When Santa Clara City Council candidate Larry McColloch bought a home in Santa Rosa nearly two decades ago, he promised the lender he would live in it for at least a year — potentially earning him a low interest rate. But just three months later McColloch sold the home. He never lived in it. He...
Silicon Valley Democrats decry ballot changes
The local Democratic Party is pushing back against the removal of party affiliation language from candidate statements just weeks before ballots are mailed. The tussle is over San Jose Councilmember Sylvia Arenas, who is running for the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors District 1 seat. In her candidate statement, Arenas lists endorsements that include the Santa...
San Jose mayoral candidates spar over policies
The debate between the San Jose mayoral candidates is more than just business versus labor. Voters in November will decide if they want a freshman councilmember looking to shake things up or a longtime politician with institutional knowledge. San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan and Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez are battling it out for the...
Election 2022: Los Gatos candidates focus on budget woes
Three candidates for the Los Gatos Town Council all agree the town has a financial problem on its hands, with a projected roughly $4 million ongoing budget deficit beginning next year. While the candidates, who took part in a forum focused on town finances Tuesday night, all noted difficult choices lay ahead, they mostly avoided...
How San Jose City Hall transitions of power happen
This story is part of a project called Democracy Day, in which newsrooms across the country are shining a light on threats to democracy and what action is needed to protect it. Even though the San Jose mayoral election is nearly two months away, preparations are already well underway inside City Hall to ensure a smooth...
Election 2022: How to find the money trail in San Jose campaigns
This story is part of a project called Democracy Day, in which newsrooms across the country are shining a light on threats to democracy and what action is needed to protect it. As San Jose inches closer to picking a new mayor this November, the race between two candidates to replace outgoing Mayor Sam Liccardo is...
Downtown San Jose council candidates disagree on issues
San Jose’s downtown council seat is up for grabs, and the two candidates running for the District 3 spot couldn’t be more different. At a Friday debate hosted by the San Jose Downtown Association, candidates Omar Torres and Irene Smith shared their vision for the downtown core. Torres was the frontrunner after the June primary...
State complaint filed against San Jose mayoral candidate
San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan’s mayoral campaign is at the center of a complaint filed Friday with the state labor commissioner, three days after San José Spotlight reported potential labor law violations. The freshman councilmember is being accused of misclassifying campaign workers as independent contractors. A San José Spotlight investigation earlier this week revealed that...
San Jose candidate could be flouting California labor law
One San Jose mayoral candidate appears to have violated state labor laws by treating—and paying—his campaign workers as independent contractors instead of employees. San Jose Councilmember Matt Mahan‘s mayoral campaign lists its workers—from volunteer coordinator to deputy field director to campaign manager—as “consultants” in campaign finance disclosure forms, according to analysis by San José Spotlight....
San Jose voting rights study was ‘one-sided,’ some say
After months of anticipation and advocacy, the San Jose City Council discussed extending voting rights to noncitizens. But the three-hour meeting left more questions as to whether there is even a path forward. The study session on Aug. 23 attempted to explore the implementation, feasibility and the legality of allowing noncitizen San Jose residents to vote...