The California Back to Basics Committee, operating for the San Jose mayor but independent of his campaign, spent $1.5 million to produce and buy the spot endorsing Matt Mahan during TV’s most watched telecast this Sunday.

A sure bet for Team Mahan is Matthew Quevedo, the new mayor’s campaign manager and former council office chief of staff, whose online profile says he’s deputy chief of staff. And Rachel Davis already posted her new job as Mahan’s communications chief, just in time for floods and rains.

The sausage-making process of political reporting is rarely clean and often requires unsatisfying, unreported compromises.

Not everyone should take a crack at comedy, especially senior policy advisers to the mayor of San Jose. Add in a little social media and a reference to the worst person in the history of the world and the results will go poorly.

San Jose Mayor-elect Sam Liccardo has a new city manager in Norberto Dueñas, and now he’s got his senior staff in place. Jim Reed, vice president of the San Jose Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce since February 2013, will become Liccardo's chief of staff.

Hundreds of historical documents were discovered in May, sealed in a combination safe on the second floor of San Jose’s City Hall. There is some debate about their authenticity, but an assortment of meeting minutes and letters provide a unique perspective of San Jose's rural roots.

Tuesday night’s special election ended with Cindy Chavez and Teresa Alvarado placing first and second, respectively, in the primary for the county supervisor seat formerly held by George Shirakawa Jr. But while each candidate hosted parties to celebrate making it to the runoff, one of Chavez’s handlers was less than thrilled to allow media access.