San Jose\u2019s three competitive City Council races have seen a surge in campaign donations since the June primary election, as six candidates battle it out ahead of November,\u00a0according to the latest round of campaign filings.<\/p>\n
The roughly $240,000 in direct contributions raised between July 1 and Sept. 19 \u2014 which represents nearly a third of all such fundraising since campaigning began last year \u2014 will shape the course of the runoff elections unfolding in District 5<\/a>, District 7<\/a> and District 9<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In District 9, licensed marriage and family therapist Genny Altwer<\/a> has held onto her fundraising advantage, even as the pace of donations has increased for longtime Public Works Department employee Gordon Chester<\/a>.<\/p>\n Campaign filings show Altwer, who finished first in the crowded June primary<\/a> with 35.5% of the vote, has raised $183,216 since launching her campaign, including a $15,000 personal loan. Chester, who secured 22.2% of the June vote, has raised $54,775, a figure that marks a near doubling of his campaign\u2019s financial support since July. Chester has also contributed $4,000 as a personal loan.<\/p>\n \u201cSince July, 66% of my campaign contributions have been $100 or less,\u201d Chester told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe don\u2019t have a big payroll; we have volunteers.\u201d<\/p>\n Altwer and Chester are running<\/a> to replace terming out Vice Mayor Pam Foley as the representative for the suburban district that includes the neighborhoods of Hillsdale, Cambrian Park and a southern portion of Willow Glen.<\/p>\n \u201cToo many City Hall insiders haven\u2019t delivered for our communities, and this support clearly shows our neighbors have had enough,\u201d Altwer told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, the candidates\u2019 donor lists have also become a flashpoint in the race, as both campaigns seek to link the other to controversial policy positions.<\/p>\n The Chester camp is highlighting a number of Altwer donors who are active in Republican politics, including five who hold leadership roles on the Santa Clara County Republican Central Committee, according to a campaign representative.<\/p>\n Altwer scoffed at her opponent\u2019s line of attack, noting she has received endorsements from South Bay Congressman Sam Liccardo, a Democrat, and Planned Parenthood.<\/p>\n Her campaign also questioned Chester\u2019s public safety commitment, seizing on the support he has received from the South Bay Progressive Alliance. In 2020, amidst countrywide calls for criminal justice reform, the organization backed a campaign urging San Jose<\/a> to defund the city\u2019s police department and reallocate the money to community services. Chester said he does not support defunding the police, but does favor expanding the city\u2019s options to provide non-police responses to emergencies.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In the acrimonious District 7 race<\/a> between incumbent Bien Doan and East Side Union High School District trustee Van Le, the funding picture has remained fairly stable since June.<\/p>\n Doan \u2014 who finished with 47.8% of the vote in the primary<\/a> compared to Le\u2019s 22.4% \u2014 continues to outraise his opponent, having drawn in $189,884 in direct donations, including a $20,000 personal loan. Le has raised $119,286 and also contributed to her campaign with a $30,000 loan.<\/p>\n Doan\u2019s campaign has also gotten a boost from business-aligned political groups, including the California Alliance of Family Owned Businesses PAC, which has spent more than $150,000 to aid his candidacy.<\/p>\n \u201cFundraising helps us reach voters, but the conversations at their doors are what keep this campaign moving,\u201d Le told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe\u2019re continuing to canvass, listen and work to earn every vote through Election Day.\u201d<\/p>\n The campaign to represent a district that encompasses portions of central and East San Jose, and is home to a sizable Vietnamese popul<\/a>ation<\/a>, has featured fierce broadsides from both campaigns, as the candidates attempt to position themselves as unifying figures in a historically fractious district. District 7 voters haven\u2019t reelected an incumbent councilmember for a second term in more than a decade<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cPeople are donating because I\u2019ve stood up against new taxes and rising costs, fought for public safety to make San Jose the safest big city in America again and helped lower homelessness by 32% with ideas like interim and pre-engineered modular shelter,\u201d Doan told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n In District 5, incumbent Councilmember Peter Ortiz has managed to cement his substantial funding lead, despite an uptick in donations for the challenger in the race, former San Jose Councilmember and Assemblymember Nora Campos<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ortiz, who finished first in June with 44.9% of the vote, has accumulated $222,060 in direct donations, including a $300 personal loan. Campos \u2014 who is seeking a rematch against Ortiz after her failed bid for the District 5 seat in 2022 \u2014 has raised $100,572, roughly 40% of which flowed into her campaign coffers over just the last three months. Campos has loaned $3,000\u00a0to her campaign.<\/p>\n Ortiz has received significant support from labor-backed groups. The largest spender, the political committee backed by the South Bay Labor Council, has spent more than $143,000 to boost his campaign.<\/p>\n Campos attributed her funding support to growing frustration among East San Jose voters over a range of persistent quality of life challenges, such as housing affordability, crime, neighborhood blight and a lack of economic opportunity.<\/p>\n \u201cMy campaign is not about special interests, it\u2019s about the people that live in the district,\u201d Campos told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThe support we\u2019re seeing tells me voters are ready for change.\u201d<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Ortiz has sought to persuade voters that over his time in office he has delivered on a range of promises, including measures to cut down on crime, protect immigrants and boost economic investment<\/a> in the district.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have received donations from almost 500 donors ranging from $10 to the max amount,\u201d Ortiz told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe\u2019re utilizing these funds to communicate with voters in a positive way about how I\u2019ve been working to improve the quality of life for District 5 voters and small business owners.\u201d<\/p>\n