San Jose councilmember seeks state Senate seat

The election year has barely started — but a handful of Silicon Valley races are shaping up.

San Jose Councilmember David Cohen announced his run for California Senate District 10, which represents parts of Santa Clara and Alameda counties. The district’s current seat holder, Aisha Wahab, is running for Congressional District 14 held by Eric Swalwell, who’s now running for governor.

Wahab, who wasn’t available for comment, announced a bid for the congressional seat late last month after wide speculation.

“I wouldn’t have been thinking about stepping into the race if there hadn’t been common wisdom that Aisha Wahab is running for the congressional seat,” he told San José Spotlight.

The District 4 councilmember specifically wants to help define the state’s role in providing funding for cities with mandates to address homelessness. The state budget is looking at a potential $35 billion multiyear deficit.

“The state is cutting funding while the city is doing more and the county is operating in a different lane,” Cohen said. “We all need to understand our roles and I think there’s a place for the state to define the rules better so that counties, cities and the state can all work in the same direction.”

Another priority, he said, is standing up for residents against the federal government under President Donald Trump.

“San Jose has been a leader in putting in place policies to protect our residents from policing strategies that are not making our communities safer — and there’s a lot we can do at the state level,” Cohen said. “I want to make sure we’re continuing to fight against immigration crackdowns and attempts to cut our funding.”

Cohen, who spent 14 years on the Berryessa Union School District board, said education is also top of mind as he fleshes out his campaign platform.

“It would be great to work on education issues much more, making sure that all students have equal opportunities to be successful across the state,” he said.

There had been much uncertainty surrounding Wahab’s campaign for Congress, as her own seat is also up for election this year. A Jan. 5 federal campaign filing indicated Wahab could have held off on running until the 2028 election, when the two-year congressional office is up for grabs again.

Other candidates for the state Senate seat include Milpitas Mayor Carmen Montano, Union City Councilmember Scott Sakakihara, West Valley-Mission Community College Trustee and former Assemblymember Paul Fong and Chabot–Las Positas Community College District Trustee Harris Mojadedi.

Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.

Story updated Feb. 6 at 1:30 p.m. Original story published Feb. 5 at 2 p.m.