Silicon Valley voters this November will cast ballots in one of the region’s most consequential elections: From deciding who to send to Washington to a historic county supervisorial election, there is no shortage of major decisions up and down the ballot.
South Bay Labor Council votes to oppose ‘strong mayor’ measure
The South Bay Labor Council and its coalition of 101 unions — more than 100,000 members locally — will not support the controversial ‘strong mayor’ measure that’s revealed a deep rift in the labor movement. The council’s delegates — which represent all unions affiliated to the labor council — met on Monday and overwhelmingly voted...
Engineer Kevin Park announces run for Santa Clara City Council
Local engineer and teacher Kevin Park is the latest candidate running for a seat on the Santa Clara City Council. Living in Santa Clara for the last 20 years, he said he’s prepared to tackle difficult finance and housing issues, especially amid the ongoing pandemic, but he also wants to help realize a new downtown...
UPDATE: San Jose leaders advance ballot measure for strong mayor system, campaign finance reform
Despite criticism about a lack of public input, a San Jose council committee Wednesday advanced a proposal from Mayor Sam Liccardo to expand the powers of his office. The unanimous decision means the San Jose City Council next week will consider asking 2020 voters to decide whether the mayor should have more power in city...
San Jose measure falls short of signatures as mayor says it may violate First Amendment
Days after San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo questioned the constitutionality of a controversial ballot measure, elections officials announced Friday the initiative fell short of a threshold of signatures needed to qualify for the November ballot. After more than a year of intense public debate on the future of San Jose’s local elections, Liccardo — during...
South Bay leaders demand Kansen Chu resign over racially-charged remarks
Bay Area civil rights organizations joined forces Monday to call for Assemblymember Kansen Chu’s resignation in response to his “racist and hateful” comments. Condemning Chu’s comments to the Chinese language publication World Journal, Walter Wilson, a community leader from the Black Leadership Kitchen Cabinet, said leaders in Silicon Valley’s Asian, Black and Latinx communities will...
Santa Clara: Retired CHP lieutenant Bob O’Keefe running for City Council
Retired lieutenant Robert “Bob” O’Keefe hopes he can continue to serve and protect the people of Santa Clara — this time from a seat on the City Council. Born and raised in the Mission City, the 60-year-old retired California Highway Patrol lieutenant has joined the race for the District 5 seat, which was vacated by...
Santa Clara County elections officials dismiss Trump’s voter fraud claims
After President Donald Trump hurled a firestorm of tweets denouncing vote-by-mail elections, Silicon Valley election leaders insist the voting method is accurate and dispute the president’s claims of voter fraud. “Voters in our county are used to voting by mail,” Shannon Bushey, the Santa Clara County registrar of voters, told San José Spotlight. “They know...
San Jose: Primary opponents endorse in county, state races
After running a campaign against Kansen Chu, San Jose Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco has endorsed the assemblyman in his quest to win a seat on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. Carrasco and Chu faced off in a four-way race in the March primary to replace Supervisor Dave Cortese, who is terming out of office...
Coronavirus: How Silicon Valley candidates are campaigning while social distancing
Door-knocking, shaking hands and kissing babies is off the table for Silicon Valley political candidates during the coronavirus crisis. And with stay-at-home orders extending through May, candidates are now devising new strategies to reach voters in a digital campaigning landscape as the November election draws near. A side effect of shelter-in-place, according to San Jose City Council candidate...
San Jose: Battle over Fair Elections Initiative goes to court — but who will pay?
After admitting to errors counting signatures for a contentious San Jose ballot initiative, top Santa Clara County elections officials are suing the city to demand it pay for a recount of nearly 100,000 signatures. The lawsuit — filed by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters — aims to reverse a decision the office made in March when...