The latest round of campaign finance filings for the 2026 election cycle show money pouring into San Jose’s three competitive City Council races. In each case, a clear fundraising frontrunner has emerged. This cycle, the city is holding elections in its five odd-numbered council districts, though the incumbents in District 1 and 3 — Councilmembers...
Will Bay Area transit tax measure qualify for November ballot?
Transit advocates say they’ve surpassed their signature-gathering goal to put a sales tax on the November ballot, which would raise $1 billion annually for public transit service across five Bay Area counties and could save some stations from closure. Representatives for the Connect Bay Area campaign on Tuesday said canvassers gathered nearly 306,000 signatures — roughly 120,000...
San Jose mayor’s bid for CA governor fizzles out
San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s bid for governor appears to be stalling. An outside committee set up to support Mahan’s campaign, Deliver for Mahan, has filed papers to shut down while another, California Back to Basics, has refunded a $1 million donation from Netflix CEO Reed Hastings, as first reported by the Mercury News. “It’s...
San Jose District 9 candidates ‘noncommittal’ on climate policy
Ambitious plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions mingled with concerns about San Jose’s daunting fiscal challenges and potential overregulation during a climate-focused election forum quizzing the candidates running for District 9’s City Council seat. The race’s five candidates spent an hour at the Cambrian Branch Library Saturday answering questions and sharing their visions for how...
Dollars flow into Santa Clara County DA, supervisor races
Money is flowing in two competitive Santa Clara County races less than a month before the June 2 primary election. Campaign finance filings show District 1 Supervisor Sylvia Arenas has raised more than $119,000 between this and last year and spent more than $3,600 to hold onto the agricultural South County region she won in 2022. She’s fending off a...
Escalating sign spat riles San Jose District 9 candidates
Campaign signs go missing in just about every election cycle in San Jose — and accusations begin to swirl of theft and sabotage. Usually, the sign takers go to great lengths to hide their identities. But in the ongoing race for the District 9 City Council seat, the man behind a rash of sign disappearances...
Proposed San Jose hotel tax critical to avoid cutting services
Faced with a punishing budget shortfall, San Jose voters are being asked to increase the city’s hotel tax by 2% on the June 2 primary election ballot. San Jose’s Measure A, which will increase the city tax levied on hotel guests from 10% to 12%, has opened up a familiar debate for the consistently cash...
Early voting begins as Santa Clara County mails ballots
Santa Clara County election officials are anticipating the highest midterm primary voter turnout in years as they mail ballots to households that will determine a slate of local races — and whether San Jose’s mayor has a shot at becoming governor. More than 1 million active registered voters in Santa Clara County can expect a...
UPDATE: San Jose politician seeking state office faces antisemitic vandalism
Local officials and community leaders are moving swiftly to condemn alleged antisemitic defacing of campaign signs for a San Jose politician seeking a seat in the state Legislature. The campaign team for Councilmember David Cohen, who is running for State Senate District 10, on Tuesday discovered several political signs along Brokaw Road had been altered...
District 5 San Jose candidates speak on progressive priorities
Candidates in the District 5 San Jose City Council race laid out ambitious campaign policy platforms centered on reining in the city’s affordability crisis, as they took part in a Wednesday election forum. Over the course of an hour-long online event hosted by the Silicon Valley Council of Nonprofits and SV@Home Action Fund, the four...