San Jose District 9 candidate deletes mistaken endorsement

One endorsement that has raised eyebrows in the District 9 San Jose City Council race turns out to never have taken place.

Genny Altwer finished the June 2 primary election in a commanding position, leading second-place candidate Gordon Chester by more than 10 percentage points. Fresh off the momentum from election night, Altwer’s campaign announced a raft of new endorsements a few weeks later, including one from her former election rival, Mike Hennessy, who finished fourth in the race. San José Spotlight reported on the announcement in follow up election coverage.

But recently, Hennessy’s endorsement disappeared from Altwer’s campaign website. Hennessy said he requested his endorsement be taken down because he never offered it. He attributed the confusion to a misunderstanding between Altwer and himself rather than deliberate misrepresentation.

“I never really told her to put my picture up there,” Hennessy told San José Spotlight.

Hennessy, who runs an auto restoration business, said he believes the misunderstanding stemmed from a phone conversation between himself and Altwer following the election. On the call, Hennessy said he told Altwer she was the strongest candidate remaining in the race, explaining that Altwer’s policy priorities better align with his own.

To Hennessy’s surprise, he later received a phone call from a political associate informing him that his name had appeared on Altwer’s endorsement lists. He said he received at least six more calls from people active in San Jose politics, including several from the city’s labor-aligned political bloc, asking him to explain his apparent endorsement.

Hennessy said he contacted Altwer’s campaign last week to ask that his picture be taken down.

“I said, ‘I never used the word endorsing, Genny. Endorsing’s a bigger deal,’” Hennessy said. “I kind of felt if I’m not in the political scene anymore, then I shouldn’t be political.”

A representative for Altwer’s campaign did not contest Hennessy’s account, but declined to comment on the incident. Instead, Altwer sent a written statement to this news organization celebrating her other endorsements, which now include San Jose Vice Mayor Pam Foley — who backed her chief of staff Scott Hughes in the June primary — and Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen.

“I’m honored that they all believe, like so many neighbors and friends, that I’m the strongest candidate to get the job done for our families on housing affordability, homelessness and crime,” Altwer told San José Spotlight. “That’s my focus in this race.”

A representative for Chester’s campaign declined to comment.

The race to represent District 9, which encompasses several suburban neighborhoods in San Jose’s southwestern corner, is the city’s only open contest this election cycle. The winner will replace Foley after she terms out in December.

Altwer’s June 17 announcement of new endorsements also celebrated political backing from San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and Congressman Sam Liccardo. While by no means the biggest name on the list, an endorsement from Hennessy, who drew 17.8% of the vote in June, might have moved a significant number of his voters over to Altwer in the November runoff.

Altwer, a licensed marriage and family therapist, held 35.5% of the primary vote in the final tally. Chester, a longtime city employee in the Public Works department, won 22.2% and is endorsed by District 4 Councilmember David Cohen, state Sen. Dave Cortese and the Santa Clara County Democratic Party.

During the primary, Chester and Hennessy shared a dual endorsement from the South Bay Labor Council, raising the possibility that an official Hennessy endorsement for Altwer could have muddled the political messaging for labor-aligned groups backing Chester in the runoff.

Altwer, who has the backing of several San Jose business groups and the city’s police union, differs with Chester on a range of key policy issues — running the gamut from housing to homelessness and public safety.

Contact Keith Menconi at [email protected] or @KeithMenconi on X.