Mara Elliott

Education Elliott received her undergraduate degree from the University of California, Santa Barbara, majoring in English and Philosophy. She then received her J.D. degree from the McGeorge School of Law.

City Attorney Elections

Elliott was one of four Democrats to run for city attorney. The incumbent city attorney Jan Goldsmith, her former boss, could no longer run after 8 years in the position due to term limits. Unlike her opponents, Elliott did not receive many of the typical endorsements from the various local democratic groups. Her second-place victory in the June primary was considered an upset due to her opponents out raising and out spending her. In the November runoff, she defeated Robert Hickey, a Republican, by a margin of 57% to 42%.

Elliott said she hoped to make the position less politicized, and take on a role as legal counsel for the San Diego City Council and mayor as opposed to being a public figure.

In the 2020 election, Elliott ran for re-election for San Diego City Attorney in California against attorney Cory Briggs. Elliott won in the general election on November 3, 2020, receiving over 66% of the votes.

Chargers stadium While running for city attorney in 2016, Elliott opposed Measure C and Measure D, which would have built a Chargers football stadium using hotel taxes. She stated the taxes would divert money from city services.

Rape kit testing A state audit found that San Diego only tests about half of the rape kits it collects. While other cities identified in the audit have started testing all rape kits, San Diego is the only city that has not changed its policy. Elliott has repeatedly stated that she believes San Diego should test 100% of rape kits. She has said, "The experience in other jurisdictions shows that the evidence in untested kits can prove valuable in solving cold cases and identifying serial rapists. That alone is good reason."

Recreation councils Independent groups in San Diego were in charge of running local recreational programs for 4 decades leading up to 2017. In 2017, there were revelations that money was being spent unevenly by the independent councils. For example, Carmel Valley began 2017 with more than $400,000 available for recreational services, while Stockton's account had $51. The independent councils also weren't following city rules about spending tax money. Elliot issued a legal opinion that tax money must be controlled by the city and could not be used to run non-regulated independent groups.

Short term rentals Elliott issued a statement that short-term rentals are currently illegal in San Diego. She said there are no laws or legal definitions in the San Diego city code regarding short-term rentals, and her legal opinion is that the city considers new housing activity illegal until it is defined in the city code. She has said she hoped this statement would spur the city to take action one way or the other.

Electoral history