After serving six months as Milpitas’ vice mayor, Karina Dominguez says she’s ready “to make history” again. Dominguez announced exclusively to San José Spotlight that she’s running for Assembly District 25, a highly-contested seat vacated by Kansen Chu who told this news organization in May that he’s leaving Sacramento to run for county supervisor. Dominguez,...
San Jose: Trump supporters celebrate re-election announcement
Despite living in a liberal bastion, a small but mighty group of Silicon Valley residents are fighting to put President Donald Trump back in office in 2020. One of them on Tuesday flaunted her support for the 45th president in an unusual spot — her feet. Wearing shoes emblazoned with an American flag and “TRUMP”...
San Jose political advisor Alex Lee jumps into Assembly race
Another candidate on Monday entered the race to replace Silicon Valley Assemblyman Kansen Chu, setting the stage for one of the region’s most closely-watched races next year. Alex Lee, 23, a policy advisor and former field representative for Assemblyman Evan Low, announced he’s jumping into the fray. He joins a slew of other candidates, including...
Bob Wieckowski jumps from Congress to supervisorial race
Three weeks after declaring his candidacy for Congress to succeed presidential hopeful Rep. Eric Swalwell, Fremont state Sen. Bob Wieckowski is shifting gears. Now he wants to run for Alameda County Supervisor to replace Supervisor Scott Haggerty, a position that would afford him no term limits. Wieckowski, a bankruptcy attorney who sat on the Senate...
In split vote, San Jose lawmakers decide to study potential 2020 tax measure
Despite warnings from Councilmembers Johnny Khamis and Sergio Jimenez that San Jose residents are becoming overtaxed, a split City Council on Tuesday decided to move forward with researching a 2020 ballot measure to help build affordable housing and shelter the city’s homeless. Last month, San Jose administrators studied three potential tax measures – two of them were...
A day after Virginia Beach shooting, Bernie Sanders pushes gun control in San Jose stop
U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, a Democrat from Vermont and a 2020 presidential candidate, talked health care, prison reform, free college and unseating President Donald Trump during a campaign stop in downtown San Jose on Saturday. “The message of our campaign is us, not me,” Sanders told a crowd of several hundred supporters at San Jose’s Arena...
Rose Herrera enters Santa Clara County supervisorial race
Former San Jose Vice Mayor Rose Herrera pulled papers to run for Santa Clara County Supervisor, a move that shakes up the local supervisorial race and could send it into a November runoff. The longtime Evergreen Valley leader joins a crowded race that includes Assemblymember Kansen Chu, San Jose Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco, San Jose Planning...
Milpitas Mayor Rich Tran enters California Assembly race
Milpitas Mayor Rich Tran is dropping out of a local supervisorial race to run for state Assembly in an effort to replace Kansen Chu, who announced earlier this month that he’ll run for Santa Clara County Supervisor. Tran broke the big news on Facebook early Wednesday morning. The young mayor said he decided in December...
South Bay Senate candidates differ on controversial housing bill
Three of the five candidates running for Jim Beall’s state Senate seat drew a crowd of eager voters on Monday night at a meet-and-greet forum in Campbell, discussing crucial issues such as housing, transportation, climate change and education. The hours-long event hosted by the Silicon Valley Democratic Club did little to sway Silicon Valley Democratic...
Presidential hopeful Julián Castro talks immigration, education during San Jose stop
Julián Castro, a Texas politician gunning to be the country’s next president, stopped Friday morning in East San Jose to share stories of his Mexican American upbringing and political history, and to ask local voters for their support in 2020. “When I think of San Jose, I think of a community that represents the future...