← 2010 June 3, 2014 50.8% 49.2% | 91,840 89,090 Start date June 3, 2014 | |
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The 2014 San Jose mayoral election was held on June 3, 2014 to elect the Mayor of San Jose, California. Councilmember Sam Liccardo defeated Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese in a runoff on November 4, 2014.
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Incumbent Democratic Mayor Chuck Reed was term-limited and could not run for re-election to a third term in office.
The election is nonpartisan per California state law, although most of the candidates chose to state a political party affiliation. A primary election was held on June 3, 2014. As no candidate received a majority of the vote, a runoff election was held between the top two vote-getters, Dave Cortese and Sam Liccardo, on November 4, 2014. Licardo was elected mayor with a majority of the vote.
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Primary election
The primary election saw a total of ten candidates on the ballot, including Dave Cortese, a Santa Clara County Supervisor and former San Jose City Councilmember, as well as four sitting San Jose City Councilmembers: Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen, Sam Liccardo, Rose herrera, and Pierluigi Oliverio.
The political climate of the race was influenced by an ongoing dispute between representatives of the City's labor force and Mayor Chuck Reed, stemming from a 2012 ballot initiative championed by Reed to restructure San Jose City employee pensions. Dave Cortese received the full endorsement and support of the politically powerful South Bay Labor Council, while the four sitting Councilmembers, having supported Mayor Reed's pension reform initiative, were described as "Reed loyalists." This ideological polarization was present not just in San Jose's mayoral election, but in a number of City Council races as well.
As part of his campaign, Councilmember Liccardo authored a book in which he assessed the issues facing San Jose and offered his own vision for the City. On May 2, the Editorial Board of the San Jose Mercury News endorsed Liccardo for Mayor, citing the book as well as his record on the Council.