Last night, Kevin Faulconer was elected mayor of San Diego after a special mayoral election to replace former mayor Bob Filner.

Faulconer, an SDSU alumnus, was the Associated Students president from 1989-90.

Faulconer received 55 percent of the vote and his competitor David Alvarez received 45 percent. San Diego is now the largest city in the U.S., as well as the only major city in California to have a Republican mayor.

“This is a big win for Republicans in San Diego and throughout the state,” associate professor of political science Carole Kennedy said. “Turnout told the tale and the Alvarez team wasn’t able to turn out voters in sufficient numbers. Republicans have held back the blue tide that so recently appeared to be rolling over San Diego.”

Some of Faulconer’s platform points consist of reforming city pensions, improving ambulance and fire rescue response times as well as rebuilding and stabilizing the San Diego Police Department. His goals also include cutting regulations for small businesses, building several parks throughout the county and fixing roads and infrastructure in San Diego’s neighborhood.

 During his campaign, Faulconer called for a “neighborhood priority assessment,” meetings in San Diego communities, within his first 100 days in office, saying it will address community needs and issues “neglected by past mayoral administrations.”

 Faulconer served as a council member of San Diego’s city council, a position he held since 2006. Faulconer emphasized much of his background of being a councilmember during his campaign as a qualification for his newly elected position as mayor.

 “The big question is whether or not the Faulconer victory is the beginning of a Republican resurgence or merely a temporary setback for the Democrats,” Kennedy said.

Photo by Jonathan Bonpua, staff photographer