Claude "Bud" Lewis had been mayor since 1986 and on the council since 1970. When he stepped down at the completion of his last four-year term in 2010, Carlsbad witnessed a heated battle pitting Matt Hall, a longtime city councilman, against fellow city councilman Keith Blackburn. Hall made pension reform the core issue of his campaign while Blackburn was supported by both the police and firefighter unions. Hall ultimately won by a significant margin, 46.5% to 40.7%, even though Blackburn had far more campaign signs and mailers, many of them funded by the unions.[31] The council race for 2010 was won by incumbent Mark Packard [32] and planning commissioner Farrah Douglas, who had run in 2008 but narrowly lost. Jon Wantz, a newcomer to Carlsbad politics, and frequent council candidate Bill Jubb also ran.[33]
