La Jollan Sherri Lightner defeated businessman Phil Thalheimer Tuesday in the race for the San Diego City Council District 1 seat. Lightner will step into the vacant seat left by termed-out Scott Peters on Dec. 8. Meanwhile, she said she will rest and regroup. The race for District 1 was tight, according to Lightner. Her staffers stayed awake until early Wednesday morning, watching the vote tally. After 100 percent of the precincts reported, Lightner won with 51.85 percent of the District 1 vote, while Thalheimer received 48.15 percent, according to published reports. “I found out this morning,” Lightner said. “I got a phone call from Mr. Thalheimer and he congratulated me.” Lightner said she is already thinking about some issues she would like to focus on. “One of the first issues is the budget shortfall and a president for the city council, and that will be chosen by the council,” Lightner said. “I expect to get up to speed on a lot of things very quickly.” Meanwhile, Lightner said she planned to rest and then take the momentum she built during her campaign with her to city council. “I just can’t thank the people who voted for me enough. It’s very profound,” Lightner said. A staffer reminder Lightner that she wasn’t in La Jolla’s planning groups any longer — that the number of voters far exceeded what she was accustomed to. “That’s right,” Lightner said, continuing her thanks. “All 30,000 of them — we worked very hard and plan on taking that energy to the city council.” District 1 includes La Jolla, Bird Rock, University City, Carmel Valley, Del Mar Heights, Rancho Penasquitos, Rose Canyon, UCSD, Torrey Pines, Torrey Hills, Sorrento Valley, Sorrento Hills and the Lower San Dieguito River Valley. For more information about Thalheimer, go to www.philfor council.com. For more information about Lightner, go to www.sherrilightner.org.