A Santa Clara City Council District 2 candidate is facing questions about campaign posts that feature the branding from the nonprofit she leads. It’s prompting the organization to establish new guidance for board members running for public office. Kimberley Williams, who became board president of the Santa Clara Schools Foundation in June, appeared in social...
Santa Clara wants better water, air standards for data centers
Santa Clara officials are moving forward with plans to update the city’s policies governing data center development, but have stopped short of considering a moratorium on new projects coming through the pipeline. The City Council on Oct. 6 unanimously approved a plan to prioritize new water and air quality standards for data centers and directed...
49ers-backed PAC supports Santa Clara candidate, opposes another
The San Francisco 49ers want to tilt the scales in the team’s favor on the Santa Clara City Council by pouring hundreds of thousands of dollars into the District 2 race. Recent campaign finance filings show a political action committee — Affordable Santa Clara Supporting Williams and Opposing Inciarte for City Council 2026, sponsored by...
Santa Clara County residents urged to mail back ballots early
Residents across Santa Clara County are receiving their mail-in ballots ahead of the Nov. 3 election, and local election officials are urging them to vote early. Vote by mail packets are going out to more than 1 million active registered voters in Santa Clara County this week. To ensure all votes are counted, officials with...
Santa Clara candidate faces complaint for exceeding donation limits
A Santa Clara official wants the city attorney to review mayoral candidate Kathy Watanabe’s campaign donations, alleging violations of the city’s donor limits. Councilmember Suds Jain’s Oct. 5 complaint said Watanabe’s July campaign filings reported $500 contributions each from Paul Larson and Michael McWalter, but the contribution limits per person are $380. The filing shows...
San Francisco 49ers spending big on Santa Clara mayoral race
Special interest groups are pouring money into Santa Clara’s mayoral race, with the San Francisco 49ers funding a political action committee that’s backing one candidate and opposing two others. Recent campaign finance filings show the PAC — Affordable Santa Clara Supporting Ferraris and Opposing Watanabe and Kertes for Mayor 2026, Sponsored by Forty Niners Football...
Santa Clara mayoral candidates share positions on key issues
Six candidates vying to become Santa Clara’s next mayor laid out competing visions for the city at an election forum that discussed council dysfunction, data center growth, budget stability, Great America and the San Francisco 49ers’ role in local politics. Candidates include former city maintenance worker and labor representative Armando “Gary” Ferraris, David Kertes, director...
Santa Clara candidate failed to disclose AI images, complaint says
A Santa Clara mayoral candidate is facing a state-level complaint over his campaign’s undisclosed use of AI-generated images. Diana Torres, a freelance political consultant, filed the complaint against candidate Gary Ferraris to the California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) on Sept. 24. The complaint alleges Ferraris’ campaign website used images created with artificial intelligence without...
Santa Clara looks to ban recreational nitrous oxide sales
Santa Clara is preparing to ban recreational sales of nitrous oxide products, also known as whippets. But smoke shops within city limits have already started moving away from selling them. The City Council on Tuesday received an update on the proposed ban, which would prohibit the sale and distribution of nitrous oxide for recreational use...
Ex-Santa Clara officials’ confrontation leads to free speech lesson
A recent confrontation caught on video between two former Santa Clara councilmembers, with one running for mayor, led to the cops being called. But instead of anyone ending up in handcuffs, officers informed them of their First Amendment rights. At the city’s annual Art & Wine Festival on Saturday, Anthony Becker approached Kathy Watanabe at...