Note to reader: these are my opinions.
The Mayor role for the first time in a long time will go to someone possibly outside of the old guard or could the old guard hold power with a puppet that slips it to continue the rule of the Mission City. It’s hard to say at this point. What is certain though is Mayor Lisa Gillmor is termed out as the Mayor of Santa Clara forever (unless they change the term limits). That right there is the biggest blessing of the 2026 elections, however Gillmor will be relevant either by running for a suddenly open council seat or puppeteering Kathy Watanabe all the way to November.
These are all the potential Mayor candidates who have their sights on the city’s most coveted seat. Who will lead the City of Santa Clara into the future and close out this decade before the 2030 elections. Santa Clara needs a new leader that is focused on the people of this city, not the political dynasty of the past. The city needs to rid itself of the Gillmor influence, needs to put the stadium and the 49ers as not the biggest and most pressing issues in the city. Santa Clara needs to turn the page and make a difference by abandoning the political turmoil and get back to basics.
Kathy Watanabe is easily the frontrunner because of several factors. In 2024 Kathy conveniently switched seats with now Councilmember Albert Gonzalez who now holds her seat on council and she holds his former seat on school board. Makes you laugh knowing the 49ers were duped into supporting Albert and fell for the trap bait and switch, look how Albert votes with Gillmor. Kathy Watanabe’s tenure on the school board is so that she stays relevant for two years after leaving city council in 2024 till the 2026 election. Being on the school board of trustees will enhance Kathy’s political resume (8 years Councilmember, 2 years School Board member) and sway votes from soccer moms, parents, youth sports most who don’t know how bad and evil Kathy really is. The Gillmor Machine will build Kathy up in the coming months with the Police Union, Fire Union and maestro Jude Barry pulling strings, blogger Robert Haugh slandering the competition and the San Francisco Chronicle pretending to be the “paper of the record”. In the nick of time they will pull out “ethics” expert Tom Shanks while the icing on the cake would be a “damning” Civil Grand Jury report that will come out in the Spring 2026 or early Summer of 2026 supporting yet again another Gillmor narrative of the last 10 plus years. This probable grand jury report will also most likely say indirectly why to vote for Gillmor Machine candidates like Kathy Watanabe for Mayor. Remember if history proves anything like Gillmor’s influence over the Civil Grand Jury, reports have been released in election years around the same time, June 2016, October 2022, two in June 2024 with 2022 being the exception of the October surprise. Kathy Watanabe has a solid lead to win especially if there are multiple candidates running for Mayor that will ultimately split votes. What holds Kathy back from winning? Well there is a lot, but the biggest one is she committed a crime and seemingly has gotten away with it. Leaking the Grand Jury Report to her husband in 2022 (her husband lied to authorities that she didn’t share it with him, yet both were never charged. Watanabe has proven to be above the law. In reality Watanabe should be charged with the leak and convicted which in return bans her from elected office on the council and the school board.
Raj Chahal is probably the best chance at beating a Gillmor backed Mayor Candidate. Raj has the experience and is a likable guy, he is a people person and relatable. He would be the first minority elected Mayor in the city’s long history. Raj’s backing is a strong mobilized Indian community in Santa Clara. Raj’s record on council has voted in favor of the residents of the city from trash rates, utility rates and transparency. However there are things that will work against Raj and we know the Gillmor Machine is well aware. Voting for the imminent domain of David’s Restaurant after he was first elected, his abstention or absence on big votes like the 49ers issues and other controversial items will be a significant factor. Yet, the biggest factor facing Chahal is there are still racists in Santa Clara who are afraid to elect a person of color Mayor. Instead they may vote for the white woman with a Japanese last name as the ultimate pander. Raj’s other problem is Karen Hardy, see below, she is playing a game of chicken with Raj on who should run for Mayor. If both Raj and Karen run plus a few more names on the ballot, they will for sure split the vote and deliver us, Mayor Kathy Watanabe.
Karen Hardy is friendly, personable, relatable. Karen has done well as a Councilmember. However she has a lot against her running for Mayor. This is not saying Karen or Raj would be bad mayors, it is saying that with the current political climate these factors could weigh her down. As I said above, If both Raj Chahal and Karen Hardy run against Kathy Watanabe they will split the vote and deliver Watanabe a victory. Hardy is a Republican in Silicon Valley yet rumor has it she changed her party. Yes, there is the factor that Santa Clara is more conservative, but it is Gillmor conservative, not Hardy conservative. What the 49ers did to Satish Chandra in the 2024 District 1 race by exposing his past support of Donald Trump and his republican past, one would expect either or all the police union, Related Company and Labor Unions to go all out on that. Another flaw of Karen Hardy’s is she is silent on council and never really pushes back like other Councilmembers have against Gillmor. Maybe she is playing it safe but she has been siding with Gillmor as of late specifically selling the city out with the Related Project amendment. Ultimately, it should be Karen Hardy that should step aside and let Raj run. Karen would be a good mayor the same as Raj but something has to budge or might as well call Kathy Watanabe mayor in waiting already. If Raj steps aside, then Karen should be Mayor, but it really does not seem like either is going to bow out.
Chris Stampolis is a popular name in the city of Santa Clara for all the wrong reasons. In 2018, Stampolis ran for City Clerk and ran for Mayor in the past. Now Stampolis is being named as a possible Mayor candidate around town and Stampolis’ recent appearances around town are proving more of that reality. Stampolis though comes with lots of legal baggage and chaos. Through many of his ordeals on the school board when he was serving there or his behavior in court rooms, the bottom line is, just say no to Chris Stampolis.
Anne Kepner is a current West Valley Mission College Board Member. She has been rumored for a long time by a Reclaiming Our Downtown advocate as the next Mayor of Santa Clara. Kepner was rumored to run in 2024’s District 6 race but decided against it when incumbent Anthony Becker ran for re-election despite his indictment. It is said that is when George Guerra entered the race. It was also said that Kepner would have been the 49ers backed candidate but that is hearsay for now. Cons against Kepner is again maybe 49ers backed and she has no council experience or city committee experience that is known of. Anne Kepner has recently announced that she is running for California State Senate. If she makes top two in the primary that takes her out of the Mayor’s race, yet if she doesn’t make the top two like she did in her 2020 Assembly race don’t count her out to run for Mayor. Additionally one factor against her is she is an attorney which could be a turn off to voters as of late.
David Kertes just recently announced his candidacy for Mayor. This is a major headscratcher because Kertes is a Gillmor loyalist. Kertes was running the recall efforts against Suds Jain and then suddenly stopped the recall and said that running for Mayor is a better thing and that he can do more than he can do recalling Suds Jain. This is a strange pivot that raises more questions. Did something happen between Kertes and Gillmor, was there a falling out? Gillmor is ok with Kertes running for Mayor? Wouldn’t that affect Kathy Watanabe running for Mayor? So much that is unanswered. One thing is certain, David Kertes speaks so much about the downtown efforts however if he was on the Council, he, like Mayor Gillmor, cannot vote on the downtown, something he always goes after Councilmember Jain for.
Mike Wiltberger tried to run for Mayor in 2022 and was kicked off the ballot for ultimately not qualifying. Wiltberger was there to split the vote for Gillmor so she could cruise to victory. Instead Gillmor panicked and released the kraken grand jury report that saved the queen. Wiltberger could come back for the same reason. Who knows maybe he might be a good pick but all signs point to Gillmor influence. It is also known that he tried to sue the Santa Clara City Clerk because he was disqualified from the ballot.
Kevin Park is currently on council and was elected in 2020 and re-elected in 2024 both times solidly over Gillmor’s ally Teresa O’Neill. Kevin Park is popular but not so much with the Gillmor machine and Gillmor voters. Currently he is being targeted to the extreme by Gillmor backed blogger Robert Haugh. Park is one of the the most maverick and rogue Councilmembers who is still there, he could not be controlled and why they were attacked and targeted so much by Gillmor’s vast network and why Becker is gone. Kevin Park would surely make a splash in a Mayor race, but he would need both Raj Chahal and Karen Hardy to step aside if neither of them could come to an agreement of who should run. The outcome of both Chahal and Hardy staying out and Kevin jumping is slim but never zero. Councilmember Park would be a popular choice but at the rate Gillmor is going after him right now for “Domestic Incidents”, Kevin’s divorce, his daughter and trying to paint Kevin as a criminal narrative, Gillmor is trying to get him out now after the taste of blood getting former Councilmember and convicted felon Anthony Becker out. It is clear, Gillmor wants Councilmembers Park and Jain gone.
Albert Gonzalez is currently on council and was elected in 2024 after running essentially a do-nothing campaign. Albert won on the wave of the 49ers support and independent expenditures. Could he be a popular choice that the 49ers tap to run for Mayor considering his experience on the School Board and currently the Council? However it comes down to, what has he done since being elected, and what has he said that makes things better? His voting patterns seem to be all over the place by siding with Gillmor one week then being called the “49er 5” member the next. If Albert were to run he would have to mount an actual campaign. The chances of Albert Gonzalez running are slim, yet never count any sitting Councilmember out from running for the top seat.
An unnamed 49ers backed candidate is being floated around. The 49ers want to run someone for Mayor who won’t be a target for grand jury reports, investigations or blogger Robert Haugh’s wrath. This fact is a concern that they don’t think Raj or Karen can beat a Gillmor backed Mayor candidate. In reality it shouldn’t matter who the 49ers think should be Mayor.
Other names floated around for Mayor: Former Police Chief Steve Lodge, Former Police Chief Mike Sellers, Former Police Chief Pat Nikolai and me, yours truly Roger Kint. I don’t know how serious any of these individuals are at running but as for me, never ever, I am flattered many will mention me running for Mayor in the comments but I do not want to be a victim of the Gillmor Machine. As for the former Police Chiefs, law enforcement background could help. Yet what could harm them is Steve Lodge was there for the initial planning of Levi’s stadium and came up with terrible numbers for public safety costs and the reason why it has become a contentious issue lately. As for Mike Sellers, the Gillmor Machine will use the “vote of no confidence” that the police union had with Mike Sellers as chief, which ultimately was orchestrated by Mayor Gillmor and Pat Nikolai who was Union president at the time and running against Sellers. Thankfully Mike Sellers beat Nikolai then but Nikolai still became chief which is why he is a floated name for Mayor should Kathy Watanabe not be a viable candidate. Nikolai is currently on the charter review staying relevant. Would Nikolai do it is the question. More than likely not, but you never know, look at what he did when Gillmor needed him, he sent a letter to the District attorney asking them to investigate her council colleagues. If Kathy Watanabe is banned for her obvious crimes, Nikolai or David Kertes will be the back up plan, time will tell.
Bottom Line: If Raj or Karen or anyone else on the council cannot hold the current Mayor accountable then no one deserves to be Mayor. The mission is to stop Gillmor, stop Watanabe, do not vote for these individuals who have overstayed their welcome. This mission is not impossible, people need to get mobilized. Raj and Karen need to stop playing chicken with each other and make a decision who will run and hopefully the 49ers won’t screw over Santa Clarans and throw some random person in the mix. If you look at the board as is, and with the addition of David Kertes running for Mayor, you have a crowded Mayor field that will ultimately come down to splitting votes. Councilmember Raj Chahal and Karen Hardy would split votes, while Kathy Watanabe and David Kertes may split votes. With the sprinkling of other candidates it is really to just split votes. It is a Gillmor strategy pastime, something she has utilized often by flooding the ballot. In 1994 Gillmor got her ally Jim Ash to run for Mayor in an attempt to split the vote and damage Judy Nadler’s chances. She failed then. In 2016 the Seat #6 had 6 candidates running, all of which split the vote to deliver Watanabe the win. Additionally in 2016, Seat #4 had 4 candidates running and Patty Mahan won when many thought she would split the vote with Raj Chahal and give Tino Silva the win. Many times in Santa Clara elections history this has been done by flooding candidates in specific races to get someone to either squeak out a win from vote splitting or handedly win by getting all the others to split the votes. If everyone runs just like in the current California Governor’s race, we could get an outcome that we, the people, do not want. At the current rate, Kathy Watanabe could win just by the slimmest margins from name recognition, the POA and Fire Unions and ultimately the Gillmor machine.
Roger Kint