A top Silicon Valley congresswoman has a grave warning for President Joe Biden — step aside or lose the White House. San Jose Rep. Zoe Lofgren, one of the most senior and respected members of Congress, sent a strongly-worded letter to Biden Thursday expressing significant concerns over his ability to beat former President Donald Trump....
Silicon Valley congressional candidates won’t say if Biden should step down
As the country’s top Democratic leaders urge President Joe Biden to end his reelection campaign, the two men vying for an open congressional seat in Silicon Valley won’t say where they stand — dodging the question the whole country is asking. State Assemblymember Evan Low and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, both running to...
Santa Clara County supervisor candidates respond to reader questions
Four politicians vying for two open seats on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors in June received dozens of questions from attendees of San José Spotlight’s flagship all-day political festival, PolitiBeat. With a limited time for the candidate forum — one of eight live discussions at the Hammer Theater in downtown San Jose —...
Campaign filings reveal Silicon Valley recount donors
Tech CEOs and business leaders were the main sources of funding behind a contentious Silicon Valley congressional recount earlier this year. That’s according to recent campaign filings from Count the Vote, the super PAC that directly paid for the Congressional District 16 recount that sent Assemblymember Evan Low to a November runoff election with former...
Silicon Valley candidates spent hundreds of thousands on recount
New campaign finance filings show Assemblymember Evan Low significantly outspent his opponent, former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, on lawyers related to the April recount that solidified both their spots in the November runoff for Congressional District 16. While both candidates claim to have not been involved in the recount request, they received hundreds of...
Silicon Valley GOP leader says Trump shooting rallied RNC delegates
Moments after touching down in Wisconsin on Saturday for the Republican National Convention, Silicon Valley’s top GOP leader learned that a shooter attempted to gun down former President Donald Trump. “Everybody was really concerned. It was a pretty shocking and historic day,” Shane Patrick Connolly, chairman of the Santa Clara County Republican Party, told San...
Santa Clara asks voters to pass multimillion-dollar bond
Santa Clara voters will decide in November whether to give the city roughly $400 million for various infrastructure fixes around the city. The Santa Clara City Council approved the bond measure on Tuesday 6-1, with Councilmember Kevin Park dissenting. City employees originally proposed a $598 million bond, but councilmembers could only agree on a lower...
Familiar face withdraws from Milpitas mayor’s race
Long-time Milpitas politico Rich Tran is bowing out of his run for mayor, citing schedule conflicts as he works on launching a tech startup. He joined the race late last year after waiting to run again, since mayors can only serve six consecutive years and officials who serve their maximum term limits must wait two...
Silicon Valley politicians give back donations following FBI raids
Recent FBI raids into Bay Area properties owned and run by members of the politically-connected Duong family bring to light the yearslong allegations of illegal political donations into Silicon Valley. Among those alleged to have received illegal donations are Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, whose residence was searched by federal agents last week in connection with...
Santa Clara County loses top election official before November races
Santa Clara County’s top elections official is bowing out four months before the November election and shortly after her office landed in the hot seat over a historic recount. After nearly 30 years leading the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters through myriad controversies, Shannon Bushey is retiring on Friday due to medical reasons, according...