South Bay consumer attorney Anne Kepner, who’s served five years on the West Valley-Mission Community College Board, is running for an open Assembly seat in what’s shaping up to be one of the most closely-watched races this fall. Kepner, 50, last week joined the race to succeed Kansen Chu in Assembly District 25, which covers...
Milpitas Vice Mayor Karina Dominguez drops out of Assembly race
Three months after announcing a bid for California Assembly, Milpitas Vice Mayor Karina Dominguez announced early Saturday on Facebook that she’s dropping out of the race. “While an Assembly seat provides the opportunity to create great change for our families, after deep reflection and very thoughtful consideration, I have decided to withdraw and end my...
Otto Lee lands Silicon Valley Democratic Club endorsement for county supervisor
If it were up to the Silicon Valley Democratic Club, former Sunnyvale Mayor Otto Lee would be joining the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors. The intellectual property lawyer and former Sunnyvale mayor won the club’s endorsement – earning 72.9 percent of the second round of voting – for the District 3 supervisorial seat, despite...
Santa Clara County residents prepare for all-mail election in 2020
Dozens of South Bay residents gathered at Rookies Sports Lodge this week to learn more about the sweeping changes to the Santa Clara County voting system ahead of the consequential 2020 elections. With prominent social issues like the housing crisis front and center, Mario Lopez, a civic engagement manager at Silicon Valley At Home, stressed...
Youngest contender emerges in San Jose Council race
Marshall Woodmansee is expected to become the youngest candidate in the 2020 local elections after he filed papers on Wednesday to run for San Jose City Council. In an interview with San José Spotlight, Woodmansee said he wants to inspire the youth in his community to know they hold the power in deciding their future....
Santa Clara County supervisorial candidates release fundraising hauls
The newly-released fundraising totals in the Santa Clara County supervisor’s race show a few unexpected front-runners as the candidates bolster their war chests. Five candidates are vying to replace Supervisor Dave Cortese and represent a district that spans San Jose, Alviso, Sunnyvale and Milpitas. According to the latest county finance reports, former Sunnyvale Councilmember Otto...
Republican businesswoman enters San Jose council race
The fight for San Jose’s District 10 City Council seat — being vacated by outgoing Councilmember Johnny Khamis — just got a little more crowded. Helen Wang, a longtime business owner and registered nurse, told San José Spotlight she’s running for the Almaden Valley seat to “protect and enhance” the district’s safety, public services and...
San Jose measure to shift mayoral elections moves forward
Top labor leaders from the South Bay gathered in front of San Jose City Hall Wednesday morning to push support for a proposal they say will put a cap on money in local politics and boost voter turnout by shifting mayoral elections to presidential election years. Leaders are racing to enact the sweeping reform called...
Election 2020: Early endorsements from Silicon Valley business and labor
With eight months until the March primary, San Jose City Council candidates are snatching early endorsements from powerful business and labor groups in an effort to stake out a path to victory. The two powerful and competing interests in San Jose politics — the silicon valley organization and South Bay Labor Council — are picking...
Dave Cortese announces big fundraising haul in Senate race
Candidates facing off in a tight state Senate race have eight months left before the primary election, setting off a full-blown dash for cash among the contenders — with Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese significantly outraising four other rivals. Cortese raised $650,000 in funds through June 30, kicking off July with more than $600,000...