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San Jose is getting ready to redraw its 10 City Council districts—and will decide whether some populations should be grouped together based on common interests. “How do (you) articulate whether some are more important than others, and what are the criteria?” asked Angelo Ancheta, director of the Community Law Center at Santa Clara University, at...
Aisha Wahab looks to break barriers in Sacramento
Senate hopeful Aisha Wahab grew up in the foster care system and, if elected, would become the only renter in the state Legislature. Wahab, a Hayward councilmember, is running for State Senate District 10. The district encompasses parts of Alameda and Santa Clara counties, including Hayward, Fremont, Milpitas and North San Jose. The state Senate...
Education leader announces bid for East San Jose council seat
Peter Ortiz spends his days walking down the Alum Rock business corridor, talking to small business owners. Next year, he hopes to walk the top floor of San Jose City Hall. Ortiz, who serves as a Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee, announced Thursday he is running for the San Jose City Council District 5 seat,...
Can San Jose have publicly-financed elections?
The promise to get money out of politics has propelled several San Jose politicos to office. Actually implementing corporate-free elections is tougher. Councilmembers and local activists are pushing for a way to level the playing field for contributions through publicly-financed elections. In that system, the local government provides each registered voter with a voucher to spend...
Campaign season lasts year-round in Santa Clara County
In Santa Clara County, politicians can fundraise for their campaigns all year and keep the excess money to pay off incurred debt. That’s much different than campaign finance rules in San Jose, which has strict laws to prevent officials from holding year-round campaign accounts that critics say undermine politicians’ integrity. “People running for office are...
Is San Jose ready for a strong mayor?
San Jose might not be ready for a strong mayor—at least not yet. That was the concern discussed during a public meeting this month by a commission reviewing the proposal to change San Jose’s governance. Among large cities in the U.S., San Jose’s way of government is unusual: the mayor has little power compared to the...
It’s official: San Jose Councilman Raul Peralez is running for mayor
Nearly a year after telling San José Spotlight he’s eyeing a run for mayor, downtown Councilmember Raul Peralez on Wednesday publicly kicked off his campaign. And he’s already staked out his campaign platform: Affordable housing, equity and boosting disadvantaged communities and local businesses. “I didn’t grow up in a wealthy or a politically connected family,...
San Jose mulls major changes to campaign finance law
San Jose lawmakers are looking to overhaul the city’s campaign finance regulations in hopes of avoiding more ugly political contests in 2022. Councilmember Sergio Jimenez introduced a proposal, updated from an earlier version discussed in November, that includes a requirement that campaign committees file mailers with the city clerk, an online repository for all campaign...
Santa Clara settles in district election case
Santa Clara’s fight to reinstate at-large council elections is over, ending a battle by five plaintiffs who accused the city of shutting out voters of color. Santa Clara reached a settlement of $712,500 Tuesday night with five Asian Americans who filed a suit in 2017, alleging that the city’s at-large council system violated the California...
Los Gatos Vice Mayor Rob Rennie jumps into supervisorial race
Los Gatos Vice Mayor Rob Rennie is officially jumping into the race to replace Santa Clara County Supervisor Mike Wasserman who terms out in 2022. Rennie is running for District 1, which includes parts of San Jose, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill, Gilroy and county unincorporated areas. An engineer for 25 years, Rennie has served...