Two familiar foes who sought the vacant San Jose District 8 City Council seat in 2023 will face off again in November as they vie for a full four-year term.
But just as with the first go-round, drama has clouded the race as Tam Truong, a San Jose police sergeant and the challenger to incumbent Domingo Candelas, faces a felony criminal charge tied to mortgage fraud allegations and grapples with losing his most significant endorsement. San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan withdrew drew his support for Truong in the aftermath.
While Truong has denied the allegations and indicated he would not drop out of the race, his campaign did not respond to multiple interview requests from The Mercury News to discuss his policy platform.
“There is no evidence that I intended to mislead anyone,” Truong said in a statement provided by his attorney last month. “What we have here is a rush to judgment and an effort to criminalize innocent conduct without a full understanding of the facts. The District Attorney’s Office filed this charge against me on the eve of the election, depriving me of sufficient time to clear my name through the judicial process before voting begins.”
Candelas has avoided talking about the allegations, noting that his opponent was entitled to due process.
Candelas has served as District 8’s representative since 2023, when the City Council appointed him to the position over Evergreen School District Board Trustee President Patricia Andrade, city analyst Salvador Alvarez, software manager Sukhdev Singh Bainiwal, and Truong.
Prior to his appointment, however, multiple candidates, including Truong, accused Candelas of unfairly preparing for his City Council interview by accessing a phone and laptop while waiting outside the council’s chambers — an allegation he denied and referred to as “political theater.”
In this year’s primary, Candelas and Truong earned 39.4% and 32.5% of the vote, respectively, to advance to the general election, beating out Bainiwal and Surinder Kaur Dhaliwal. Bainiwal, who finished third with 25.7% of the vote, has since endorsed Truong.
Both candidates have identified public safety, homelessness, and economic development among their top priorities. Candelas has also said it was important for elected officials to engage all of their constituents, noting that the district includes both Silver Creek Valley Country Club — one of the wealthiest zip codes in the county — and Meadowfair, one of the hardest-hit communities during the pandemic.
“When I first took office, that’s why I prioritized making sure that I’m engaging my residents, doing town halls, doing forums and I’m doing beautification events so I can meet my neighbors where they’re at in the community here in District 8 — not at city hall in the tower,” Candelas said. “That’s helped me figure out and prioritize different things that I’ve heard over and over. Folks want to feel safer, want cleaner streets and parks and ultimately to be able to create stronger neighborhoods.”
Candelas said that in addition to increasing the police department’s staffing levels and leveraging technology to solve crimes, he has committed to taking a more community-driven approach, which …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
