San Jose Planning Commissioner Rolando Bonilla isn’t a stranger to City Hall—he used to work on its 18th floor for years. This time around, Bonilla wants to have his own council office. Bonilla filed papers Monday to run for the District 5 City Council seat, which covers East San Jose. He’s served on the Planning...
San Jose lawmaker’s social media pages kept separate, she says
San Jose Councilmember Dev Davis drew the ire of campaign watchdogs and local residents regarding her Facebook page in September. But the District 6 rep has since wised up when it comes to social media. Davis was co-mingling her official Facebook page with her mayoral campaign page, San José Spotlight learned. Davis’ campaign team put “Councilwoman...
Top education leader is leaving San Jose community college district
The chancellor of San Jose-Evergreen Community College District is leaving his post for a new job in Southern California. Dr. Byron D. Clift Breland announced his resignation in a district-wide email Monday evening. He said he is taking a position as chancellor of the North Orange County Community College District. “I am proud of the...
San Jose lawmaker who criticized county bonuses approved them for city employees
A San Jose councilmember who criticized county officials for awarding government workers COVID bonuses approved similar payments for city employees. The San Jose City Council earlier this summer approved a one-time pandemic bonus of $1,000 for each full-time employee in Unit 99—a category of city workers that includes department heads and senior staff, such as...
Cindy Chavez is in for San Jose mayor
With one email, longtime labor ally Supervisor Cindy Chavez confirmed what every Silicon Valley politico already knows—she’s running for mayor of San Jose. Chavez, who won another term on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors last November, will announce her candidacy for mayor at an invite-only event Thursday. She filed papers with the state last...
State filings show Cindy Chavez is running for San Jose mayor
After months of speculation, it appears Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez is indeed preparing to run for mayor of San Jose in 2022. The California Secretary of State website shows a committee called “Chavez for Mayor 2022; Cindy.” It’s unclear when the committee was created. A phone number listed in the filing is linked...
VTA chugging toward full light rail service in Santa Clara County
It’s taken months, but Santa Clara County’s public transit agency is almost fully back in action. Starting this weekend, VTA officials said the entire light rail system will be back on track. The agency announced an expansion of light rail service earlier this week to include the entire Blue Line, which runs from Baypointe to...
Cindy Chavez joins mayoral candidate forum, but won’t say if she’s running
Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez keeps dodging questions about her mayoral aspirations. But that’s not stopping her from participating in a mayoral candidate forum. Chavez—who is rumored to run for San Jose mayor but has yet to officially announce—will take part in a candidate forum on Monday with downtown San Jose Councilmember Raul Peralez, who officially...
Second challenger joins race for Santa Clara County sheriff
A veteran and seasoned sergeant is joining the race to unseat Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith. Last week, Christine Nagaye announced her candidacy for the 2022 election. A San Jose resident, Nagaye has worked at the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office for 19 years, including six as a supervising sergeant. She previously worked for Southwest...
Residents want to recall Santa Clara County supervisors
An effort to recall the top elected officials in the county is starting—but organizers are still gathering volunteers before hitting the streets to canvas for signatures. Jeff Roberts, a Santa Clara County resident inspired by the campaign to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, is trying a similar strategy to remove the entire Board of Supervisors for...