The top two vote getters for the District 3 City Council seat in San Jose are back on the fundraising trail.
The two contenders in the special election — Latina Coalition of Silicon Valley Executive Director Gabby Chavez-Lopez and San Jose Planning Commission Chair Anthony Tordillos — have raised thousands of dollars in preparation for the next leg of the race. The candidates filed their first campaign financing updates since the April 8 election, and Tordillos is leading with a total of $266,522, as they sprint toward the June 24 runoff.
Tordillos and Chavez-Lopez have sped up their fundraising efforts since April, adding $103,009 and $65,959 respectively in their latest filings.
Chavez-Lopez led in the April election with 29% of the vote, while Tordillos battled Matthew Quevedo, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan’s deputy chief of staff, for second place. After knocking Quevedo out by six votes, Tordillos won endorsements from Quevedo and Mahan.
Tordillos is ahead of Chavez-Lopez by roughly $40,000 and said it shows the momentum of support his campaign has gathered since the April election.
“It’s pretty simple,” Tordillos told San José Spotlight. “San Jose residents want a councilmember they can count on to go to bat for them on housing, homelessness and public safety.”
Chavez-Lopez said her campaign has also seen a swell of momentum. She said her funds have mostly come from individual residents, small businesses and other members of the community, pointing out Tordillos’ campaign has been predominantly self-funded.
In the latest filings, Tordillos put another $65,000 into his campaign, bringing his total self-funded contributions up to $210,000. Chavez-Lopez has contributed $700 to her own campaign.
“The number’s interesting, because I’m proud to have raised $65,000 as well, the right way,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “The difference with my campaign is that it’s fueled by community and it’s really supported by a broad base of folks, so I think that’s what it looks like when a community stands by their candidate.”
Tordillos acknowledged his self-funding and pointed out the support Chavez-Lopez has received from special interest groups.
“I grew up working class and have lived the American Dream as a first-generation college student,” Tordillos told San José Spotlight. “I’m putting my savings on the line and rejecting special interest money so thousands of my neighbors and I can build a movement to make city hall work for us.”
Seven political action committees spent more than $800,000 ahead of the April election, namely supporting Chavez-Lopez or Quevedo. Since then, special interests have slowed their spending — only the South Bay Labor Council’s committee spent $17,580 on campaign materials and a field program to support Chavez-Lopez.
The committee Working Families in Support of Gabby Chavez-Lopez for City Council 2025 terminated on April 25, but before terminating, the group spent about $51,000 supporting Chavez-Lopez and opposing Quevedo. It was primarily funded by large companies, including PG&E, Chevron and Walmart.
Even though the committee disbanded, Tordillos warned that voters should question why these companies felt the need to support Chavez-Lopez’s candidacy.
“There’s a clear difference in the way we’re running our campaigns — I continue to be the only candidate turning down special interest cash,” Tordillos said.
Chavez-Lopez said she was unaware the committee disbanded and she isn’t engaged with any special interest committees, though she’s preparing for whatever ramp up might occur closer to the June election date.
“We’ve been this grassroots campaign since day one, and we will continue to be,” Chavez-Lopez told San José Spotlight. “It’s one conversation at a time, one neighborhood at a time, and just getting to know the people and what they want from District 3.”
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.
