”