In San José, despite a hotly contested mayoral contest, just 17 percent of the more than a half-million eligible voters had returned ballots one day before the election.

After a weekend of lobbying, jockeying and speculating, then a flurry of parliamentary maneuvers and a six-hour closed-door caucus meeting on Tuesday, Rivas’ campaign for speaker ended abruptly. California Assembly Democrats decided to keep their current leader, Speaker Anthony Rendon

Interned in wartime as a Japanese American, Mineta went to Congress and became the first Japanese American cabinet officer, serving Bill Clinton and George W. Bush.

In December, 49ers executives Jed York and Al Guido announced their support of Cindy Chavez for San Jose mayor, and have followed up with campaign cash.

Sheriff Laurie Smith's election in 1998 as California’s first female sheriff signaled the end of the good old boys’ network, at least as appearances go.

Last we heard, Joanna Rauh was going to sit out the downtown city council race because she had a third child on the way. Good reason. But then the subject line “Joanna Rauh Launches Campaign for 3rd San Jose City Council District” appeared in our mailbox.

Gary Kremen, founder of Match.com, promised to return $71,000 in campaign contributions from his assessor campaign, but said he wants to keep his seat on the Santa Clara Valley Water District board of directors.

The vote ended several months of rancor between the former city manager of Sunnyvale and Oakland and a new council majority.

A new poll finds that crime and homelessness are key issues for California voters and that Gov. Newsom’s approval rating has dropped.

In the latest San Jose Inside Power Poll, the would-be supervisor’s political fortunes have rebounded since a majority of incumbent supervisors realigned district boundaries, making him temporarily ineligible to join them.

Bills in Congress are aimed at the California senator and others in Congress who have had strangely good timing when it comes to stock investments.

Attorney General Bonta announced he is opening a wide-ranging civil rights investigation into the sheriff’s office.

The current representative for the 19th Congressional District, Lofgren will run for a 14th term in the new 18th Congressional District this year. That new district pairs parts of San Jose, including the downtown area, with a region of the state that is known for its strong agricultural base and growing Latinx population.

Arenas joins a crowded field in District 1, which has the most candidates, including former San Jose Councilmember Johnny Khamis, Morgan Hill Mayor Rich Constantine and Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee Claudia Rossi.

Santa Clara County school board member Rosemary Kamei is the first new San Jose council candidate of the New Year, seeking to represent District 1 in West San Jose. “After careful consideration, I am jumping in,” Kamei told San Jose Inside. Rosemary is vice president of innovation and former chief operating officer at Silicon Valley Education Foundation.

The three new congressional districts for the San Jose metro area include the first majority Latino district, and another that is the first predominantly Asian district.