Sheriff Bob Jonsen, Assessor Neysa Fligor and District 4 Supervisor Susan Ellenberg, who represents parts of the West Valley, are set to coast toward reelection unchallenged in the June 2 primary.<\/p>\n
\u201cMore choice is always better for voters. I don\u2019t think it\u2019s great to have uncontested races,\u201d Garrick Percival, chair of the political science department at San Jose State University, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cIt\u2019s often difficult to lose as an incumbent, so that dissuades a lot of people because they don\u2019t feel they have a good chance and don\u2019t love the scrutiny of running for public office \u2014 especially with social media and online vitriol.\u201d<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, 28 governor-appointed superior court judges who shape public safety, substance use, family law and criminal justice outcomes across the region are all but assured their reelection in the face of zero challengers this June. That includes Superior Court Judge Amber Rosen, who is DA Rosen\u2019s spouse.<\/p>\n
![\"Santa](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_8949-1024x683.jpg\")
District Attorney Jeff Rosen is being challenged by one of his employees. Photo courtesy of Santa Clara County District Attorney\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n
District Attorney<\/p>\n
Rosen is not as lucky as his spouse this year, as he faces a challenge from one of his employees, Deputy District Attorney Daniel Chung.<\/p>\n
The two originally squared off after Chung wrote a 2021 opinion article critical of Rosen\u2019s progressive criminal justice reforms following racist violence toward Asian Americans. Rosen suspended Chung<\/a> for a week on the charge that he used his county-issued work laptop and email address to submit the article, and his official title, without permission. Rosen reassigned him from criminal cases to cases dealing with mental health and juveniles.<\/p>\n Chung then wrote several more opinion articles critical of the DA\u2019s office, including one claiming Rosen \u201cchose to swiftly and furiously retaliate\u201d against him.<\/p>\n Rosen placed Chung on paid administrative leave in May 2021, and issued \u201cbe on the lookout\u201d alerts and security notices barring Chung from county property. Chung has been barred<\/a> from coming to the office despite continuing to make $200,000 in annual gross pay. He unsuccessfully ran against Rosen in 2022.<\/p>\n \u201cI love being a prosecutor \u2014 it\u2019s the best job I\u2019ve ever had,\u201d Chung told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cI feel that after 16 years, it\u2019s really time for a change, and we need someone who will fight harder for victims.\u201d<\/p>\n Rosen said he\u2019s excited to continue representing the county and its residents.<\/p>\n \u201cDuring my time as district attorney, we\u2019ve made real progress \u2014 keeping our communities safe while building a justice system that\u2019s more fair and community-centered,\u201d Rosen told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cFrom reducing gun violence<\/a> and retail theft to solving cold cases and speeding up rape kit testing<\/a>, I\u2019m proud of what we\u2019ve accomplished and confident voters will reward me with their vote once again.\u201d<\/p>\n Board of Supervisors District 1\u00a0<\/p>\n Arenas, who in 2022 became the first Democrat to represent the rural and more conservative District 1 seat in 25 years, will square off against Morgan Hill Unified School District Trustee Rebecca Munson.<\/p>\n The South County resident said her goal is to improve her region\u2019s representation in Board of Supervisors policymaking.<\/p>\n \u201cMy vision is a stronger, more balanced Santa Clara County where we responsibly balance the budget to protect essential services, make our public hospitals more self-sustaining through greater efficiency and smart revenue strategies and partner closely with city councilmembers and mayors to tackle homelessness, mental health supports and preventative programs,\u201d Munson told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Arenas\u2019 win four years ago shifted the board of supervisors\u2019 political tilt, solidifying a progressive bloc. The former San Jose councilmember\u2019s win aligned with the redrawing of District 1\u2019s boundaries the prior year, which expanded the district into several San Jose neighborhoods. In the process, the district lost the conservative stronghold areas of Almaden Valley and Los Gatos.<\/p>\n As supervisor, Arenas has been vocal about fixing county child welfare issues that led to the scandalous, 2023 drug overdose death of 3-month-old Baby Phoenix in San Jose. She has also championed efforts to study systemic health threats<\/a> facing the county\u2019s Latino communities and build farmworker housing<\/a> in South County.<\/p>\n Arenas said she\u2019s brought a \u201claser focus\u201d on improving the lives of working people in Santa Clara County, and that it will be a feature of her campaign.<\/p>\n \u201cToo many families are struggling with the high cost of living, and it\u2019s just getting more expensive because of tariffs and wars,\u201d Arenas told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWith the support of our community, I\u2019ll keep focusing on solutions and positive outcomes: building housing people can afford, protecting health care and standing up to federal policies that hurt our economy and rip families apart.\u201d<\/p>\n Board of Supervisors District 4<\/p>\n Ellenberg was first elected in 2019, defeating six other candidates to replace termed-out Supervisor Ken Yeager. Voters reelected her in 2022. Before that, Ellenberg served as board president for the San Jose Unified School District from 2014 to 2018, and also spent six years as a social responsibility and social justice teacher at Yavneh Day School in San Jose.<\/p>\n The supervisor \u2014 whose district spans the cities of Santa Clara, Campbell, much of West San Jose and the unincorporated Cambrian and Burbank districts \u2014 has spent most of her time in office championing progressive causes. She has also been a vocal critic of deploying Tasers<\/a> in the county\u2019s jails, automated license plate readers<\/a> along the county\u2019s roadways and has focused on alternatives to the construction of a new county jail.<\/p>\n \u201cI love this work and if I had a challenger, it frankly would have offered more opportunities to talk about the county\u2019s work in public settings where people otherwise don\u2019t necessarily focus on what\u2019s happening in their government,\u201d Ellenberg told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cBut I\u2019m not disappointed, and I\u2019m happy I don\u2019t have to spend my time fundraising.\u201d<\/p>\n Sheriff<\/p>\n Jonsen counts himself lucky to be running unopposed, saying it will allow him to focus on his job to protect the safety of the county\u2019s residents.<\/p>\n \u201cIt gives me more time to stay committed to the objectives that we have and I think it\u2019s an indication, in my particular race, that things are moving in the right direction and the public has confidence in the way it\u2019s going,\u201d Jonsen told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n The county\u2019s top cop said his main priority, throughout his next term, is to get the jails out of two federal consent decrees,<\/a> which are court-ordered performance improvement plans demanding his office fix unconstitutional conditions in the county\u2019s carceral settings. A record high in jail deaths, lagging deputy misconduct probes and in-custody violence have tested federal monitors\u2019 patience with Santa Clara County\u2019s slow progress improving jail conditions, with one monitor requesting the county be held in contempt of court last year.<\/p>\n \u201cThere\u2019s parts we can\u2019t control, but for the parts we can I feel we have the right momentum and I think we\u2019ll have success in these next few years,\u201d Jonsen said.<\/p>\n Assessor<\/p>\n County Assessor Neysa Fligor also faces no challenger this year, a blessing for the newly-elected chief property taxer who just took the seat. Fligor won a special election<\/a> last year to fill the remainder of the term of her 30-year predecessor Larry Stone, who resigned abruptly in June.<\/p>\n If a challenger emerged, Fligor would have been forced to run back-to-back campaigns while balancing her duty to fairly assess property values in an ultra-wealthy tech region \u2014 where funding for public services has been threatened.<\/p>\n \u201cI have already launched initiatives to better serve residents including extending the period for the assessor\u2019s free informal assessment review process and hosting a community engagement with seniors in April to share how they can save money,\u201d Fligor told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cBecause I don\u2019t have a challenger in this upcoming election, I am able to direct my energy and focus on the three priorities in the office: closing the assessment roll, implementing the new modern technology solution and resolving assessment appeals.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Daniel-Chung-photo-1024x683.jpg\")
Santa Clara County Deputy District Attorney Daniel Chung is challenging incumbent District Attorney Jeff Rosen in the June 2 primary election. Photo courtesy of Daniel Chung.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_1630-scaled-e1758067929689-1024x630.jpg\")
Santa Clara County District 1 Supervisor Sylvia Arenas (center) is being challenged for her seat by a South County newcomer in the June primary. File photo.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_3338.jpeg\")
Morgan Hill Unified School District board member Rebecca Munson is challenging District 1 Supervisor Sylvia Arenas in the June primary. Photo courtesy of Munson\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Ellenberg-1024x683.jpg\")
District 4 Supervisor Susan Ellenberg is running unopposed. File photo.<\/p>\n![\"man](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Bob-Jonsen-1024x576.jpg\")
Santa Clara County Sheriff Bob Jonsen is running unopposed in the June primary. Photo courtesy of the Sheriff\u2019s Office.<\/p>\n![\"A](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/IMG_2765-1024x768.jpg\")
Santa Clara County Assessor Neysa Fligor is running unopposed in the June primary after winning a special election last December. Photo by Brandon Pho.<\/p>\n