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...
Education trustee Anna Song to run for California Assembly
Longtime education trustee Anna Song will run for the Assembly seat held by Kansen Chu, who announced last week that he’s leaving Sacramento to run for county supervisor. “I’ve always been interested in running for state Assembly. I was waiting and hoping that I might have an opportunity,” Song told San José Spotlight. “I do...
Assemblymember Kansen Chu to leave Legislature, run for county supervisor
Silicon Valley Assemblymember Kansen Chu is leaving Sacramento to run for Santa Clara County supervisor, San José Spotlight has exclusively learned. Chu, who represents the state’s 25th Assembly District, broke the news late Wednesday to friends and colleagues that he plans to give up his seat in the California Legislature in an attempt to replace...
Tech leader Matt Mahan jumps into San Jose council race
Tech entrepreneur Matt Mahan on Wednesday jumped into the San Jose City Council race to replace District 10 Councilmember Johnny Khamis next year. “My motivation to run is rooted in my own personal experience of San Jose,” Mahan said in an interview Tuesday. “I’ve always experienced San Jose as a city of opportunity.” Mahan, 36,...
Santa Clara County supervisorial candidates square off on immigration, housing
Three candidates running for a seat on Santa Clara County’s Board of Supervisors in 2020 squared off in a debate Saturday in Milpitas — the first event to kick off the campaign season. The four candidates hoping to replace District 3 Supervisor Dave Cortese are San Jose Councilmember Magdalena Carrasco, patent attorney and former Sunnyvale Councilmember Otto...
Poll: Dave Cortese leading opponents in state Senate race
Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese has emerged as the frontrunner in a crowded race to replace state Sen. Jim Beall, holding a 13-point advantage over his likely opponents, according to a new poll obtained by San José Spotlight. The poll, which surveyed 600 likely voters from March 26 to April 2, found that 32...