In just the past 13 months, San Jose’s political machinery has seen two major upheavals: Voters approved changing the year in which the mayor is elected. And two councilmembers were appointed to their seats in January for the first time in nearly three decades, a move deemed as a power grab by the city’s moderate wing.
Those developments are likely to prove consequential as candidates line up to compete in the city’s primary race on March 5, 2024, with Districts 2, 4, 6, 8 and 10 — along with the mayor’s seat — all up for grabs and fundraising set to begin Aug. 8.
Here is a shortlist of who is running in the 2024 primary so far.
District 2: Two candidates have officially registered for the seat now filled by Councilmember Sergio Jimenez. His term ends next year and the district he represents encompasses the far-reaching corners of south San Jose. Babu Prasad, an employee at Kaiser Permanente’s admitting department, has already garnered a long list of endorsements. Those include Assemblymembers Ash Kalra, Evan Low and Alex Lee, Santa Clara County Supervisors Susan Ellenberg and Cindy Chavez and Councilmembers Domingo Candelas, Peter Ortiz and Omar Torres. Prasad has been involved in a wide variety of labor leadership positions, as well as the district’s neighborhood commission. In an interview, he said building more affordable housing, public safety, combatting homelessness and spurring economic growth would be his top priorities if elected.
The other registered candidate, Pamela Campos, has a background in early childhood education and development. A former preschool teacher, Campos currently works at the Low Income Investment Fund, a nonprofit financial institution that focuses on investing in racial equity initiatives. Campos said in an interview that supporting early childhood care programs will be her top priority. “We invest in K-12,” she said. “But as soon as we talk about early care, the burden is on the parent.” Campos has endorsements from the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley’s Executive Director Gabriela Chavez-Lopez, Mountain View City Councilmember Emily Ramos and San Mateo County Supervisor Noelia Corzo.
District 4: Incumbent David Cohen will be running for his second term after being elected to office in 2020 overseeing north San Jose. Cohen helped broker a deal in late December that ended a years long legal fight involving Santa Clara County and opened up the ability for tens of thousands of homes to be built in his district. In recent months, Cohen has pushed city officials to speed up the construction of interim housing sites that promise to rapidly get homeless residents out of street encampments, though questions have arisen over the financial toll it could take on the city’s general fund. The councilmember also was a key player in a recent debate over how much money should be devoted to the interim housing solution, offering a compromise to his colleagues after efforts rose to take some funding away from affordable housing projects during this year’s budget deliberations. In an interview, Cohen said he’d like to finish the work he started when first elected. “I’m prepared to go out and share my record with whoever else may want to challenge me,” he said. “I think my record will speak for itself.”
District 6: Alex Shoor, executive director of the pro-housing development organization Catalyze SV, is currently the only contender for a seat that controls a northwestern portion of the city. Current Councilmember Dev Davis will be termed out next year.
A former policy aide for former Santa Clara County Supervisor and San Jose councilmember Ken Yeager, Shoor helped spur the Rose Garden Farmers Market and was part of a group of advocates who rallied for a street corridor just west of the city’s downtown to be re-named Barack Obama Boulevard. Shoor said in an interview that his priorities are pushing for more affordable housing with an emphasis on permanent supportive options. “If we’re going to solve homelessness, we need to do a lot better,” said Shoor. “That means a councilmember who supports affordable housing.” Shoor says he also supports small businesses and making neighborhoods more walkable and vibrant. Shoor has been endorsed by his former boss Yeager and Santa Clara County Public Defender Molly O’Neal, along with a smattering of South Bay councilmembers.
District 8: Domingo Candelas, a former Stanford administrator who was elected to the city council’s east San Jose seat in January through an appointment, previously stated he planned on running for election in 2024. So far, Candelas said he has helped raise funding for Lake Cunningham improvements and helped push for more money to go toward police recruitment efforts. He’s been endorsed by state Sen. Dave Cortese, former state Sen. Jim Beall, Santa Clara County Supervisor Sylvia Arenas and San Jose Councilmembers Pam Foley and Davis.
District 10: No one has officially filed to run for the seat that oversees the southwestern part of the city. Current Councilmember Arjun Batra, who was also appointed to his seat in January, said at the time that he was still deciding whether to run in the 2024 contest. Batra did not immediately respond to an interview request.
Mayor: After voters approved Measure A in June 2022 to align mayoral elections with presidential contests, Matt Mahan pulled off a surprising upset win in the November election against his opponent Cindy Chavez. No major contender has come forward to challenge Mahan next year — and news broke in April that Chavez is considering an administrative role in San Diego County.