Chula Vistans decided quite a bit in the June primary. The only candidate race left is for a council seat between Larry Breitfelder and Patricia Aguilar.

Breitfelder, who got 35 percent of the June vote, is president of the Chula Vista Taxpayers Association and an Otay Water District director. He is a UCSD graduate with advanced degrees from elsewhere. Breitfelder advocates “instilling a more customer-friendly culture at City Hall, adjusting fees and barriers to starting or maintaining existing businesses.”

Aguilar is a retired financial planner with a background in architecture and urban planning. She has served on the city’s Design Review Board, Planning Commission, Bayfront Citizens Advisory Committee and Redevelopment Advisory Committee and has led community groups. She was briefly a council candidate in 2008 and is the wife of Southwestern College trustee Nick Aguilar. Her priorities include budget reforms and economic sustainability, and a commitment from a major university for a presence in Chula Vista.

The overarching issue in this race, in our view, is the one voters resolved in June. They decisively brought back Mayor Cheryl Cox for a second term. As an elected mayor, Cox, though just one vote on a five-member council, is the city’s top leader. She deserves a chance to pursue her goals with at least some support on the council.

Aguilar has a history of publicly being at odds with the mayor on major city policies, Breitfelder considerably less so.

Breitfelder would be a much better fit. We endorse Larry Breitfelder for Chula Vista City Council.