Genny Altwer, a former San Mateo police officer turned therapist, held a lead over longtime city employee Chester Gordon in San Jose's District 9 City Council race, according to early returns from Election Day. The contest decides who replaces Vice Mayor Pam Foley, who is terming out of the southwest San Jose seat in December, making District 9 the city's only open council seat this election cycle.
As of 10:19 p.m. on Election Day, Altwer had 53.7% of the vote, or 8,418 votes, while Gordon trailed with 46% of the vote, or 7,217 votes, according to San José Spotlight. The outlet's figures were still shifting as ballots were tallied, and the county's total voter turnout percentage stood at 26.94% at that point in the count. As reported by SFGATE, Gordon said he remained confident his campaign could close the gap as ballots continued to be counted.
Altwer, 46, lives in the Pinehurst neighborhood with her husband and two daughters, per SFGATE. She serves on the San Jose Appeals Hearing Board, which adjudicates code enforcement cases, and sits on the Branham High School Parent Teacher Association board. Before entering politics, she spent 13 years as a sworn officer with the San Mateo Police Department before pivoting to become a licensed marriage and family therapist who specializes in treating first responders and essential workers, the same report notes.
Two Very Different Resumes Behind the Ballot Count
Gordon, meanwhile, lives in the Cambrian neighborhood and has worked in San Jose city government for more than a decade, including in the city's Department of Public Works, according to SFGATE. The June primary that set up this runoff was itself a scramble — Altwer led that field, which also included Gordon, Scott Hughes, Mike Hennessy and Rick Ator, with Hughes, Hennessy and Ator trading places during days of ballot counting before Gordon edged ahead for second, per SFGATE. An earlier snapshot from the primary, taken at 5 p.m. that Wednesday, had shown Altwer out to an early lead with 31.9% of the vote, or 3,842 votes, and Gordon in second with 21.2%, or 2,555 votes, according to the same outlet. A later campaign-finance report put Altwer's final primary share at 35.5%.
Money flowed heavily toward Altwer in the general election. She raised $183,216 for her campaign, including a $15,000 personal loan, the outlet reported. Gordon raised $54,775 — nearly double what he had brought in since July. Those totals were part of a broader surge across San Jose's three competitive council races, which together pulled in roughly $240,000 in direct contributions between July 1 and September 19 alone, nearly a third of all the fundraising those campaigns had seen since launching.
Policing, Homelessness and Housing Splits
The two candidates ran on similar broad themes — public safety, affordability and homelessness — but diverged sharply on how to tackle them, per SFGATE. Altwer called for adding more police officers and signaled support for Mayor Matt Mahan's homelessness approach, which has emphasized moving unhoused residents into interim shelters. Per KQED, she also backed expanding no-encampment zones and said she supported allowing denser housing in single-family neighborhoods, arguing San Jose needs more affordable housing.
Gordon took a different tack on both fronts. He opposed San Jose's partnership with Flock Safety, the technology vendor behind the city's network of automated license plate reader cameras, SFGATE reported. KQED's coverage noted he argued the city was spending too much of its homelessness funding on short-term shelter and too little on permanent housing and prevention. His housing platform earned him the backing of San Jose YIMBY, a pro-housing development group, according to the San José Spotlight report.
On data centers, the two candidates landed in similar places for different reasons — Altwer said she did not know where District 9 could accommodate one, while Gordon said he could not envision suitable parcels in the district either, per KQED. Housing more broadly has become a flashpoint on the council as San Jose works toward a state-mandated target of planning for 62,000 homes, according to the Mercury News.
Endorsements Split Along Familiar Lines
Altwer's endorsement list reads like a who's-who of the city's business-aligned establishment: Mayor Matt Mahan, Congressman Sam Liccardo and outgoing Vice Mayor Pam Foley all backed her bid, according to SFGATE. Foley, a member of the council's business-aligned majority who has supported Mahan's policy agenda, had supported her own longtime chief of staff, Scott Hughes, in the primary before he fell out of contention. Mahan said he was excited about Altwer's leadership at City Hall, describing her as a neighborhood voice and a government-reform advocate, per the same report.
Gordon drew support from a different wing of local politics, including state Sen. Dave Cortese, Assemblymember Marc Berman and Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors President Otto Lee, SFGATE reported. Altwer supporters gathered at Jack Holder's restaurant for a campaign watch party, while Gordon's party took place at Britannia Arms Almaden bar, according to the outlet.
The district itself — a largely suburban stretch of southwest San Jose that includes the Willow Glen, Hillsdale and Cambrian Park neighborhoods — sits at the center of a larger power struggle. The race's outcome carries implications for the balance between San Jose's labor and business political coalitions, per San José Spotlight. Altwer told SFGATE she was optimistic about the race and excited about the city's future as the count continued.
