Three women held early leads Tuesday night in Gilroy's first-ever district-based City Council election, with Diana Sanchez Bentz, Christina Tovar and Rebeca Armendariz each topping their respective races as initial returns trickled in. The results, posted at 8:08 p.m., represented only a partial count and should not be read as final.
According to the Gilroy Dispatch, those early results posted on the Santa Clara County Registrar's website accounted for about 23% of the county's registered voters. The first results of election night are typically dominated by vote-by-mail and early-voting ballots received before Nov. 3, per the Dispatch, citing the California Secretary of State, meaning plenty of votes remained uncounted as the night wore on.
The election marks a significant shift for Gilroy, which has historically elected council members at-large but moved to district-based races this year, according to San José Spotlight. Eight candidates competed for three seats across Districts 4, 5 and 6, with District 4 covering southeast Gilroy, District 5 taking in central Gilroy including downtown, and District 6 representing the northeast part of the city. The mayor's seat remains at-large but was not on this year's ballot, with Mayor Greg Bozzo's term not expiring until 2028, the outlet reported.
District 4: Bentz Holds Commanding Early Lead
In District 4, Diana Sanchez Bentz led the field with 58.68%, or 426 votes, well ahead of Fred Tovar in the early count, the Dispatch reported. Sanchez Bentz, a 67-year-old Gilroy native who works as a paralegal at Paul Hastings LLP and chairs the city's Open Government Commission, has lived in District 4 for more than 30 years. She said she ran an honest campaign and led with integrity, while Tuyen Fiack, president of the Gilroy Unified School District board, said Sanchez Bentz represents underserved residents.
Tovar, a 57-year-old former Gilroy councilmember who works in higher education, moved from District 2 to District 4 earlier this year. He listed accountability, public safety, economic development and responsible growth among his policy priorities.
District 5: Tovar Edges Cline, Garcia
Christina Tovar led the District 5 race with 47.75%, or 583 of the counted votes, with Tom Cline tallying 37.92% and Joseph Garcia trailing with 14.3%, per the Dispatch's early-returns report. Christina Tovar, a 47-year-old Gilroy resident and owner of R.A.C. Services, has lived in the city for 30 years and studied finance and accounting at San Jose State University and the University of Maryland Global Campus. She said every ballot deserves to be counted.
Cline, a 65-year-old incumbent and president of Cline Glass Contractors in Fremont, won an at-large council seat in 2022 and has helped establish district-based elections, create an economic development department, approve a fourth fire station and fund street maintenance during his tenure. He has said he plans to pursue development of a Gilroy sports park and a potential ice facility deal with the San Jose Sharks. Garcia, a 50-year-old Santa Cruz Beach Train locomotive engineer, moved to Gilroy six years before the race.
District 6: Former Councilmember Armendariz Out Front
Rebeca Armendariz led the three-candidate District 6 field with 49.56% of the early vote, while Elizabeth Bracco garnered 34.8% and Brad Starks trailed at 15.64%, according to the Dispatch's tally. Armendariz, a 51-year-old former councilmember who now works as a movement building director for Working Partnerships USA, previously served on the Gilroy City Council from 2020 to 2024 before losing her reelection bid, per San José Spotlight's earlier candidate preview. She has campaigned on behalf of youth, renters and homeless residents, and against an ICE presence near Gilroy, and has said she would continue her community work regardless of the race's outcome.
Bracco, a 31-year-old CFO at Bracco's Towing and Transportation and daughter of outgoing Councilmember Dion Bracco, has pushed for a public park near the Las Animas Avenue housing development. Starks, a 43-year-old product marketing director who has lived in Gilroy for just over a decade, rounded out the District 6 field. The Gilroy Dispatch's separate District 6 candidate guide featured responses from all three contenders, published as submitted with only minor editing for style, space and clarity.
San José Spotlight first previewed the eight-candidate field for the three open seats in late August, describing a crowded contest across Gilroy's new districts. With roughly 23% of registered voters' ballots reflected in the 8:08 p.m. count, the races in all three districts remained far from settled as results continued to come in.
