Brandon Pho

1 week ago | sanjosespotlight.com | Brandon Pho

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan has plans to end homeless camping and appeal to California’s center-right political sphere. But his efforts hinge on the City Council’s help to pass his policies — and some question whether the District 3 special election has exposed cracks in that support. Early election results have been shaky for Mahan’s favored candidate in the race, Matthew Quevedo, his deputy chief of staff.

1 week ago | sanjosespotlight.com | Brandon Pho

Gabby Chavez-Lopez continues to maintain her lead in updated results for the San Jose City Council District 3 special election, but it’s not enough of the vote to secure a win outright. As of 4 p.m. Thursday, Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, still holds on to a solid 29% of the vote. Matthew Quevedo, the mayor’s deputy chief of staff, is in second place at 22.18% and Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos is trailing in third at 22.16%.

2 weeks ago | sanjosespotlight.com | Brandon Pho

The pieces are in place to seismically shift Silicon Valley elections — and Santa Clara County supervisors are holding all the cards. For the first time in almost a year, the Board of Supervisors is expected to discuss a potential switch to ranked choice voting at its April 15 finance and government committee meeting. There, supervisors will weigh estimates on the cost of rolling out a system that lets voters rank their preferred candidates.

2 weeks ago | sanjosespotlight.com | Brandon Pho

It’s been a good week for fast-food workers in Silicon Valley. Employees at local McDonald’s, Taco Bell and other fast-food franchises roared with applause Tuesday when the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved creating a training program for fast-food workers on their state-mandated labor rights. While workers support the move, store owners say it’s unnecessary as they already provide training.

2 weeks ago | sanjosespotlight.com | Brandon Pho |Vicente Vera

​​Early election night results show Gabby Chavez-Lopez leading in the special election for the District 3 seat on the San Jose City Council. As of 8 p.m. Tuesday, Chavez-Lopez has 30% of the vote, followed by Matthew Quevedo with 22% of the vote and Anthony Tordillos with 20% of the vote. Unless one candidate gets a majority of the vote, the top two vote-getters will head to a June 24 runoff election.