Tordillos, 33, made the announcement Thursday, after a Wednesday results update showed him maintaining a wide lead over Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez. Tordillos holds 64.3% of the vote, or 5,328 votes. Chavez-Lopez trails in second place with 35.6% of the vote, or 2,954 votes. Nearly 8,326 ballots have been cast, according to Santa Clara County elections officials who will continue processing ballots Thursday.

“District 3 voters showed they won’t settle for status quo San Jose politics. They’re tired of the same old fights between ‘business’ and ‘labor’ — they want a councilmember they can count on to deliver results on housing affordability, homelessness and public safety,” Tordillos said in a statement. “We were never supposed to make it this far, but thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who knocked on over 30,000 doors, we’re here.”

Chavez-Lopez conceded in a statement to San José Spotlight on Thursday.

“While the results were not what we hoped for, I’m proud of the campaign we ran — one that stayed rooted in our values and focused on the people of District 3. Thank you, San Jose, for the chance to listen, learn and lead with purpose,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight.

She congratulated Tordillos on his victory — but also denounced the negative campaigning against her from business and real estate groups.

“The level of negative campaigning from outside special interests — particularly the California Association of Realtors and Silicon Valley Biz PAC — was deeply disappointing and crossed a line,” she said. “As someone on the receiving end, I know firsthand that we must do better. I remain committed to raising the standard of how we conduct local elections. San Jose deserves campaigns rooted in truth and integrity — not misinformation.”

One of the Bay Area’s largest LGBTQ+ political groups is celebrating Tordillos’ victory.

“BAYMEC made an historic investment in Anthony’s race that restored vital LGBTQ+ representation in this fraught time for our community,” Drew Lloyd, president of Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee (BAYMEC), told San José Spotlight. “It gives me great hope to see the voters in District 3 vote in such high numbers for Anthony without hesitation. I’m not sure that would have been the case in other parts of the country.”

On election night, Tordillos said his first issue upon taking office will be housing.

“Housing has been my No. 1 issue — it’s what got me into local politics to begin with,” Tordillos told San José Spotlight. “I’m looking forward to continue to lead on housing on City Council and find ways to turn around our housing shortage and build a more affordable San Jose.”

The election results could tip the City Council’s delicate scales of power. Mayor Matt Mahan just won colleagues’ approval for a handful of his headline-grabbing proposals, including arresting homeless people for refusing shelter, which have built him a statewide political profile. But his council majority isn’t always consistent. His colleagues recently shot down one of his boldest proposals to tie city leaders’ salaries to their performance.
Mahan initially put his support behind one of his deputy chiefs of staff, Matthew Quevedo, in the special election’s April 8 primary. Quevedo was knocked out of the race after razor-thin margins triggered a recount. Mahan then threw his support behind Tordillos.

“If you get to know Anthony, he’s such a kind and thoughtful person who asks great questions and really wants to understand issues,” Mahan told San José Spotlight on election night. “He and I don’t agree on every issue, but we’ve done hours of deep conversation talking about data and he’s got the right mindset.”

Story updated June 26 at 3:04 p.m. Original story published June 26 at 8:51 a.m.

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.

The post Tordillos declares victory in San Jose special election appeared first on San José Spotlight.

Early election night results show San Jose Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos, 33, leading by double digits in the race to represent downtown San Jose and replace disgraced former District 3 Councilmember Omar Torres.

As of 4:17 p.m. Wednesday, Tordillos holds 64.3% of the vote, or 5,328 votes. Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez trails in second place with 35.6% of the vote, or 2,954 votes. Nearly 8,326 ballots have been cast, according to Santa Clara County elections officials who will continue processing ballots Thursday.

Tordillos, taking in the strides of the early trends on election night, said his first issue upon taking office will be housing.

“Housing has been my No. 1 issue — it’s what got me into local politics to begin with,” Tordillos told San José Spotlight. “I’m looking forward to continue to lead on housing on City Council and find ways to turn around our housing shortage and build a more affordable San Jose.”

@sanjosespotlight

Early election night results show San Jose Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos leading by double digits in the race to represent downtown San Jose and replace disgraced former District 3 Councilmember Omar Torres. As of 8:45 p.m. Tuesday, Tordillos held 64.8% of the vote, or 4,449 votes. Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez trails in second place with 35.1% of the vote, or 2,413 votes. Nearly 6,901 ballots have been cast, according to Santa Clara County elections officials who will continue processing ballots Wednesday. Read more at SanJoseSpotlight.com. #sanjose #downtownsanjose #election #siliconvalley

♬ original sound – San José Spotlight

Tordillos supporters — picking over charcuterie and passing drinks around at The Pressroom bar in downtown San Jose on Tuesday — erupted into cheers when the results on the screen flashed his early lead over Chavez-Lopez.

District 7 Councilmember Bien Doan arrived at Tordillos’ party just after the initial round of results, but he said he’s not here to pick a favorite in the race.

“I’m just looking to work with council District 3,” Doan told San José Spotlight.

Clarice Shephard, a downtown resident since 2008, said Tordillos stood out for his position on the planning commission — and because he’s one of her neighbors.

“Anthony’s my guy because I think he’ll help us with homelessness and the safety of our neighborhood and taking care of the few parks we have in our little downtown area,” Shephard told San José Spotlight. “He picks up trash— he does everything. I think he’d take the shirt off his back if you needed it.”

Despite Chavez-Lopez trailing in votes, a steady stream of supporters at her viewing party at the Corinthian Ballroom watched the results with optimism.

Chavez-Lopez said her campaign will be watching the results come in over the next few days, as there are more votes to count. Applause rang out as she addressed more than 100 supporters and confirmed she will not concede until every vote is counted.

She told San José Spotlight there were many factors between the April primary and now that could impact the election, including thousands of special interest dollars spent opposing her.

“Obviously my opponent has a lead and we’re going to be monitoring this closely, making sure that we’re watching and seeing what the voters of District 3 ultimately are going to be deciding,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight.

District 2 Santa Clara County Supervisor Betty Duong attended Chavez-Lopez’s party and said initial results showed “we had two fierce candidates that ran strong campaigns.”

“By the time we’re done, we’re going to have a councilmember who really cares about downtown,” Duong told San José Spotlight.

District 4 Councilmember David Cohen, who endorsed Chavez-Lopez, said he was surprised by the steep margin, though low turnout was one of his concerns with running a special election.

“The first round numbers aren’t promising,” Cohen told San José Spotlight. “We will see how it plays out, but it looks like the high spending of the other side made a difference with voters.”

Whichever candidate succeeds will have to help grapple with the city’s structural budget shortfall, which is expected to balloon to $52.9 million in 2026-27.

The election results could tip the City Council’s delicate scales of power. Mayor Matt Mahan just won colleagues’ approval for a handful of his headline-grabbing proposals, including arresting homeless people for refusing shelter, which have built him a statewide political profile. But his council majority isn’t always consistent. His colleagues recently shot down one of his boldest proposals to tie city leaders’ salaries to their performance.

Mahan initially put his support behind one of his deputy chiefs of staff, Matthew Quevedo, in the special election’s April 8 primary. Quevedo was knocked out of the race after razor-thin margins triggered a recount. Mahan then threw his support behind Tordillos.

Mahan arrived at Tordillos’ party shortly after the first round of results.

“If you get to know Anthony, he’s such a kind and thoughtful person who asks great questions and really wants to understand issues,” Mahan told San José Spotlight. “He and I don’t agree on every issue, but we’ve done hours of deep conversation talking about data and he’s got the right mindset.”

In campaign finance filings posted Monday, Tordillos grew his fundraising lead to almost $100,000 ahead of Chavez-Lopez. Tordillos is going into Election Day having raised $360,734 total, and Chavez-Lopez is trailing with $261,028. Both have spent the vast majority of their funds to campaign.

Four PACs have lined up to back Tordillos, including the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee, which endorsed Tordillos and spent $34,836 to support his campaign. The San Jose Police Officers Association PAC has spent $29,051 to support Tordillos and $8,209 to oppose Chavez-Lopez.

Common Good Silicon Valley, a PAC created in 2021 by freshman Congressmember and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, spent thousands to support Quevedo ahead of the April election. Following Mahan’s endorsement of Tordillos in May, the PAC spent $15,000 to support Tordillos and $10,000 to oppose Chavez-Lopez.

A new special interest group formed June 10 — Californians Working Together to Support Tordillos for City Council 2025 Sponsored by Labor Organizations — has spent more than $39,000 supporting Tordillos. It’s funded by unions that have endorsed Tordillos, including Operating Engineers Local 3 and the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council, as well as developers such as Bayview Development Group, Inc.

Chavez-Lopez is endorsed by the South Bay Labor Council, which has spent more than $500,000 since the start of her campaign to get her elected.

Before the April primary election, the committee Working Families in Support of Gabby Chavez-Lopez for City Council 2025 spent about $51,000 supporting Chavez-Lopez and opposing Quevedo before terminating on April 25. It was primarily funded by large companies, including PG&E, Chevron and Walmart.
Chavez-Lopez has also been the target of more than $320,000 in opposition spending from multiple business stakeholders, including the Silicon Valley Biz PAC and California Real Estate Independent Expenditure Committee.

The special election is the result of a child sex abuse investigation into former Councilmember Torres, which led to his arrest and resignation on Election Day last November. The scandal revealed Torres sent texts asking for sex with minors and admitted to molesting an underage relative in the 1990s. Torres pleaded “no contest” in court April 8. His sentencing hearing is scheduled for August.

Story updated June 25 at 4:29 p.m. Original story published June 24 at 8:08 p.m.

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X. Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at sakura@sanjosespotlight.com or @SakuCannestra on X.

The post UPDATE: Anthony Tordillos maintains lead in San Jose special election appeared first on San José Spotlight.

In campaign finance filings posted Monday, Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos grew his lead to almost $100,000 ahead of Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez. The filings cover June 8 through June 23 and are the last look at candidates’ finances ahead of tomorrow’s election.

Tordillos is going into Election Day having raised $360,734 total, and Chavez-Lopez is trailing with $261,028. Both have spent the vast majority of their funds to campaign, leaving Tordillos with $11,973 on hand and Chavez-Lopez with $28,780.

Kurt Frewing, Tordillos’ spokesperson, said the campaign is proud to have received this swell of support leading into the election.

“Our campaign has already crushed the special interests and pundits’ expectations, and thanks to our hundreds of grassroots donors and volunteers, we’ll do so again on June 24,” Frewing told San José Spotlight.

Chavez-Lopez said she hasn’t seen an impact from the fundraising distance, because the voters she’s spoken with have been mostly supportive. She said her campaign has received grassroots support directly from voters, small businesses and other community members, while her opponent has mostly self-funded his campaign.

“It’s never just been about me and writing myself a check, it’s been about the community,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “I think our campaign has always reflected the leader that I have been in this community.”

Over the course of the campaign, Tordillos gave $210,000 to his own committee, $20,000 of which was marked as a loan. Frewing said Tordillos grew up in the working class and is now an example of the “American Dream.” Tordillos worked at Google for 11 years as an engineering manager before leaving to focus on his campaign.

Frewing said voters don’t trust Chavez-Lopez because of the support she’s received from corporations such as PG&E. Chavez-Lopez has faced criticism for having a PG&E executive help with campaign events, while a political action committee (PAC) bankrolled by the utility company independently supported her candidacy. She has denied receiving support from corporations or representatives from PG&E.

Chavez-Lopez placed first in the April 8 primary election and held a strong lead with about 29% of the vote. Tordillos placed second after a recount knocked Matthew Quevedo, deputy chief of staff for Mayor Matt Mahan, out of the running. The candidates are vying to fill the District 3 council seat following the arrest and resignation of former Councilmember Omar Torres last November related to child sex crimes.

Special interests

Seven PACs spent more than $800,000 ahead of the April primary election, namely supporting Chavez-Lopez or Quevedo. While most committees slowed their spending after that, special interest support for Tordillos has jumped in the week leading up to Election Day.

Four PACs have lined up to back Tordillos, including the Bay Area Municipal Elections Committee, which endorsed Tordillos and spent $34,836 to support his campaign. The San Jose Police Officers Association PAC has spent $29,051 to support Tordillos and $8,209 to oppose Chavez-Lopez.

Common Good Silicon Valley, a PAC created in 2021 by freshman Congressmember and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, spent thousands to support Quevedo ahead of the April election. Following Mahan’s endorsement of Tordillos in May, the PAC spent $15,000 to support Tordillos and $10,000 to oppose Chavez-Lopez.

A new special interest group formed June 10 — Californians Working Together to Support Tordillos for City Council 2025 Sponsored by Labor Organizations — has spent more than $39,000 so far supporting Tordillos. It’s funded by unions that have endorsed Tordillos, including Operating Engineers Local 3 and the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council, as well as developers such as Bayview Development Group, Inc.

Chavez-Lopez is endorsed by the South Bay Labor Council, which has spent more than $500,000 since the start of her campaign to get her elected.

Before the April primary election, the committee Working Families in Support of Gabby Chavez-Lopez for City Council 2025 spent about $51,000 supporting Chavez-Lopez and opposing Quevedo before terminating on April 25. It was primarily funded by large companies, including PG&E, Chevron and Walmart.

Chavez-Lopez has also been the target of more than $320,000 in opposition spending from multiple business stakeholders, including the Silicon Valley Biz PAC and California Real Estate Independent Expenditure Committee.

Editor’s note: A past version of this story said the police union’s PAC supported both candidates based on incorrect filings.

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at sakura@sanjosespotlight.com or @SakuCannestra on X.

The post Tordillos grows fundraising lead ahead of San Jose special election appeared first on San José Spotlight.

Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos has a fundraising lead of more than $90,000 over his opponent, Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez. Campaign finance documents filed Thursday show Tordillos has raised $336,709 total, while Chavez-Lopez trails with $243,909 raised. The special election will be held June 24.

Tordillos’ spokesperson Kurt Frewing said support for the campaign is growing, with more than 200 independent donations in the latest filing period.

“Anthony has focused on running a grassroots campaign. He’s out every day, knocking on doors, talking to voters,” Frewing told San José Spotlight. “We feel great, the conversations at doors keep getting only more positive.”

Even though Chavez-Lopez is behind in fundraising, she said she’s gotten encouragement from voters while campaigning. She said Tordillos has gathered more funds because of his endorsement from Mayor Matt Mahan, who backed Tordillos after his initial pick,  deputy chief of staff Matthew Quevedo, was knocked out in the April primary election.

Chavez-Lopez pointed out that much of Tordillos’ campaign earnings come from his own wallet. Over the course of his campaign, Tordillos has given about $210,000 to his campaign, though the latest filing has no additional self-funding contributions.

“I speak for myself, I don’t have a spokesperson, and I think that goes a long way,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “If you’re not getting in front of folks and telling them why you want to represent them and what you’re gonna do in these very tough times to lead and stand strong in your convictions, you’re not going to earn their vote.”

Tordillos previously acknowledged his self-funding. He worked at Google for 11 years as an engineering manager before leaving to focus on his campaign.

Frewing pointed to the support Chavez-Lopez receives from corporations, including PG&E. Chavez-Lopez’s campaign came under fire for having a PG&E executive help with campaign events, while a political action committee bankrolled by the utility company independently supported her candidacy. Chavez-Lopez has denied receiving support from corporations or representatives from PG&E.

Special interests

Seven political action committees spent more than $800,000 ahead of the April primary election, namely supporting Chavez-Lopez or Quevedo. While spending slowed immediately after the election, major committees like Common Good Silicon Valley and the South Bay Labor Council have upped their spending in the past week.

Common Good Silicon Valley, a PAC created in 2021 by freshman Congressmember and former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo, spent thousands to support Quevedo ahead of the April election. More recently, the committee spent $15,000 on digital ads supporting Tordillos.

Despite the independent special interest support, Frewing said Tordillos’ campaign has consistently rejected money from corporations, going so far as to crosscheck their donors with the city’s list of registered lobbyists. He said this work ensures accountability to voters.

“Anthony’s proud to be rejecting corporate and lobbyist money,” Frewing told San José Spotlight. “We have no control over what any outside group does, but Anthony’s proud to have built a broad coalition of support.”

Oppositional spending has picked up, with the California Real Estate Independent Expenditure Committee and Silicon Valley Biz PAC both spending more than $10,000 on mailers earlier this month to oppose Chavez-Lopez.

Chavez-Lopez has received thousands of dollars in independent support, namely from the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council Committee on Political Education. The PAC has spent more than $500,000 to support her candidacy, and is the only special interest to spend money supporting her since the April primary election.

The committee Working Families in Support of Gabby Chavez-Lopez for City Council 2025 terminated on April 25, but first spent about $51,000 supporting Chavez-Lopez and opposing Quevedo. It was primarily funded by large companies, including PG&E, Chevron and Walmart.

Chavez-Lopez said she’s focusing on her campaign rather than special interests while trying to connect with voters.

“I think my campaign has always been powered by people and volunteers and not personal wealth, like my opponent,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight.

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at sakura@sanjosespotlight.com or @SakuCannestra on X.

The post Tordillos leads in fundraising for San Jose District 3 race appeared first on San José Spotlight.

The party endorsed Gabby Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, and Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos over five other candidates in the April 8 special election. The dual endorsement won’t change — despite both candidates competing against each other — because insiders say the party historically hasn’t changed its endorsements.

“The Democratic Party can make a dual endorsement if the Central Committee doesn’t have a sufficiently high consensus for a sole endorsement,” Bill James, chair of the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, told San José Spotlight. “A sole endorsement requires two-thirds consensus.”

He said dual endorsements aren’t common, but happen in open seat races with multiple Democrats running, as is the case with District 3. The seat became open following former Councilmember Omar Torres’ resignation and arrest last November on Election Day. Torres pleaded no contest earlier this year to alleged child sex abuse and faces up to 24 years in jail.

“Then their supporters band together to get those candidates included in a multiple endorsement,” James said. “The circumstances under which this arises is unique given the way Torres left the seat.”

Both Chavez-Lopez and Tordillos tout the dual endorsement.

“I’m proud to have the Democratic Party supporting me in my campaign. Obviously I share a lot of values the party has, and have a proven track record of doing so,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “I’m the only candidate with the breadth and the depth of experience on the variety of issues beyond just housing that’s happening in our district.”

Chavez-Lopez said she remains the only candidate endorsed by the South Bay Labor Council — the city’s largest labor union coalition — and wants to remain focused on the core issues of the District 3 campaign including housing, downtown and City Hall.
Kurt Frewing, spokesperson for Tordillos, cited recent San José Spotlight stories about Chavez-Lopez re-establishing residency in the district and her campaign ties to PG&E as examples of her breaking voter trust.

“Numerous labor unions and Democratic clubs know they simply can’t count on Gabby and have solely endorsed Anthony’s campaign,” Frewing told San José Spotlight. “Anthony is building a unique coalition that stands up to special interests and focuses on progress. He’s proud to be endorsed by the Democratic Party, local labor unions, Mayor Matt Mahan, San Jose’s police officers and thousands of District 3 neighbors.”

Contact Vicente Vera at vicente@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @VicenteJVera on X.

The post No favorites for Democratic Party in San Jose special election appeared first on San José Spotlight.

Gabby Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, and Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos appeared at the Rotary Club Summit Center for a Thursday forum hosted by San Jose Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Leah Toeniskoetter and recently-appointed interim Downtown Association CEO Alan “Gumby” Marques. The two downtown business advocates took turns asking the candidates more than a dozen questions, with topics ranging from supporting small businesses, tying city executives’ pay to their performance and the San Jose mayor’s plan to arrest homeless residents who refuse shelter three times within an 18-month period.

“We ask that you do go beyond high level responses, and provide specifics and examples where you can answer any questions,” Toeniskoetter told candidates at the start of the forum.

The special downtown election will take place June 24.

Downtown businesses

Moderators asked candidates how they will improve business-friendly environments across all sectors of industry, including nightlife and public safety. About 60,000 businesses call San Jose home, Toeniskoetter said, with the majority employing less than a few dozen workers.

Chavez-Lopez said she intends to support organizations like the San Jose Chamber of Commerce because they backed her when she led the development of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley. She said her support of the organization will translate into impactful policies.

“We need to keep looking at opportunities to provide incentives, purposes to operate at low cost in the beginning, especially parking incentives,” Chavez-Lopez said. “The realities that my employees face are barriers, and in some cases, we need to remove those barriers to make sure that businesses have a strong footing here.”

Tordillos praised recent business tax break incentives passed by city officials and said San Jose’s storefront activation grant program provided $30,000 to small businesses filling vacant storefronts.

“The city needs to focus on things like streamlining permitting for people trying to open businesses in San Jose,” he said. “I talked with a business owner opening a new bar on Fountain Alley who struggled for close to five months just trying to get a permit for outdoor dining. We need to make sure that we are making it as easy as possible when folks want to invest in our downtown community.”

Pay for performance

The District 3 candidates were split on San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s proposal to tie the pay raises of city officials to their perceived performance. The proposal is modeled after a California law that allows the withholding of pay for state lawmakers if they don’t pass a budget on time. Union-represented city employees won’t be subject to performance-based pay increases if the policy moves forward — and it’d still need to go before voters for final approval.

Chavez-Lopez said she opposes the plan, while Tordillos said he favored it.

“I’ve talked to a lot of folks who feel demoralized because every election cycle, politicians come forward with promises to solve all the city’s problems, but then they don’t feel like they see progress,” Tordillos said. “This really comes back down to government accountability.”

Chavez-Lopez said measuring a politician’s performance based on metrics won’t allow for the agility elected officials require to address the specific needs of their districts.

“It kind of pigeonholes us into like certain priorities that are predetermined, that then incentivize kind of short-term thinking, as well as not long-term, sustainable solutions,” she said. “I worry about that, and what the outcomes of that could be. I would need more clarity.”

Responsibility to shelter

Both candidates said they oppose any San Jose policy leading to the increased incarceration of homeless residents, including Mahan’s “Responsibility to Shelter” policy, which is set to have a dedicated police force to cite and arrest unhoused people for trespassing.

Chavez-Lopez said there has to be equitable responsibility between the city and Santa Clara County to have better outcomes for homeless residents refusing or not receiving shelter.

“The onus shouldn’t be put on the residents to figure out where the county ends and the city starts,” she said. “Launching a joint homelessness coordination office that is housed in (District 3) focused on our district is going to be really important.”
The city’s focus needs to be on increasing shelter capacity, Tordillos said, because the majority of homeless residents choose shelter when it’s offered and available.

“Even after all of the shelter beds that the city has in the pipeline are completed, we’ll still have about a 3,000-bed shortage,” he said. “So we can actually ramp up our shelter capacity and invest in programs like safe sleeping sites and safe parking sites.”

Contact Vicente Vera at vicente@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @VicenteJVera on X.

The post San Jose candidate forum focused on downtown business community appeared first on San José Spotlight.

Emails obtained by San José Spotlight show Teresa Alvarado, a regional vice president of the Bay Area’s $40 billion investor-owned power utility, ran meetings three times a week with campaign volunteers to discuss fundraising, endorsements, mail and media strategy for Chavez-Lopez.

In addition to fundraising and endorsements, Alvarado set an agenda for discussing phone banking, house parties, media opportunities and strategizing responses to issues emerging over the course of the campaign.

Alvarado, the founder of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley which Chavez-Lopez now leads as executive director, closes out one email encouraging the recipients to help get Chavez-Lopez elected. The two have been close for years.

San José Spotlight obtained the January email — along with other emails showing Chavez-Lopez’s advisors responding to Alvarado with progress updates — from a source familiar with the campaign. The source asked for anonymity for fear of reprisal and that the messages not be published.

Alvarado and Chavez-Lopez — who’s facing off against Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos in the June 24 runoff — both denied a direct campaign relationship.

“I am not engaged in any local race,” Alvarado told San José Spotlight. “I know Gabby very well as I am the founder of the Latina Coalition and people have asked me about her, but I do not endorse or contribute.”

The email was sent to Chavez-Lopez’s supporters and advisors, including community activists, elected officials and nonprofit leaders.

San José Spotlight reported in March that Alvarado donated $100 to the Chavez-Lopez campaign, which was later refunded.

Sean McMorris, a leading political transparency expert with California Common Cause, reviewed the email with the source’s permission.

“It raises concerns,” McMorris told San José Spotlight. “It’s a big deal that you have a VP of a huge special interest running the campaign. The public has every right to question what PG&E wants out of it and how they’re utilizing the information they’re getting to help their bottom line.”

Blurring the lines

After this news outlet explained it had seen her email running campaign meetings, Alvarado hedged on her denial of involvement.

“I provided Gabby with some personal advice (as a former candidate myself) early on but then stepped away,” she said. “I do think she’s a wonderful person and highly qualified for the role, but I have not endorsed anyone. If you have questions related to PG&E, that is another team entirely and I have had no involvement there.”

She did not respond to further questions.

Chavez-Lopez said those meetings never happened.

“That’s a resounding ‘No.’ I was never in a meeting with Teresa about anything regarding my campaign,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “From the beginning we kept a really good distance. This is probably the least I’ve spoken to her in years because we both knew it could be sensitive. I didn’t want to bring that perception forward. I wanted to keep things as clearly separated as possible. That’s been the No. 1 motivating factor of this entire process.”

A PG&E spokesperson said Alvarado isn’t involved with the company’s political spending and denied any coordination between PG&E and Chavez-Lopez’s campaign.

“Any political participation by Alvarado is as an individual and not as a representative of PG&E,” spokesperson Lynsey Paulo told San José Spotlight. “PG&E adheres to the highest levels of compliance and ethics in its campaign finance activity. Whenever the company or its PAC contributes to a committee that makes independent expenditures, we make it explicit the contribution is not earmarked for any purpose or candidate and must be used at the discretion of the committee.”

A political action committee (PAC) primarily funded by PG&E — “Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy” — donated $30,000 on March 26 to another PAC set up specifically to help Chavez-Lopez. PG&E contributed $200,000 to the “Californians for Jobs” PAC in several payments between 2023 and 2024. The most recent payment happened last July, months before the November arrest and resignation of disgraced former Councilmember Omar Torres created a vacancy in District 3.

McMorris said there’s enough plausible deniability between Chavez-Lopez’s campaign and PG&E’s independent spending. But he said the public has every right to question whether there’s improper coordination happening.

“The optics still look suspect,” McMorris said.

Knowing the rules

State and federal laws prohibit coordination between candidates and PAC spending because it can circumvent direct fundraising limits for candidates. The Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC ruling has empowered PACs to independently spend unlimited amounts of money on ads supporting and attacking certain candidates.

Chavez-Lopez said she and Alvarado are clear on what the campaign finance rules are.

“She’s the most ethical person and has a lot of integrity,” Chavez-Lopez said. “I couldn’t even imagine where she would do anything outside of the lines of what would be appropriate.”
A spokesperson for Tordillos’ campaign called Alvarado’s email a “brazen violation of the community’s trust.”

“Our community deserves a councilmember we can count on,” Tordillos’ spokesperson Kurt Frewing told San José Spotlight. “Not a rubber stamp for the corporations raising our bills.”

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.

The post PG&E executive helped run San Jose council candidate’s campaign appeared first on San José Spotlight.

The East Side Union High School District has started redistricting its trustee voting areas as it switches from at-large elections. The district received a legal claim earlier this year saying existing trustee areas violate the California Voting Rights Act by denying marginalized residents equal representation. To better understand its distinct neighborhoods, the board of trustees will host meetings to gather community input on draft maps. Trustees will vote on a final map in August ahead of upcoming elections for three board seats in November. Changing the trustee areas won’t affect school boundaries or services.

Superintendent Glenn Vander Zee said although the current board makeup reflects district demographics, redistricting will ensure this continues historically. He added it’s essential to ensure the process is transparent and engages residents.

“It is a time for our public … to define areas of representation that maintain community voices to the highest level in choosing board trustees in the future,” Vander Zee told San José Spotlight. “We encourage people to come to the meetings so they can understand what this process is and make sure they and their community voices are heard.”

The next meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 20 at Yerba Buena High School, June 26 at Andrew P. Hill High School and July 15 at William C. Overfelt High School. The meetings will be available online.

Trustees approved changing the election system in April. Once the board approves the final map, it will go before the County Committee on School District Organization under the Santa Clara County Office of Education for final approval. Additional information and a questionnaire about communities of interest — people who share common social and economic interests — is available on the district’s website.

The district has hired consulting firm Redistricting Partners— which strives to ensure the process is fair and protects communities — to handle the election system switch. During the first special board meeting on May 12 at William C. Overfelt High School, Redistricting Partners demographer Liz Stitt said U.S. Census data will be used in creating the maps.

“The most important aspect of redistricting is making sure the public is participating and engaged,” Stitt said at the meeting.

Chuck Cantrell, a local economist and vice chair of the San Jose Planning Commission, asked how the board will ensure marginalized communities are contacted and reflected in the mapping process.

“There is a significantly marginalized community … that represents maybe 2% of the student population here. It’s still important,” Cantrell said at the meeting. “I understand your district reflects your community … but there’s a specific group in the community that is not represented. I would implore you to do a much more active engagement processing that includes going to Black churches. I want to know there is a process to engage the most marginalized communities.”

Vander Zee said he will follow up to ensure communities are able to express their voices and provide input.
Jack Hammer, president of East Side Teachers Association, expressed concern with board members influencing new district boundaries. Stitt said where trustees live isn’t a consideration in drawing the maps, but can be in the board choosing the final map. She said she prefers to use maps submitted by the community.

“We want this to be focused on communities and not incumbents,” Stitt said.

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.

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The two contenders in the special election — Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez and San Jose Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos — have raised thousands of dollars in preparation for the next leg of the race. The candidates filed their first campaign financing updates since the April 8 election, and Tordillos is leading with a total of $266,522, as they sprint toward the June 24 runoff.

Tordillos and Chavez-Lopez have sped up their fundraising efforts since April, adding $103,009 and $65,959 respectively in their latest filings.

Chavez-Lopez led in the April election with 29% of the vote, while Tordillos battled Matthew Quevedo, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff, for second place. After knocking Quevedo out by six votes, Tordillos won endorsements from Quevedo and Mahan.

Tordillos is ahead of Chavez-Lopez by roughly $40,000 and said it shows the momentum of support his campaign has gathered since the April election.

“It’s pretty simple,” Tordillos told San José Spotlight. “San Jose residents want a councilmember they can count on to go to bat for them on housing, homelessness and public safety.”

Chavez-Lopez said her campaign has also seen a swell of momentum. She said her funds have mostly come from individual residents, small businesses and other members of the community, pointing out Tordillos’ campaign has been predominantly self-funded.

In the latest filings, Tordillos put another $65,000 into his campaign, bringing his total self-funded contributions up to $210,000. Chavez-Lopez has contributed $700 to her own campaign.

“The number’s interesting, because I’m proud to have raised $65,000 as well, the right way,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “The difference with my campaign is that it’s fueled by community and it’s really supported by a broad base of folks, so I think that’s what it looks like when a community stands by their candidate.”

Tordillos acknowledged his self-funding and pointed out the support Chavez-Lopez has received from special interest groups.

“I grew up working class and have lived the American Dream as a first-generation college student,” Tordillos told San José Spotlight. “I’m putting my savings on the line and rejecting special interest money so thousands of my neighbors and I can build a movement to make city hall work for us.”

Seven political action committees spent more than $800,000 ahead of the April election, namely supporting Chavez-Lopez or Quevedo. Since then, special interests have slowed their spending — only the South Bay Labor Council’s committee spent $17,580 on campaign materials and a field program to support Chavez-Lopez.

The committee Working Families in Support of Gabby Chavez-Lopez for City Council 2025 terminated on April 25, but before terminating, the group spent about $51,000 supporting Chavez-Lopez and opposing Quevedo. It was primarily funded by large companies, including PG&E, Chevron and Walmart.

Even though the committee disbanded, Tordillos warned that voters should question why these companies felt the need to support Chavez-Lopez’s candidacy.

“There’s a clear difference in the way we’re running our campaigns — I continue to be the only candidate turning down special interest cash,” Tordillos said.

Chavez-Lopez said she was unaware the committee disbanded and she isn’t engaged with any special interest committees, though she’s preparing for whatever ramp up might occur closer to the June election date.

“We’ve been this grassroots campaign since day one, and we will continue to be,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “It’s one conversation at a time, one neighborhood at a time, and just getting to know the people and what they want from District 3.”

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at sakura@sanjosespotlight.com or @SakuCannestra on X.

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San Pedro Square business owners were formally introduced to Tordillos, 33, by Mahan Friday morning when the two held a news conference to announce the mayor’s endorsement. Tordillos narrowly beat Matthew Quevedo, Mahan’s deputy chief of staff, in a recount to earn the second spot against frontrunner Gabby Chavez-Lopez in the June 24 runoff election for the District 3 City Council seat. Mahan said Tordillos is the only pragmatic candidate left in the race who is data-driven and focused on downtown’s economic recovery.

“I look forward to helping him over the next 53 days, a quick sprint to the finish line, and I’m excited to see him assume that seat,” Mahan said Friday. “We may have different emphases on exactly which lever is going to move the needle faster, but I actually think that’s a feature, not a bug, to borrow from the tech world.”

Mahan said he hoped to build a coalition in City Hall centered around more data, public safety staffing, technological advances and less “ideology.”

“I truly do believe we are building a coalition,” Tordillos said Friday. “We also share a belief that elected officials need to be held accountable for delivering results as they progress, and that just like in the private sector, elected officials shouldn’t be given automatic pay raises.”

A tech worker with Google by day and chair of the San Jose Planning Commission by night, Tordillos fashioned his political campaign as a white-collar worker continuing the legacy and dreams of his working-class family background.

Tordillos’ role as planning commission chair is overseeing the first line of approval for many of San Jose’s largest housing proposals — most of which he has supported.

He told San José Spotlight he shares Mahan’s sense of urgency in building up the city’s temporary shelter capacity.

But housing advocates have been concerned the prioritization of “interim housing” in San Jose could lead to an indefinite redirecting of funds meant for permanent affordable housing.

“We do need to continue to invest in long-term affordable and supportive housing. I do view that as kind of the long-term solution of this crisis,” Tordillos told San José Spotlight. “At the same time, I do think that we need to balance that against these short-term investments, so we can support people who are living unsheltered on the street today. We can also make good on the quality of life concerns residents raise every single day.”
Mahan endorsement of Tordillos has not rattled Chavez-Lopez, executive director of the Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley, who said her focus has always been on the voices and needs of District 3.

“Sometimes that (focus) aligns with the mayor, sometimes it doesn’t. But my commitment to a D3-centered agenda hasn’t wavered, and it won’t,” she told San José Spotlight. “While the mayor has made his endorsement, our campaign continues to gain momentum, fueled by the trust and support of residents across the district.”

Tordillos will face off against Chavez-Lopez in a June 24 runoff election.

Last updated May 2 at 1:52 p.m. Original story published May 2 at 8:35 a.m.

Contact Nick Preciado at nicholas@sanjosespotlight.com. Contact Vicente Vera at vicente@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @VicenteJVera on X. 

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