California politics is in Dave Cortese’s blood. His maternal grandfather was a Santa Clara councilman. His father was Santa Clara County supervisor and a state assemblyman. For nearly 30 years he’s been serving as an elected official in San Jose. Now he’s hoping to put that experience to work as a senator representing California’s 15th district. Cortese...
San Jose police union unleashes $100K to target council candidate it says hates cops
Following the death of George Floyd, Jake Tonkel attended rallies and live streamed videos on his Facebook showing protesters demanding police departments be defunded. Some protesters held signs calling cops bastards. In response, the San Jose Police Officers’ Association spent close to $100,000 on ads and messaging to defeat Tonkel, and sent an email to...
Exclusive Q&A: U.S. House District 17 candidate Ritesh Tandon
WASHINGTON, D.C. — Republican Ritesh Tandon is hoping to replace progressive Democrat Ro Khanna in November and chip away at Democratic control of the House. Tandon is an engineer and businessman who has worked for Jabra and Cisco. He serves as an advisory board member for Uttar Pradesh Mandal of America, a nonprofit that helps underprivileged...
South Bay candidates court Latinx voters, push to get them to polls
San Jose Unified School District Board of Trustees candidate Tomara Hall does a lot more phone banking than door knocking these days because of the pandemic, but she always has a few Spanish-fluent volunteers on stand-by. “When it comes to running a campaign, you’re educating people,” Hall said. “So you need to offer materials in...
Lan Diep a Democrat? San Jose party officials say not so fast
A recent campaign mailer from San Jose Councilmember Lan Diep urges voters to support Joe Biden and himself — a “fellow Democrat” — but records show Diep joined the party just seven months ago. Before that, he had no party preference and was a registered Republican for seven years. Diep, who faces a tough re-election...
Senate candidates Cortese, Ravel vie for support in San Jose debate
State Senate candidates Ann Ravel and Dave Cortese went toe-to-toe in a debate that covered issues ranging from the economy to police reform. The candidates both supported balancing the state budget and oversight of Santa Clara County Public Health. They differ on their support of ballot measure propositions. Ravel took shots at Cortese throughout the...
Assembly candidate Bob Brunton says he will walk the walk
Bob Brunton’s campaign message is printed on his transparent face shield — a symbol of his willingness to speak with people face-to-face, including and especially those who belong to the opposing Democratic party. “Most of these issues aren’t really Republican-Democrat,” said Brunton, a Republican who is running to represent District 25 in the California Assembly....
Santa Clara County unveils how it will make in-person voting safe, secure
Voting booths will be socially distanced, there will be one-way routes to enter and exit and you don’t need to bring a pen or pencil — the equipment will be digital. Don’t forget your mask. Those are among the things Santa Clara County residents can expect if they plan to cast their ballots at a...
Santa Clara candidate kicked off Nextdoor after ‘politically motivated’ posts against her
Santa Clara City Council candidate Harbir Kaur Bhatia about a week ago discovered posts on Nextdoor that propagated false information about her. “The people that are pushing this message are people in collusion with each other to ensure my credibility is destroyed,” Bhatia told San José Spotlight. While Bhatia, a candidate challenging Santa Clara Councilmember...
Battle for Obama: Senate candidate demands opponent pull ads implying endorsement
District 15 state Senate candidates Ann Ravel and Dave Cortese each boasts a long list of high-profile endorsements. None may be bigger than the backing Ravel received from former President Barack Obama. And she wants Cortese to stop misleading voters by implying that the 44th commander-in-chief endorses his candidacy after Cortese produced a campaign mailer...