Santa Clara votes new candidate in and familiar politician out

In the Mission City’s only open city council race, Albert Gonzalez appears to be leading a 3-way contest to replace Santa Clara Councilmember Kathy Watanabe who terms out in December.

As of 4:58 p.m. on Friday, Gonzalez is leading with 43.3% of the vote. He is trailed by Satish Chandra who secured 34.9% of the vote and Harbir Bhatia who netted 21.8% of the vote.

Gonzalez is replacing a longtime ally of Mayor Lisa Gillmor — Watanabe — and has been on the opposite side of issues, including his support for the San Francisco 49ers which call the city’s Levi’s Stadium home. But one of the mayor’s harshest critics — Vice Mayor Anthony Becker — appears to be losing his council seat, making way for a friendlier face to Gillmor, political newcomer Kelly Cox.

The county’s voter turnout is about 53.9% and more than 565,000 ballots have been cast. As of Friday there are 238,000 ballots left to be counted.

Gonzalez, 52, a Santa Clara Unified School District trustee for the past 16 years, said his biggest concern is Santa Clara’s high cost of living. Gonzalez said he wants to incentivize building more affordable housing and streamline the permitting process for homeowners to build accessory dwelling units.

Chandra, 51, said he got involved in Santa Clara politics after volunteering on Gillmor’s 2022 campaign. He criticized the 49ers pouring money into the race to try to defeat Gillmor and said he’s seen the impact Levi’s Stadium has had on neighboring communities, such as traffic and parking issues.

Bhatia, 53, unsuccessfully ran for the District 1 seat in 2020 and is now CEO of the Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce.

District 6

Cox appears to be defeating Becker as of 4:58 p.m. on Friday with 53.2% of the vote. Becker secured 22.7% of the vote and a third candidate, George Guerra, netted 24.1% of the vote.

Cox, 44, who works as an assistant dean at Santa Clara University’s School of Engineering, is a newcomer to politics and acknowledged the learning curve with difficult topics — such as city finances. She wants to ensure the city doesn’t lose money during large events, like the 2026 Super Bowl and World Cup.

Cox told San José Spotlight late Tuesday that she “feels good” about the early returns but it’s too early to declare victory.

Along with neighborhood concerns, Becker said he’s helped decrease the city’s multimillion-dollar deficit and ended costly litigation with the 49ers. He supported the passage of Measure H in 2022, which increased the city’s business taxes based on the number of employees.

Becker, 39, has faced his share of controversy during his time in office. He’s facing trial for perjury after allegedly lying about leaking a 2022 Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury report ahead of its publication. The trial has been delayed a handful of times as the court works through the subpoenas and motions associated with the case.

Guerra, 60, said councilmembers must work collaboratively to keep the city moving forward, and he’s had experience on teams in his work as a telecommunications manager and in various volunteer roles.

This district is in South Santa Clara, bordering Pruneridge Avenue and Homestead Road to the north and Stevens Creek Boulevard to the south, Winchester Boulevard to the east and Wolfe Road to the west.

District 4

As of 4:58 p.m. on Friday, Santa Clara Councilmember Kevin Park appears to be headed for reelection — leading with 58.9% of the vote. He is trailed by former Councilmember Teresa O’Neill who secured 41.1% of the vote.

In his time on the city council, Park, 54, said he focused on how Levi’s Stadium could generate revenue for the city. He also tried working with the county to open a family homeless shelter on Benton Street after hearing from nearby residents. Plans for the shelter fell through after state funding couldn’t be secured.

O’Neill, 69, represented District 4 for one term. She said she wasn’t expecting to run again, but Santa Clarans urged her to get back into politics because of the current council’s dysfunction. She proposed exploring new revenue streams to bolster city services and hiring an economic development officer to attract new businesses.

The district is in West Santa Clara, bordered by El Camino Real to the north and Pruneridge Avenue to the south, Lawrence Expressway to the west and Saratoga Creek to the east. It contains part of Central Park.

District 5

Santa Clara Councilmember Suds Jain is leading with 53.2% of the vote as of Friday afternoon. He is trailed by David Kertes who secured 46.8% of the vote.

Jain, 62, first elected in 2020, said his first term on the council has been a success and he’s fulfilled many campaign promises, such as expanding the city’s climate action plan.

Jain spearheaded a new task force to tackle homelessness and hire a city sustainability manager. In his second term, Jain said he’ll continue working on sustainability, affordable housing and homelessness initiatives. He’ll also prioritize the city’s financial future.

Kertes, 54, hoped to bring his “business sense” to the city council to help negotiate contracts and plan for the future. Kertes has worked in sales and marketing for more than 20 years and proposed looking at long-term planning to secure the city’s financial viability.

This district is in East Santa Clara, bordered by El Camino Real to the north and Newhall Street and Homestead Road to the south, Saratoga Creek to the west and Portola Avenue to the east. This district is home to Santa Clara University.

This story will be updated.

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.