San Jose City Council positions are finally filled. Now what?
A feisty battle over 2 seat appointments could have big implications for city
It took 79 days of post-election political jockeying, 14 hours of public debate, 11 candidates, two rounds of interviews and one accusation of middle school-esque cheating.
But the dust has settled — and San Jose finally has a full council.
On Monday, Domingo Candelas and Arjun Batra officially joined the council, becoming the first in nearly three decades to nab a seat through appointment rather than a special election. The two were chosen after a monthslong battle between the city's progressive and moderate camps — each strategizing for a way to shape the ideological direction of the council for the country's 10th largest city.
Here's what the appointments mean going forward for the council.
What happened last week?
Both East San Jose's District 8 and Almaden Valley's District 10 became vacant in November and councilmembers voted 7-4 in December to fill the seats through appointment, a first since 1994. Dozens of residents applied for the two seats and the list was eventually narrowed to five candidates for District 8 and six candidates for District 10.
Last Tuesday, councilmembers voted 7-2 to appoint Candelas, a Stanford University administrator, to District 8. The night was hot with controversy. Candelas' opponents and Mayor Matt Mahan brought up concerns that he had unfairly prepared for the indepth interview portion of the selection process, resulting in an emergency closed session. Candelas denied the accusations.
Two days later and in a much cooler council chamber, Batra, a former Intel and IBM manager, won the District 10 seat in a 6-3 vote. The job pays $135,522 annually.
In addition to the District 8 and District 10 appointments, councilmembers unanimously voted for District 1's Rosemary Kamei to become vice mayor after Mahan chose her for the position.
Who benefited the most from the appointments?
Candelas was the progressive
favorite last Tuesday — and campaign disclosures show he gave money to those candidates in the November election, including District 5's Peter Ortiz and Mahan's mayoral opponent, Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez. Seven councilmembers chugged ahead with his appointment, showing a staunch dismissal of the mayor's concerns and priorities that night.
Thursday's appointment was less cut and dried. Though Batra's background aligned with the council's moderate-business bloc,
both Mahan and his ally, District 7's Bien Doan, actually supported corporate attorney George Casey in the first round of voting, while progressives were angling for education and child care consultant Wendi MahaneyGurahoo.
In the end, Batra was able to garner votes from councilmembers across the political spectrum. Interestingly, District 1's Kamei still voted for Mahaney-Gurahoo, even though Mahan has said he chose her as a way to bridge the business-labor divide.
Batra could be an ally to the mayor, said Terry Christensen, professor emeritus of political science at San Jose State University. “He's from Almaden Valley. He's
a techie. There could be a friendly vote there.”
What does it mean for the mayor going forward?
Mahan came into the city's top spot with few allies, but it is too early to tell how the current council's makeup will determine the trajectory of the mayor's policy priorities, said Larry Gerston, another SJSU political science professor emeritus. The mayor made some early moves that may help him make friends, Gerston said, including appointing Kamei as vice mayor and keeping some of former Mayor Sam Liccardo's advisers at City Hall,
including chief of staff Jim Reed.
“I think he's done exactly what any person would have done and embrace the idea of some form of cooperation,” said Gerston said. “Is it symbolic or substantive? That's yet to be determined.”
On the other hand, last week's votes reveal that the mayor appears to only have one solidly reliable vote — District 7's Doan — who also joined Mahan in voting against Candelas.
In a statement, the mayor said he was prepared to work with “anyone who wants to focus on the basics and deliver measurable results to make our city work for all our residents.”
He added, “All our districts now have representation — though I would like to have seen these representatives chosen by the people.”
What to expect from Candelas and Batra?
Both candidates said housing, homelessness, public safety and quality-of-life concerns are at the top of their priority lists.
A protege of former state Sen. Jim Beall, Candelas said during his appointment interviews that he also supports investment in small businesses and child care services with the hope that it will have a positive effect on some of the district's
low-income neighborhoods. In addition, he wants to bolster East San Jose's transportation infrastructure, which he argues is inadequate compared to other parts of the city.
Batra spoke extensively about combating homelessness, and stated on his appointment application that one of his goals is to “eradicate” one of the city's big challenges. That will require a variety of different housing solutions, he said, from temporary shelters to facilities with extensive wrap-around services for the homeless. Batra also indicated he wants to ensure tax dollars being put toward homelessness are spent wisely.