Early returns in Campbell’s City Council races favored incumbent Dan Furtado in District 3 and Davis Fields in the open District 4 contest. Santa Clara County was still processing ballots, so the reported totals were preliminary.
District 3: Early Count Favors Furtado
Furtado, 82, had 912 votes to challenger Joseph “Joe” Brenner’s 545 in early District 3 returns. KQED says its results combine data from the Associated Press and county election offices. Furtado has served on the council for 18 years, according to San José Spotlight.
The San José Spotlight report describes Furtado as a retired U.S. Army Reserve colonel who has taught pharmacology at Stanford University and Cal State University Monterey Bay. Furtado said he hopes to protect local control, maintain city services and support business owners. During the campaign, he also cited the need to balance public safety, quality-of-life services and youth programs, and to prepare for housing needs amid budget pressures.
Brenner, 36, owns South Bay Suds, which sells commercial cleaning products, and has held leadership roles with the Downtown Campbell Neighborhood Association, Silicon Valley Shakespeare and the Campbell Chamber of Commerce, the report said. He emphasized improving the business climate to increase city revenue and planning for state housing requirements.
District 4: Fields Leads in Open-Seat Contest
District 4 is open because Councilmember Elliot Scozzola is not seeking another term. Fields, who is not a city council incumbent, led challenger Joseph Guardado in early returns with 888 votes, or 67.6%, to Guardado’s 420 votes, or 32%, according to the San José Spotlight report.
Fields is a tech executive and chaired the Campbell Planning Commission after joining it in 2022; he previously served on the Civic Improvement Commission, the report said. On city issues, he pointed to traffic and pedestrian safety, housing and aging infrastructure. He supports homes at a range of prices while considering neighborhood character and residents’ concerns.
Guardado, a grocery store clerk, said a pedestrian crash in his neighborhood four years earlier helped motivate him to run, according to the report. His campaign focused on traffic safety and infrastructure, as well as transparency in city finances. He also called for more public transportation and lower city taxes.
Sorabji Runs Unopposed as Bybee Term Limits Out
In District 5, Daraius Sorabji, 62, ran unopposed for the seat being vacated by Anne Bybee, who is terming out as councilmember, as reported by San José Spotlight. That race contrasted with the contested fights in Districts 3 and 4, where incumbents and newcomers faced off over the city's budget pressures and infrastructure needs — concerns that have taken on added weight since Campbell permanently closed its public pool in July due to unrepairable leaks, according to San José Spotlight.
Budget and Housing Plans Set the Context
Campbell’s adopted budget document includes a Five-year Capital Improvement Plan alongside the operating budget, according to the City of Campbell. That shows the city plans for capital projects as well as ongoing operations, but the document’s inclusion of a plan alone does not establish whether available funding is sufficient to maintain services and infrastructure. A California Department of Housing and Community Development document identifies Campbell’s sixth-cycle draft housing element as covering 2023–2031. The verified information here does not specify the number of homes in Campbell’s state housing allocation.
Santa Clara County voter turnout was 28.4% in the early results, according to San José Spotlight. The report said it would be updated as results developed, with the next update expected by 5 p.m. Wednesday.
