Get to know your Mayoral candidates

San Jose City Hall + Rotunda with flagpoles in the foreground.

The City Hall Rotunda in Downtown San Jose.

Photo by SJtoday staff

With candidate filing closed, San Jose residents now have seven choices for the upcoming Tues., June 7 mayoral election. Five of these candidates will be at San José Spotlight’s San Jose Mayoral Candidate Forum tonight at 6 p.m. via Zoom. Want to get to know these frontrunners? Read on to get the lowdown.

🗳️ Cindy Chavez

Chavez sits on the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors and is a former Vice Mayor of San Jose. She pushed for affordable housing by authoring Measure A and hopes to end family homelessness by 2025. If elected, she plans to continue her work on combating crime, climate change, and inequality.

🗳️ Dev Davis

Councilwoman Davis currently represents District 6 in San Jose and is running for a “Safe, Clean, and Thriving San José.” She plans to work with police + mental health workers, restore local control of land-use decisions, and build more affordable housing.

🗳️ Matt Mahan

As a freshman councilmember of District 10, Mahan runs on the platform of government transparency. He co-chaired the Measure T campaign, which secured funding to repave roads and build more fire + police stations. If elected, he wants to clean up the streets, work to get the unhoused mental health services, and reform the police force.

🗳️ Raul Peralez

Councilmember Peralez represents District 3 and is committed to ensuring sustainable + equitable economic development, and maintaining quality city services for all residents. He plans to continue his work on creating a safer, more affordable San Jose and reversing the trend on homelessness.

🗳️ James Spence

Retired SJ Police Sergeant Spence is running to ensure an open and accountable government, increased police + fire services, and improved quality of life for seniors and children.

Students Travis Nicholas Hill + Marshall Allen Woodmansee also qualify for the race, but will not be attending the Mayoral Candidate forum tonight.