Anthony Tordillos today declared victory in the District 3 Special Election to fill the San Jose City Council seat vacated by the resignation of Omar Torres last November.

Late this morning, Gabby Chavez-Lopez conceded the race, and congratulated Tordillos.

“District 3 voters showed they won’t settle for status quo San Jose politics,” Tordillos said in his statement. “They’re tired of the same old fights between ‘business' and ‘labor’—they want a councilmember they can count on to deliver results on housing affordability, homelessness, and public safety. We were never supposed to make it this far, but thanks to the hundreds of volunteers who knocked on over 30,000 doors, we’re here.”

“I want to congratulate Anthony Tordillos on his victory and wish him success in the work ahead,” Chavez-Lopez said in a statement. “While the results were not what we hoped for, I’m proud of the campaign we ran—one that stayed rooted in our values and focused on the people of District 3. I look forward to finding ways to collaborate on the issues that matter most to our families, small businesses, and neighborhoods.”

“Thank you, San José, for the chance to listen, learn, and lead with purpose,” she said.

San Jose Inside had called the election for Tordillos on Wednesday, describing his lead as insurmountable, based on voting patterns and the number of ballots left to be counted.

Vote totals released Wednesday evening showed Tordillos holding on to a nearly 2-to-1 margin of victory over Chavez-Lopez, who had received the most votes in the initial April 8 special election to the coveted downtown council seat.

The turnout was just 17.6% of the district's registered voters, with 5,328 votes for Tordillo and 2,954 for Chavez-Lopez, as of 5pm Wednesday.

In a press release this morning, the Tordillos campaign called his victory a “major upset.”

“Current results reflect a meteoric rise for Tordillos, who entered the race as a dark horse,” the press release stated.

Tordillos made affordable housing, public safety, and homelessness solutions centerpieces of his campaign “to restore trust in city government.”

“Tordillos will make history as the first ever Filipino member of the San José City Council, and only the third ever LGBTQ+ member of the council,”  the campaign statement said.

The campaign credited its success to “a historic coalition that shattered traditional divides, drawing support together from groups that rarely team up, including progressive groups, the Democratic Party, and labor unions, as well as business-oriented groups and the Police Officers’ Association.”

“While we wait for the County Registrar to finish counting, I am working to build a team that can hit the ground running and restore trust in city government for District 3 residents. I’d like to thank Mayor Mahan, Congressmembers Liccardo and Lofgren, Assemblymembers Ahrens and Pellerin, Supervisors Duong and Arenas, and numerous councilmembers and other local elected officials for their well wishes and congratulations.”

Tordillos was  endorsed by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party, Mayor Matt Mahan, former Assemblymember Evan Low, Equality California, the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, numerous local unions and San Jose’s Police Officers’ Association.

In her statement today, Chavez-Lopez complained about the PAC campaigning for Tordillos: “The level of negative campaigning from outside special interests—particularly the California Association of REALTORS and Silicon Valley Biz PAC—was deeply disappointing and crossed a line. As someone on the receiving end, I know firsthand that we must do better. I remain committed to raising the standard of how we conduct local elections. San José deserves campaigns rooted in truth and integrity — not misinformation.”

Tordillos – who financed his own initial special election campaign with his own money and no PAC money – outspent Chavez-Lopez and collected support from five PACs that nearly matched her South Bay Labor Council support in the final two-month campaign.

The big labor PAC – which had front-loaded its support for Chavez-Lopez by spending $379,02 in the first four-month campaign – reported $156,140 in spending for her in the final two-months, with $112,079 spent in the final two-week sprint. Government employees, firefighters, teamsters electricians and sheet metal workers all joined to support her.

Tordillos also received strong support in the final weeks of the campaign from the powerful San Jose Police Officers Association, whose PAC spent $29,052 on his behalf. The same PAC also spent $8,209 on campaign materials for Chavez-Lopez.

His campaign spent $351,364 in the two-month runoff campaign, which included $73,710 of his own money. Five PACs kicked in $126,011 in spending for the Tordillos campaign.

The Chavez-Lopez campaign spent $117,404 in the post-April 8 campaign, and benefited from $164,349 in labor PAC spending in the same period.