A seismic change is about to take place in Santa Clara politics, when Mayor Lisa Gillmor terms out at the end of December. For the first time in 10 years she will not serve in the city’s top spot come January 2027. Instead, six individuals from various sectors of industry and the community are vying...
Santa Clara voters to weigh public works change in November
Santa Clara won’t get the sweeping charter overhaul city officials spent more than a year developing. Instead, city voters will weigh in on a narrower change to how the city handles public works projects. The Santa Clara City Council on July 14 declined to place a comprehensive charter amendment on the Nov. 3 ballot. Instead,...
San Jose District 9 candidate deletes mistaken endorsement
One endorsement that has raised eyebrows in the District 9 San Jose City Council race turns out to never have taken place. Genny Altwer finished the June 2 primary election in a commanding position, leading second-place candidate Gordon Chester by more than 10 percentage points. Fresh off the momentum from election night, Altwer’s campaign announced a raft...
Bay Area public transit tax heads to November ballot
A highly touted Bay Area sales tax measure to fund public transit joins 14 other referendums that have qualified for the November election — and South Bay leaders said strong community support made it happen. The transit sales tax measure — which proposes a 0.5% increase in Santa Clara County — collected an estimated 241,964...
Six San Jose council candidates advance to November
The runoff matchups are now set in San Jose’s three competitive City Council races, after county election officials on Tuesday certified the vote tally from the June 2 primary. With none of the contenders winning an outright majority of the vote, six candidates — two each for District 5, District 7 and District 9 —...
San Jose kicks ranked choice voting down the road
The San Jose City Council has punted on a proposal that could have introduced ranked choice voting to certain city elections. Councilmembers on Tuesday voted 8-2 — with Vice Mayor Pam Foley and District 10 Councilmember George Casey voting against, and District 5 Councilmember Peter Ortiz absent — to advance a ballot measure that would...
State primary may have seeded San Jose mayor’s future goals
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan is going back to City Hall with his hat in his hands. But while his bid for governor failed, he’s shown residents and political observers a new side of himself – and the monied interests he’s willing to rub shoulders with. Mahan – who was in sixth place behind Steve Hilton...
Will San Jose mayor face fallout after running for governor?
When San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan announced his run for California governor in January, the news divided residents. Longtime supporters cheered on Mahan’s bid to elevate his centrist brand of politics into the statewide policy conversation. But the decision to seek higher office before reaching the halfway mark in his four-year term also drew sharp...
San Jose hotel tax on track for victory
A measure to increase taxes on San Jose hotels appears to be on an easy path to victory. More than 65.6% of votes tallied so far are in favor of Measure A, which would increase the city tax levied on hotel guests from 10% to 12%, according to election returns released Wednesday evening. Officials with the...
Jeff Rosen ahead in Santa Clara County DA race
In the race for Santa Clara County District Attorney, incumbent Jeff Rosen holds a lead in his bid to reign supreme for another four years. Early results show Rosen, who is running for his fifth consecutive term since he was first elected to the office in 2010, is ahead of his opponent Daniel Chung. As...