As ballots start arriving in the mail this week, Santa Clara County education leaders are making it easier for parents to learn which candidates will make children their top priority. The Santa Clara County Office of Education contacted more than 200 candidates running in local and state races with a survey asking them to pitch their...
San Jose Democrats denounce mayoral candidate, supporter
Elections can get nasty, but Santa Clara County leaders are drawing the line when it comes to spreading racial tension in political discussions. The Santa Clara County Democratic Party voted unanimously Thursday to “condemn” San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan’s mayoral campaign, urging the candidate to address allegations of racially-motivated comments made by a supporter. The...
San Jose mayor’s race boils over at Vietnamese event
Shouting matches at a flag raising ceremony and a cease-and-desist letter. Those are the latest salvos in a growing fight in the Vietnamese community over San Jose’s mayoral election. Tensions are rising in Vietnamese political circles as two factions stake out support for their chosen candidates—Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez or San Jose Councilmember...
San Jose mayoral race breaks campaign cash records
The amount of funds flooding into San Jose’s mayoral race is breaking the record books—with almost $2.4 million spent in special interest money to date. With a little over a month before San Jose elects its next mayor, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan are locked in a hotly contested—and...
San Jose mayoral candidate admits employee classification error
San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan’s mayoral campaign is correcting the misclassifying of some of its employees, weeks after facing a complaint filed with the state labor commissioner. The changes follow San José Spotlight’s reporting on how Mahan’s campaign listed at least 18 workers as consultants in campaign finance disclosure forms. More than half are high schoolers, in...
South County school trustee scrutinized for past behavior
Morgan Hill educators are questioning whether a school board member is fit for reelection after an independent probe found she abused her power by attempting to overturn her daughter’s student government election loss. Wendy Sullivan, an incumbent in the November race for the Morgan Hill Unified School District Board of Education, became the subject of...
South County candidate loses endorsements over party lines
The Santa Clara County Democratic Party is pulling support from longtime members for crossing the political divide. One Gilroy councilmember and decades-long Democrat lost his endorsement. A longtime party member was kicked out, and several other candidates have received threats of endorsements being rescinded. The rub: they endorsed Santa Clara County supervisor-hopeful Johnny Khamis, who’s running...
San Jose sign thieves caught in the act
Election signs are disappearing across San Jose, and local candidates are asking would-be thieves to keep off the grass. It’s part of an ongoing trend that candidates say disrupts the democratic process. San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan, who is running for mayor, said hundreds of campaign signs have disappeared in the span of a few weeks...
How one new San Jose official is preparing to take office
While several San Jose City Council candidates are in the final stretch of campaigning, Rosemary Kamei is already setting up her office. District 1 Councilmember-elect Kamei, a Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee, won the seat outright in the June primary election. She spent the summer with her sisters and 90-year-old mother, but now she’s rolling up her sleeves...
Conservatives infiltrate Silicon Valley school board races
Silicon Valley’s school board races have become the focus of a local right-wing group, and experts and school officials worry the outcomes could become politically polarizing. The infiltration of far-right candidates in local school board races could have an impact on curriculum and day-to-day district governance. The Silicon Valley Association of Republican Women is recruiting...