Three candidates ahead in Cupertino City Council election

The next election results update is expected Thursday, Nov. 5 by 5 p.m.

The pro-growth Cupertino Together slate of three City Council candidates is leading in the polls, with three loosely allied preservationist candidates trailing immediately behind.

As of 5 p.m. Wednesday, John Tang, a former president of the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce, is in the top spot with 18.5% of the vote, or 4,651 votes. Coming in second is Councilmember J.R. Fruen with 17.1% of the vote, or 4,293 votes. In third place is Planning Commissioner Seema Sharma Lindskog with 16.5% of the vote, or 4,136 votes. The county’s voter turnout is at 29.6%.

Approximately 337,600 ballots remain unprocessed countywide, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. The top three candidates in the at-large election will be seated on the council.

“The best way I can describe (my reaction) is cautiously optimistic,” Lindskog told San José Spotlight. “I’m really, really proud of our team and what we’ve been able to do … and that our message seems to have gotten across to voters.”

Fruen, an attorney who works as chief of staff for San Jose Councilmember Rosemary Kamei, attributes Cupertino Together’s strong performance to all three candidates going out to meet voters.

“The one thing that has always mattered and will always matter, as far as I can tell, in local politics is canvassing,” Fruen told San José Spotlight. “It’s getting to doors and we got to nearly 11,000 doors.”

Tang did not respond to a request for comment.

Planning Commission Chair Tracy Kosolcharoen is in fourth place with 12.8% of the vote, or 3,222 votes. In fifth place is Planning Commissioner Santosh Rao with 12.5% of the vote, or 3,130 votes. Parks and Recreation Commission Chair Gopal Kumarappan is in sixth place with 10.7% of the vote, or 2,689 votes.

“Election night numbers in Santa Clara County reflect initial vote-by-mail returns, but they only tell part of the story,” Rao told San José Spotlight. “As we’ve seen in every recent election cycle in Cupertino, from 2018 and 2020 through 2022 and 2024, final results take days and weeks to fully materialize. We are confident in our grassroots support, patient with the official process and eager to see every resident’s vote counted.”

Rounding out the field of eight candidates are civil engineer Mark Fantozzi in seventh place with 6.3% of the vote, or 1,578 votes, and businesswoman J.Z. Wang with 5.3% of the vote, or 1,327 votes.

Three of the Cupertino City Council’s five seats are open this year, as incumbent Fruen sought a second term, Vice Mayor Liang Chao terms out in December and Councilmember Sheila Mohan opted not to seek reelection. Incumbents Mayor Kitty Moore and R “Ray” Wang are serving terms that end in 2028.

Moore, Wong and Chao make up a preservationist majority on the council. If the three Cupertino Together candidates are seated, the majority will swing to the pro-growth side for the next four years.

Housing is the biggest issue dividing the two sides as the city struggles with state-mandated goals to build thousands of homes in the face of frequent resident opposition.

Other key issues include the decline of retail in Cupertino, partially because stores are being replaced with high-density housing, and whether the city is spending tax dollars responsibly.

This story will be updated.

Contact Mike Langberg at [email protected].