High-ranking San Jose officials make public endorsements for mayor

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Some high-ranking San Jose city officials gave major endorsements in the race for San Jose’s next Mayor on Wednesday. Santa Clara County Supervisor Cindy Chavez and San Jose City Council member Matt Mahan accepted those endorsements for mayor and will face off in the November election.  

With the election just months away, supporters for both campaigns are getting the word out about the candidate they’ll vote for and talk about why they think you should support their candidate too. 

As the election for San Jose mayor gets closer, those endorsing Cindy Chavez and Matt Mahan are now speaking publicly about who should lead the city into the future. San Jose's District 6 Council member Dev Davis, who also ran in the June primary for mayor, says she’s supporting Chavez.  

"I have worked with both Cindy and Matt. One of them has a lot of experience in local politics and the other almost none. One of them has proven her leadership during a growing homelessness crisis and through a pandemic. The other one took office about a year ago and has passed no major initiatives," Davis said.  

Another San Jose city councilmember is also supporting Chavez. Pam Foley who represents District 9, says Chavez has the background for the kind of leadership San Jose needs right now.  

"Our next leader should be a strong and experienced leader, as we work to clean up our city, support police and fire and address our unhoused population with compassion, prevention and permanent housing solutions," Foley said.   

Both Chavez and Mahan have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for their campaigns. Mahan now has the support of three former San Jose mayors and current Mayor Sam Liccardo. Liccardo released this statement saying in part: 

"Matt is the kind of common-sense Democrat we need in leadership to ensure that our government works as hard as our San Jose families, at a time when too many families struggle to balance budgets amid surging inflation." 

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Also in his statement, Mayor Liccardo accused Chavez of campaigning on "the politics of fear" and says the candidates need to remain focused on important issues like homelessness, crime and affordable housing in San Jose.  

Everyone who made an endorsement today says they’ve worked with both candidates and that’s how they decided who to support. Now it’ll be up to the voters in November to determine who will be San Jose’s next mayor.