District 2 was first established in the 2018 election cycle after the Judge in the City of Santa Clara California Voting Rights lawsuit ordered 6 individual Council districts. Raj Chahal replaced Dominic Caserta who resigned earlier that year. Raj Chahal became the first minority and first Indian-American to be elected to the Santa Clara City Council.
In 2018 the race was Raj Chahal vs. Nancy Biagini vs. Mario Bouza. Raj Chahal won the race despite all the influences of labor unions, POA/Fire union and the Gillmor machine. Raj Chahal ran an efficient campaign and was very well known in the community after serving years on the planning commission. Raj Chahal won with 53% in 2018 and in 2022 Raj Chahal ran for re-election and won with 62% over Larry McColloch, a virtual unknown.
District 2 is one of the largest districts that encompasses City Hall, a heavy piece of the city’s industrial zone and is bordered by El Camino, Bowers Ave and San Tomas/Montague Expressway. District 2 also encompasses a piece of the northside past highway 101. Here is the link to finding out what district you live in. https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/departments-a-f/city-clerk-s-office/find-your-council-district If you live in District 2 and want to run this may be your chance.
2026 offers the opportunity for the second serving District 2 Councilmember. Who will it be? So far there is a variety of candidates and some I may not have covered. These are the current names popping up for District 2.
Note to reader: these are my opinions.
Nancy Biagini is the first name that comes to mind if you would ask who is a possible candidate for district 2. Biagini is currently on the Santa Clara planning commission and is also a former candidate for City Council in 2018 running against Raj Chahal where she placed second. Biagini has the name recognition and has the Gillmor Machine support should she run. However lately her health has been an issue so ultimately Nancy Biagini holds the keys to her own destiny and possible win for District 2. Nancy would be a frontrunner if was on the ballot because of prior candidacy and tenure on the planning commission alone. Additionally with police and fire union support behind her, she has a very strong chance.
Mario Bouza is currently on the planning commission and had run in previous elections with most recently being 2016 and 2018 both times coming in last. In 2016 Bouza ran for the city wide Council seat 6, then when districts took effect in 2018 he ran for district 2 against Raj Chahal and Nancy Biagini. Raj Chahal as we know won that race. Bouza is a republican in Silicon Valley and just like Karen Hardy that is a challenge. Additionally Mario Bouza has been controversial in the past and can be feisty at times on the planning commission. Chances of Bouza running are high considering the competition.
Yvonne Inciarte is currently a Santa Clara Historical and Landmarks commission member, as well as on the Santa Clara Police Chiefs advisory committee. The Chiefs Advisory Committee is where Gillmor likes to farm candidates like Kelly Cox and Satish Chandra. Inciarte is also Senior Advisor for Legislative Outreach for Congressman Ro Khanna. Inciarte could be a back up plan to Nancy Biagini should Nancy not run. What holds back Yvonne is her public speaking needs improvement, yet with the support of a possible Ro Khanna endorsement and support from other influences like labor or special interests she could be a force to be reckoned with. For a while Raj Chahal thought she was a viable candidate to succeed him, but his opinions changed. Interesting to note though is that Ro Khanna when he first won for congress almost a decade ago he had his headquarters in Franklin Mall, a building owned by Gillmor.
Larry McCollach ran against Councilmember Raj Chahal in 2022 when Raj was running for re-election. It is known that Chahal was going to be unopposed until the last minute when Larry McColloch was drafted by Kathy Watanabe. It is said that Kathy Watanabe was desperately calling people and trying to find someone to run against Raj and sure enough Larry answered the call. McCollach the entire election regurgitated Gillmor talking points which included grand jury report quotes and how the 49ers are controlling the city. McCollach was solidly defeated by Raj. McColloch had been showing up to council meetings like being in favor of the Related project amendment (Larry was supported by Related Company in 2022) however since he has been missing. Larry may not be a serious viable candidate again but he has run before which is a plus for campaign experience and could just be there to split votes.
Unnamed 49ers candidate, you lastly can’t count out the 49ers who are trying to recruit. The success of Albert Gonzalez and Kelly Cox winning elections without really campaigning proves that money does buy elections and will prove that there could be an unknown in District 2 that suddenly becomes a “somebody”.
Debbie Tryforos is a Santa Clara Library trustee and loyal Gillmor servant. She has been very vocal at the city council meetings and filing complaints to the civil grand jury about the anti-Gillmor Councilmembers. Debbie has been there on behalf of the Special Advisor to the Mayor Kirk Vartan and in 2024 when she was in charge of the Soroptimists she was accused of purposely seating a civil grand juror at a city councilmembers table. In 2024 Tryforos pulled papers to run for City Clerk but then stepped aside when Gillmor backed Bob O’Keefe jumped in the race and eventually won. If Debbie Tryforos were to run, it would only be to split votes. Debbie was also the campaign manager for Larry McColloch when he ran against Raj Chahal in 2022. Debbie also has a very harsh attitude and lack of independence may be something voters may not want to try.
Bottom Line: District 2 needs to stay independent like it has been for the last 8 years under Raj Chahal. The district needs a representative that understands the needs of El Camino Real, the railroad corridor and maintaining a healthy industrial zone. The new District 2 rep will have a lot to learn in a small period of time and hopefully Raj Chahal on his way out of office or on his way into another office will help guide the new District 2 Councilmember. The ultimate goal is to keep any Gillmor aligned candidates from winning and stop the Gillmor machine from moving closer to a solid majority.
Roger Kint