Spending Lags in San Jose's District 3 Council Runoff as Outside Groups Go Quiet
Campaign finance reports filed May 15 show Gabby Chavez-Lopez and Anthony Tordillos spending far less in the runoff's early weeks than the roughly $1.2 million spent in the first round.
By Naledi Dlamini ·
With the runoff campaign for San Jose's District 3 City Council seat about halfway done, early spending suggests the two remaining candidates are taking a measured approach. Reports filed May 15 with the San Jose City Clerk show far less money moving than during the first round.
The four-month campaign leading up to the April 8 election saw nearly $1.2 million spent by and on behalf of the top three candidates for the downtown seat. Since then, spending by the campaigns of Gabby Chavez-Lopez and Anthony Tordillos has totaled just over $70,000, according to the latest filings.
Tordillos has out-raised his opponent in individual contributions since the election, bringing in $106,995. Chavez-Lopez reported $66,960 in contributions, along with $17,580 in independent spending on her behalf by the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council PAC.
Chavez-Lopez's campaign spent $39,526 in the early weeks of the runoff. With a carryover balance from the earlier race, she had $61,640 in cash on hand as of May 15. The Tordillos campaign spent $12,969 over the same period and held $101,240 for the runoff.
Apart from the South Bay Labor Council, the independent committees that figured heavily before April 8 have largely stayed out of the runoff so far. Common Good Silicon Valley, Sponsored by Solutions Silicon Valley, spent $75,485 for Matthew Quevedo, who did not advance. It has not spent anything on Tordillos, whose first-round campaign was mostly self-funded. Silicon Valley Biz PAC, which spent $25,255 on ads against Chavez-Lopez in the first three months of the year, reported no new spending.
Working Families in Support of Gabby Chavez-Lopez for City Council 2025, which spent $104,000 supporting her, filed a notice that it has terminated its committee. The South Bay Labor Council had spent more than $430,000 on her behalf in the run-up to the April 8 vote.
The two candidates met on Wednesday evening for their first one-on-one appearance of the runoff, at an event sponsored by the Silicon Valley Council of Non-Profits. It was scheduled for 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the African American Community Service Agency, 304 N. 6th St.
They are set to appear together again Thursday from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the "Downtown Decides District 3 Forum." The event will be held at Scott's Seafood Ballroom in the Rotary Summit Center, 88 S. 4th St. It is sponsored jointly by the Downtown Association of San Jose, the San Jose Chamber of Commerce and the Rotary Club of San Jose.
The county Registrar of Voters will mail ballots for the District 3 runoff on May 26. Ballots must be returned or postmarked by June 24.
Originally published by News Media House · Source: San Jose Inside
