The four San Jose City Council candidates invited are:Pamela Campos, Joe Lopez, Lalbabu “Babu” Prasad, Vanessa Sandoval.

San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan now has a primary opponent, Tyrone Wade, but past elections provide strong evidence the two-year incumbent will sail to an early victory in the March 5 primary.

Tech security entrepreneur Peter Dixon of Portola Valley filed his FEC candidate statement on Thursday and announced he already had raised $350,000; and Palo Alto Councilmember Julie Lythcott-Haims became the seventh Democrat – and first woman – to announce as a candidate for the seat held for 16 terms by Rep. Anna Eshoo.

The combination of the new early primary date, March 5, plus the prospect of the most hotly contested congressional primary in the Bay Area in decades boosts the likelihood of campaign war chests in the millions.

With the March 5 primary just three months away and a campaign period interrupted by the holidays, the candidates – a total of five Democrats and two Republicans so far – have a big fundraising challenge ahead of them.

The Santa Clara County supervisor says he already has raised $600,000 in federal campaign funds.

Former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo's hopes of filling the seat vacated by retiring Rep. Anna Eshoo were energized this week by results from a weekend poll showing the former mayor topping a field of eight possible opponents.

Speaker Robert Rivas seems to be laying the institutional groundwork for an aggressively pro-housing legislature next year.

Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian says he'll likely make it official next week and Assemblymember Evan Low says he is a few conversations away from his announcement, but the pair are likely opponents in California's 16th Congressional District.

The business developer has been actively involved in the revitalization of Willow Glen’s Lincoln Avenue, revamping the Garden Theater and partnering in The Table restaurant, and led the conversion of the former cannery location on Monterey Highway into a shopping center.

Cindy Chavez was the top choice in May for San Diego County administrator, but the county won't say if she is still an applicant for the position, or if she needs to reapply. Chavez isn't responding to questions about the San Diego job.

I am concerned about how we, as a city and county, are spending our taxpayers’ funds to address the homelessness crisis.

Prosecutors said Michael Nichols was a key middleman in former sheriff Laurie Smith’s illegal pay-for-play gun permit scheme, introducing executives at AS Solution Inc., a company seeking gun permits, to local lawyers and and the Sheriff's Office. 

The death of Sen. Dianne Feinstein means that Gov. Newsom has to decide who will fill her seat. He has said he would appoint a caretaker, not one of the three Democrats who are already running.

The former president railed against Democrats and again claimed the 2020 election was rigged, even though he lost California by nearly two-to-one. The GOP's 2023 state convention also heard from Gov. Ron DeSantis, Sen. Tim Scott and Vivek Ramaswamy.

The California Democrat, the oldest member of Congress, had suffered a precipitous decline in health in recent months.