Do you want San Diego to change course and go back to the old days of drift and decline? Or do you want to keep building on the steady progress we’ve seen in recent years?

If you live in the City Council’s 1st District, which spans the coastal communities from La Jolla north to Del Mar and from Carmel Valley south to University City, you have a chance to keep San Diego going firmly in the right direction by voting for challenger Ray Ellis over incumbent Councilwoman Sherri Lightner.

Ellis, a businessman with a long and impressive record as a community volunteer, is a born leader. Lightner, by contrast, is downright wishy-washy on the big issues of the day. She only decided to back the pension-reform measure that city voters passed in a June landslide after it became obvious it would win. She’s even been reluctant to take a stand on whether La Jolla should secede from San Diego.

But electing Ellis isn’t just a good idea because he is likely to be a better representative for the 1st District. In case Congressman Bob Filner wins his close mayoral race against Councilman Carl DeMaio, Ellis would give Republicans a council majority – and provide taxpayers with much-needed protection against the erratic, unpredictable Filner.

A decade ago, San Diego was just beginning a painful era in which it became a national punch line. We’ve come a long way since then. To complete our city’s comeback, we urge that voters choose Ellis – and DeMaio.