City Council power dynamic to shift toward labor

Labor-backed candidate David Cohen has won one of two open San Jose City Council seats, marking a power shift that could alter the city’s approach toward addressing its housing crisis and amending the city’s government structure.

Incumbent Lan Diep, who was endorsed by business groups such as the now- dissolved Silicon Valley Organization PAC, conceded Nov. 10 to Cohen, a Berryessa Union School District board member who was backed by the region’s labor unions.

C ohen’s v ic tor y w ill shift the balance of power on the 11-member council from a business- aligned majority led by Mayor Sam Liccardo to a labor- endorsed majority that will include the city’s five Latino councilmembers and Cohen.

In recent years, the council has cast 6- 5 votes on contentious issues from extending fee waivers for downtown developers to granting more power to the mayor to a more equitable distribution of funding and resources.

Over the course of the coming months and years, the council will be tasked with making a slew of big decisions regarding future development in North San Jose, shaping the transit village and density permitted around the new Berryessa BART station and potentially amending the city’s general plan to allow fourplexes on single-family lots.

Though Cohen acknowledged that he may become the deciding vote in some of those decisions, he cautioned against assuming that the council will continue to operate under its current divide.

“I think the outcome of this election means that the council will need to work together better to find consensus on the best policies for our community,” he said. “I intend to work with all members of the council, and I think the result will be a better and more effective city council.”

In the meantime, Cohen said he is focused on creating a transition plan and introducing his team to community members in his district.

In a Facebook post this week Cohen announced that those tapped to be part of his transition team include Campbell Union High School trustee Stacey Brown, San Jose Planning Commissioner Rolando Bonilla, his campaign adviser Johnson Tran and Councilmember Sergio Jimenez’s policy aide Helen Chapman.

“I pledge to continue to listen to the community, and I will work hard to ensure that I have staff members that are knowledgeable and accessible to solve the problems that the district has elected me to try and solve,” Cohen said.

Just a few days after Diep said he was holding out hope until all votes were counted, he called Cohen to concede and issued a statement wishing his opponent a successful tenure in the District 4 office.

“For whatever reason, I’ve only known close elections. This was yet another one but alas the race was not as close as I’d hoped nor was it in my favor,” Diep said in an interview. “…But I want to make sure our residents aren’t disadvantaged by the transition. Nothing I’m working on now will be dropped and residents will not have to start over.”

The outgoing District 4 councilmember has only ever been involved in nailbiter races. In his first run during a special election in 2015, he lost by just 13 votes. The next year, Diep won his council seat by a mere 12 votes after triggering a newly- enacted recount rule for close races in Santa Clara County and sparking a legal battle that ultimately was decided in his favor.

Diep has yet to determine what his next step will be when he vacates his council seat at the end of the year, but he said he plans to use his platform and expertise from serving on the council for four years to promote civic engagement and participation in city and neighborhood conversations.