The vote came after six hours of interviews, comments and deliberations on the merits of five finalists who had been picked by the council last week. The process had been abruptly interrupted at 7pm by “an urgent adjournment to a closed session” to consider allegations that Candelas had been given questions in advance.

When a divided San Jose City Council decided in December to appoint rather than hold an election to fill two vacant seats in 2023, they pledged the process would be 'transparent.' 

Despite passionate and eloquent pleas from the City Hall audience, the Dec. 5 San Jose City Council decision wasn’t about taxpayers’ money, or voters’ rights. Cash, political power and private conversations not streamed on Zoom won the night.

The vacancies were created by the November election, when District 8 Councilmember Sylvia Arenas was elected as the District 1 representative on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and District 10 Councilmember Matt Mahan was elected mayor.

In District 8, Councilwoman Sylvia Arenas is squaring off with her old Evergreen School Board colleague, Jim Zito.

A darkened photo of the District 8 rep has been yanked from a Silicon Valley Organization PAC website in response to public outcry.

Less than five months from election day and San Jose Councilwoman Sylvia Arenas finally has a challenger: trustee Jim Zito.

A recount in San Jose's District 8 City Council race is going on day six today, with Jimmy Nguyen accusing election officials of disenfranchising voters.

Councilwoman Sylvia Arenas was sworn in to the District 8 seat this past weekend, but the election isn’t quite over yet.

Sylvia Arenas finished 88 votes ahead of Jimmy Nguyen in San Jose’s D8 council race, one of six local contests that may require a recount.

Political donors have spent more than $1.6 million on three San Jose ballot measures and another $822,000 on three City Council contests.

Sylvia Arenas supports labor causes without institutional support. That makes her the best chance for independent representation in District 8.

Former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and his wife, Rosalynn, will stop by San Jose on Tuesday to highlight affordable housing efforts and help out with a community service project at Lake Cunningham Regional Park, which is located in San Jose Councilmember Rose Herrera’s district.

In a state of more than 18 million registered voters and a city of nearly one million people, it’s easy for any one person to feel insignificant. That’s why it’s important to remember that we’re all in this together; that our collective opinions add up to something greater than ourselves; that this grand experiment called “democracy” works best when we all stand up to be counted.