Santa Clara councilmembers Kevin Park and Suds Jain and Santa Clara Unified School District Trustee Albert Gonzalez were out to an early lead on Election night, while indicted Vice Mayor Anthony Becker had fallen far behind Santa Clara University Assistant Dean Kelly Cox.
It’s the first election in Santa Clara since a Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury chastised the council for being unable to “work together as a cohesive group.” Four seats are on the ballot and ten candidates are in the running — including three incumbents.
The San Francisco 49ers have once again spent heavily on the race, shelling out more than $2.3 million as of Election Day. The team, whose involvement in Santa Clara politics has divided residents and city officials in recent years, has opted to back Gonzalez in District 1, Park in District 4, Jain in District 5 and former Parks and Recreation Commissioner George Guerra in District 6.
With Councilmember Kathy Watanabe — Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s sole ally on the council — terming out, the District 1 seat is up for grabs. Early results had Gonzalez ahead by more than 10 percentage points, with former Charter Review Committee member Satish Chandra in second and Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce CEO Harbir Bhatia trailing in third.
In District 4 and 5, Park also had a more than 10 percentage point lead over former Councilmember Teresa O’Neill.
In District 5, Jain led businessman David Kertes by nearly 10 percentage point.
In District 6, Gillmor could pick up an ally on the council as Cox had more than 50% of the vote early Tuesday night. Becker, who was indicted last year for allegedly leaking a confidential civil grand jury report and lying about it, trailed far behind with Guerra. The 49ers spent heavily backing Becker’s failed mayoral bid in 2022, but opted not to support him in this year’s election. His trial is expected to start in the coming weeks.