As voting rights become diminished, Santa Clara County officials and advocates are pushing back. The Board of Supervisors is working with Black community leaders to encourage residents to participate in local elections, after officials recently approved a plan to draft a resolution to protect voting rights, which will go before supervisors on Sept. 15. Supervisors...
Eight candidates compete for Gilroy City Council seats
Gilroy’s City Council elections have shifted from at-large to district-based races this year, with eight candidates emerging for three districts up for grabs this November. Gilroy has mapped out six districts with three on the city’s Nov. 3 ballot — District 4 in the southeast part of the city, centralized District 5 which includes downtown...
Eight candidates compete for Cupertino council seats
Cupertino voters are facing another high-stakes City Council election between the community’s pro-growth and slow-growth factions. Eight candidates have qualified for three council seats on the Nov. 3 ballot, with seven newcomers and one councilmember — J.R. Fruen — seeking a second term. Vice Mayor Liang Chao terms out in December and Councilmember Sheila Mohan...
Four candidates face off for two Santa Clara council seats
Santa Clara City Council representation is about to change in Districts 2 and 3, with both councilmembers terming out in December — and the open seats each have two new challengers. Yvonne Inciarte and Kimberley Williams will be vying for the District 2 seat held by Councilmember Raj Chahal, while Eric Crutchlow and Kyle Madej...
Six candidates vie for Santa Clara mayoral seat
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...