San José Races

Results are a combination of data provided by the Associated Press (AP) and county election offices. The AP calls winners by analyzing vote tallies and other election data. Check marks are used to denote a winner only when the AP calls a race.

City Council, District 2

Top candidate wins seat.

Pamela Campos54%
16,833 votes
Joe Lopez45.9%
14,319 votes
Updated at 7:55 PM PT on Nov 20, 2024
Santa Clara County

City Council, District 6

Top candidate wins seat.

Michael Mulcahy51.3%
19,546 votes
Olivia Navarro48.6%
18,546 votes
Updated at 7:55 PM PT on Nov 20, 2024
Santa Clara County

City Council, District 8

Top candidate wins seat.

Domingo Candelas(incumbent)57.2%
23,301 votes
Tam Truong42.7%
17,364 votes
Updated at 7:55 PM PT on Nov 20, 2024
Santa Clara County

City Council, District 10

Top candidate wins seat.

George Casey57.8%
23,935 votes
Arjun Batra(incumbent)42.1%
17,469 votes
Updated at 7:55 PM PT on Nov 20, 2024
Santa Clara County

City Council, District 2

Top candidate wins seat.

Pamela Campos54%
16,833 votes
Joe Lopez45.9%
14,319 votes
Updated at 7:55 PM PT on Nov 20, 2024
Santa Clara County

What does a council member do?

City and town council members can propose new city ordinances and vote on a range of issues, including housing development, business ventures and contracts. They also help draft the city or town budget.

Candidate Statements

Candidate Statements are excerpted from the statements provided to election offices, where available.

Pamela Campos

  • Educator 
  • Experience: “A graduate of Gunderson High School and SJSU, I began my career in education and have served our community as a preschool teacher, parent organizer, and policy analyst specializing in housing, transit, and early care education.”
  • Housing: “Today, San José has the highest level of youth homelessness in the nation and, as the cost of living goes up, families in every neighborhood are struggling.”
  • Priorities: “I am committed to championing policies that guarantee public safety and building community trust because we all deserve a brighter tomorrow.”
  • www.pamela4sj.com

Joe Lopez

  • Retired sheriff’s sergeant
  • Experience: “For 35 years I served our community as a sheriff’s deputy working from patrol officer, to narcotics agent, to hostage negotiator. I know good policing makes neighborhoods safer.”
  • Public safety: “San José was once the safest big city in America. I have a plan to reclaim that important title. We need more police officers and first responders who are well trained and understand the communities they serve.”
  • Priorities: “I will fight every day to hold City Hall accountable, so our city is safe and clean, our tax dollars are not wasted, and to make sure that city government is working for us. We have enough politicians talking about crime. We need a leader who knows how to fight it.”

Race to Watch

City Council, District 6

Top candidate wins seat.

Michael Mulcahy51.3%
19,546 votes
Olivia Navarro48.6%
18,546 votes
Updated at 7:55 PM PT on Nov 20, 2024
Santa Clara County

Why does this race matter?

Incumbent District 6 Councilmember Dev Davis is term-limited after eight years on the council. The winner of this race will represent a unique mix of San José: from the leafy streets of Willow Glen and Rose Garden to the downtown SAP Center arena and San José Mineta International Airport.

What does a council member do?

City and town council members can propose new city ordinances and vote on a range of issues, including housing development, business ventures and contracts. They also help draft the city or town budget.

Candidates

Michael Mulcahy
Michael MulcahyBusiness Owner
Olivia Navarro
Olivia NavarroCity Commissioner, San José

Key Supporters

This list represents notable organizations and individuals who have taken a position on the ballot measure or candidate, or who are funding campaigns in support or opposition. This list is not exhaustive, and may be updated.

For Mulcahy

  • Dave Cortese, state senator
  • Matt Mahan, mayor, San José 
  • San Jose Police Officers Association 
  • Santa Clara County Association of Realtors
  • Silicon Valley Biz PAC

For Navarro

  • Anna Eshoo, U.S. representative
  • Evan Low, state Assembly member
  • American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Council 57
  • Santa Clara County Democratic Party
  • South Bay Labor Council
 

Positions on Key Issues
Candidate summaries are based on interviews with the candidates, questionnaires, statements made at debates and public events, and past news coverage.

Do you agree with the City Council’s decision to shift money from permanent affordable housing to interim housing and shelter? Do you support plans for a sanctioned encampment, also known as a safe sleeping site, in Willow Glen?

Mulcahy supports funding for interim housing, adding “in order for us to get people off the street, we need to create shelter and require that they use it.” He expresses concerns about “low barrier encampments … that don't have the required amount of security” but believes a sanctioned encampment could work in the district if it includes wraparound services for residents and robust security.
Navarro acknowledges that “the council had to make difficult decisions” on the budget and says she would prioritize programs that keep people housed. She questions plans for the sanctioned encampment, noting that after speaking with people experiencing homelessness in the neighborhood, “many of those individuals were opposed to it. They didn't want to be in a safe sleeping site … they want vouchers, they want permanent supportive housing. They want a real long-term solution.”

Violent crime and property crime dramatically dropped in San José between 2022 and 2023 but the Police Department still has around 100 vacancies. What is your plan to recruit new police officers to the department?

Mulcahy says public safety would be his top priority on the council. He vows to support the police department “with the equipment and technologies that they need to be as efficient as a small force, while we continue to offset that trend of retirees and attrition that is outpacing our ability to grow.”
Navarro says recruitment should begin with greater outreach to high schools to change “the narrative of joining the force, whether it be the police force, [or] the fire [department].” She highlights her experience on the Neighborhoods Commission, where she advised the City Council on police response times. “And that was one of the reasons that they started digging into: What do we need to do to hire more dispatchers?”

Do you support a proposal that would require fast-food workers in San José to receive paid time off and training on their workplace rights?

Mulcahy argues that the state government has already addressed this issue by creating a Fast Food Council to establish standards for wages and working conditions in the industry. He says, “We have to see how that works moving forward” before San José’s council considers local action. “I think the city should back off for now,” he adds.
Navarro describes hearing “heartbreaking” stories of fast-food workers unable to take time off from their jobs. “It would be a good thing for some of the small businesses to be able to support their employees,” she says. “And it would prevent people from leaving and having turnaround in their employment … it's cheaper to give a PTO day than to have to retrain a new employee.”

Race to Watch

City Council, District 8

Top candidate wins seat.

Domingo Candelas(incumbent)57.2%
23,301 votes
Tam Truong42.7%
17,364 votes
Updated at 7:55 PM PT on Nov 20, 2024
Santa Clara County

Why does this race matter?

District 8 is a swing seat on the council. Moderate candidates supported by business groups typically perform well in the Evergreen neighborhood, while progressives backed by organized labor historically gain support in the neighborhoods around Lake Cunningham. Councilmember Domingo Candelas was appointed to this seat by the council in 2023. 

What does a council member do?

City and town council members can propose new city ordinances and vote on a range of issues, including housing development, business ventures and contracts. They also help draft the city or town budget.

Candidates

Domingo Candelas
Domingo CandelasCity Council Member, San José
Tam Truong
Tam TruongSergeant, San José Police Department

Key Supporters

This list represents notable organizations and individuals who have taken a position on the ballot measure or candidate, or who are funding campaigns in support or opposition. This list is not exhaustive, and may be updated.

For Candelas

  • Sylvia Arenas, supervisor, Santa Clara County 
  • Dave Cortese, state senator
  • AFSCME Local 101
  • South Bay Labor Council

For Truong

  • Bien Doan, City Council member, San José
  • Citizens for Fiscal Responsibility
  • Santa Clara County Association of Realtors
  • Silicon Valley Biz PAC
 

Positions on Key Issues
Candidate summaries are based on interviews with the candidates, questionnaires, statements made at debates and public events, and past news coverage.

Do you agree with the City Council’s decision to shift money from permanent affordable housing to interim housing and shelter? Would you support having an interim housing site or shelter in District 8?

Candelas joined the council in a unanimous vote to redirect the money earmarked for reducing homelessness. He cites pressure from local water regulators who demanded the city relocate people experiencing homelessness from riverbeds. He says the city should develop the interim housing sites already in the works before planning one for District 8. “Until we get there … I think it's premature to say, ‘Oh, let's expand the thousand units that's already [in the pipeline].’”
Truong says he experienced homelessness firsthand growing up in Vietnam, placing the issue “really deep in my heart.” He approves of the city’s investments in temporary housing and shelter and would support a temporary housing site in District 8. “We should have our fair share,” Troung says, adding that the site should be “near a transit center that can give [the residents] ability to go and find proper resources.”

Violent crime and property crime dramatically dropped in San José between 2022 and 2023 but the Police Department still has around 100 vacancies. What is your plan to recruit new police officers to the department?

Candelas says the city can speed up the onboarding process for new hires. He also supports changes to free existing officers to focus on the most serious crimes by “shifting some of the responsibility for, let's say, traffic control over to the civilian side” with community services officers responding to low-level complaints. Candelas also supports investments in automated license plate readers and automated speed enforcement.
Truong says his presence on the City Council would provide a morale boost for current and prospective officers “if they see that there's a sergeant on the City Council to make an important decision for our city and for themselves.” He argues his experience gives him a unique perspective on the needs of the department. “We have a [patrol] cars issue right now,” he says, an example of “the little stuff that the public doesn’t know.”

San José has a parks maintenance backlog of over $450 million. What is your plan to improve the quality of city parks?

Candelas points to his work with members of Congress and the state Legislature to secure more than $2.3 million for the restoration of Lake Cunningham, where he hosted a city-funded fireworks show this year. “I brought 30,000 people into this park … to bring attention to the park and bring some much needed community engagement to a place that otherwise would not get that attention.”
Truong would like to see more after-school programs available in the district, which fall under the Parks, Recreation & Neighborhood Services department. He says increasing the city’s parks budget would be a top priority. “We need those parks to be operable and free of homeless, free of drugs.”

City Council, District 10

Top candidate wins seat.

George Casey57.8%
23,935 votes
Arjun Batra(incumbent)42.1%
17,469 votes
Updated at 7:55 PM PT on Nov 20, 2024
Santa Clara County

What does a council member do?

City and town council members can propose new city ordinances and vote on a range of issues, including housing development, business ventures and contracts. They also help draft the city or town budget.

Candidate Statements

Candidate Statements are excerpted from the statements provided to election offices, where available.

Arjun Batra

  • San José City Council Member, District 10
  • Collaboration: “By building relationships with Mayor Mahan and other esteemed colleagues, we have worked to make our city safer, cleaner, and more accountable.”
  • Accomplishments: “I have led on the issues you care about most: an in-depth audit on homelessness, reducing spending and opposing new taxes, clearing encampments and creating no re-encampment zones, hiring more police officers to open our Southern Police Station, preserving lifesaving units of our fire department, improved traffic safety near schools, streamlining permits, and advocating for working class residents.”
  • Experience: “I spent decades working in high-tech at companies like IBM and Intel, managing diverse, multinational teams focused on solving problems. Today, I use those skills to find common-sense and cost-effective solutions to the challenges facing District 10.”
  • www.ArjunBatraSJ.com

George Casey

  • Vice-president/senior counsel 
  • Experience: “My professional career, training and service gives me the background it takes to build safe, thriving communities. I earned my degrees in urban planning and law, and as a planning commissioner created housing where it made sense.”
  • Homelessness: “Mayor Matt Mahan needs an ally fighting with him for cost-effective, quick-build units to house our homeless neighbors.”
  • Priorities: “Fully staffing our police force to address crime and improve response times; building housing near jobs and transit where it won’t exacerbate traffic; and standing up for responsible spending.”
  • www.CaseyForChange.com

More Results

All Santa Clara County Elections

See results for all elections on the Santa Clara County ballot.

Have a correction? Contact voterguide@kqed.org.