Marina candidates campaign for the city’s first district-based council election.

Ahead of the November election, the elected leaders of Marina and the candidates running for city council have reason to celebrate. Presenting a united front, the tiny city just scored a victory in its fight against an outside corporation when California American Water decided at the last minute to withdraw its application to build a desalination plant in the area.

“Cal Am said Marina was biased against its project,” says Adam Urrutia, who served on city council until the pandemic forced his family to relocate two months ago. “If something is surely evil and wrong, shouldn’t everyone be biased against it?”

But with one consensus issue on pause, the city’s internal battles are heating up. First comes the matter of replacing Urrutia. The four remaining councilmembers were expected to vote on his replacement on Sept. 23, after the Weekly goes to print.

Five applicants were hoping to serve out the two remaining years of Urrutia’s term. Brian McCarthy, a city planning commissioner who’s endorsed by Urrutia; Peter Le, a Marina Coast Water District board member; Erin Peck, an advocate for the homeless; Dusan Tatomirovic, a promoter of arts and culture; and David Burnett, a planning commissioner and Marina Democratic Club president.

Whoever is selected will become the final councilmember sworn in to serve the city at large rather than as a representative of an electoral district.

The switch to district elections was compelled by the threat of a California Voting Rights Act lawsuit, but the real controversy stemmed from the district map that was approved earlier this year by a 3-2 majority made up of councilmembers Gail Morton, who is up for re-election, Frank O’Connell, who is retiring, and Lisa Berkley.

“The map that was adopted looks like a dinosaur. I cannot walk it,” says Cristina Medina Dirksen, who is challenging Morton in District 3. Also running in the three-way race is Les Martin, who lives in The Dunes, a new development. His neighbor Brad Imamura lives in a different district even though his house is only a few blocks away; he’s running against Marina Planning Commissioner Kathy Biala to represent District 2. “[The districts] are not understandable by the residents,” Biala says. “In walking my district, it’s like a head with two arms and a torso.”

Morton says her support for a district map that divided The Dunes helped create socioeconomic diversity in all the districts.