Recount to Decide Spot in San José Council Election Runoff

A recount will determine the second spot in a June runoff election for a closely-watched San José City Council seat, Santa Clara County election officials announced on Friday.

The results of the District 3 race could determine the balance of power at City Hall. Gabby Chavez-Lopez, a nonprofit executive, finished first in the April 8 special election, but she fell short of the majority vote needed to avoid a June 24 runoff between the top two finishers.

After weeks of counting, Anthony Tordillos leads Matthew Quevedo for second place by just five votes, triggering an automatic recount under county election rules.

The recount will begin on Thursday, April 24, at the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters’ office.

“We estimate the recount to last about a day or two,” said Michael Borja, associate communications officer with the registrar’s office. “We will have our staff counting manually, probably in different teams. They’ll be tallying by hand.”

Final election results will be certified on April 28.

As of Friday morning, 18 voters had their ballots flagged because of issues with their ballot signatures. Borja said those voters have been contacted and will have until April 26 to “cure” their signature issue, so that their vote can be counted.

The result of the election could have major implications for Mayor Matt Mahan’s ability to win support for his agenda at City Hall. Quevedo, Mahan’s former deputy chief of staff, was the only leading candidate to support the mayor’s vision for prioritizing city homelessness dollars for short-term housing and shelter, instead of permanent affordable housing.

“We appreciate the diligent work from everyone working to ensure a fast and accurate count, and we appreciate everyone who voted and made their voice heard in this election, whether it was for our campaign for common sense or not,” Quevedo said in a statement. “We are seeing in real time how important it is that every vote is counted!”

In the short term, Mahan appears to have enough support on the council to pass his budget plan, which will be voted on in June before the runoff.

Tordillos, chair of the San José Planning Commission, said he supported a balance of spending between short-term and permanent housing over time. He was critical of Mahan’s proposal to pursue trespassing charges against people experiencing homelessness who refuse three offers of shelter.

A Tordillos campaign spokesperson referred KQED to a previous statement in which Tordillos said he was “glad our substantive message resonated with District 3 voters.”

“We must make sure every vote is counted,” Tordillos said.