The mayor reaches across the council divide to involve political opponents in grassroots revitalization efforts.

The contests for mayor of San Jose, Santa Clara County sheriff, all four of the contested San Jose City Council races and the one contested county supervisor race will have runoff elections in November with the top two finishers.

The Election Division of the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters continued to count ballots today, and reported that as of 5 pm, 54% of the approximately 314,000 ballots had been counted.

Last we heard, Joanna Rauh was going to sit out the downtown city council race because she had a third child on the way. Good reason. But then the subject line “Joanna Rauh Launches Campaign for 3rd San Jose City Council District” appeared in our mailbox.

Sam Liccardo almost had to stay home from a business delegation to Seattle—until the SVO, invoking Beyoncé, gave him an out.

Houseless people and those of us who advocate for them have been told, “wait for permanent supportive housing.” We have waited and waited.

Residents worry that the downtown San Jose Safeway could fold after losing its validated parking hook-up through the city.

Raul Peralez maintained a close edge over Don Gagliardi in the San Jose District 3 race. The two men will now face off November for the the downtown City Council seat.

Don Gagliardi is a longtime neighborhood organizer and champion of parks and soccer fields. He reflects downtown’s idiosyncratic nature just fine and knows the city blocks well.

Voters in downtown San Jose will have a chance Wednesday to hear candidates for District 3 discuss issues ranging from pubic safety and traffic congestion to homelessness and downtown development.

An intellectual property attorney has thrown his name into what is becoming a crowded race to replace downtown San Jose Councilman Sam Liccardo. Gagliardi joins four others who have filed statements of intent to run in the June primary for the District 3 seat. Other candidates include community organizer Kathy Sutherland, San Jose police officer and sometimes-model Raul Peralez, downtown club owner Mauricio Mejia and youth sports league founder George Kleidon.

The June 5 primary slugfest wages on for two more weeks, but that hasn’t stopped some people from putting out feelers for the 2014 election. Pete Furman, chief of staff for San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, was the first person we heard might be interested in running for the District 3 City Council seat, which will be left vacant by a termed-out Sam Liccardo. Many believe Liccardo plans to continue up the City Hall ladder in a bid for mayor. Furman isn’t alone in weighing a run for the downtown council seat.

Last week I attended evening budget meetings in Districts 3 and 5. The center of our city (District 3) had a high turnout from residents who find great value in community centers. Particularly, the Gardner and Washington Community Centers. Both facilities provide a place to go and where residents can be positively impacted. Classmates and friends of mine from Willow Glen High grew up in the Gardner area, formerly known as “Barrio Horseshoe.” It was a problematic neighborhood with many gang issues.

San Francisco pedestrians always know when they are walking by an Academy of Art University branch. Oone finds young, eclectically dressed hipsters, all loaded down with easels and tool boxes, many smoking American Spirits: art students. This modish scene may soon be re-created on the streets of downtown San Jose as the San Francisco-based AAU, the largest art design school in the country, is looking for a home in Silicon Valley.

An affable former security guard, bartender and doorman at the popular downtown bar Johnny V’s is eyeing a run for a seat on the San Jose City Council. Tim Hennessey has generated backing from a number of angry downtown club owners, and this December, with no political experience, he’ll start officially vying for a position representing the most high profile council district of the nation’s tenth largest city.