2002 San Jose City Council election

2002 San Jose City Council election

March 5 (primary)
November 5 (runoff)

5 of 10 seats on San Jose City Council

The 2002 San Jose City Council election took place on March 5, 2002, to elect five of the ten seats of the San Jose City Council, with runoff elections taking place on November 5, 2002.[1][2] Runoffs only occurred if no candidate received more than 50% of the votes cast in the contest. Local elections in California are officially nonpartisan.[3] Each councilmember is term-limited after two consecutive terms in office.[4]

District 1

Incumbent Linda J. LeZotte was elected to the 1st district in 1998 in the runoff with 52.9% of the vote. She was eligible to run for reelection.

Results

2002 San Jose City Council 1st district election[1]
Primary election
Candidate Votes %
Linda J. LeZotte (incumbent) 7,847 79.6
Ross Signorino 2,010 20.4
Total votes 9,857 100.0

District 3

Incumbent Cindy Chavez was elected to the 3rd district in 1998 in the runoff with 51.3% of the vote. She was eligible to run for reelection.

Results

2002 San Jose City Council 3rd district election[1]
Primary election
Candidate Votes %
Cindy Chavez (incumbent) 4,870 100.0
Total votes 4,870 100.0

District 5

Incumbent Nora Campos was elected to the 5th district in 2001 in the special election primary with 56.0% of the vote.[5] She was eligible to run for reelection.

Results

2002 San Jose City Council 5th district election[1]
Primary election
Candidate Votes %
Nora Campos (incumbent) 3,870 69.9
Alex Ayala 1,663 30.1
Total votes 5,533 100.0

District 7

Incumbent George M. Shirakawa, Jr. was initially appointed to the 7th district in 1994 following the death of his father.[6] He was reelected to the 7th district in 1994 and 1998. He was ineligible to run for reelection.

Results

2002 San Jose City Council 7th district election[1][2]
Primary election
Candidate Votes %
Terrence "Terry" Gregory 2,367 32.8
Ed Voss 2,241 31.1
Bob Dhillon 1,583 21.9
Alfredo Benavides 821 11.4
Andrew G. Abraham Diaz 200 2.8
Total votes 5,629 100.0
General election
Terrence "Terry" Gregory 6,439 60.7
Ed Voss 4,176 39.3
Total votes 10,615 100.0

District 9

Incumbent John A. Diquisto was elected to the 9th district in 1994 and 1998. He was ineligible to run for reelection.

Results

2002 San Jose City Council 9th district election[1]
Primary election
Candidate Votes %
Judy Chirco 7,815 57.1
Chris Hemingway 5,878 42.9
Total votes 13,693 100.0

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f "March 5, 2002 Gubernatorial Primary Election Results". Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  2. ^ a b "November 5, 2002 Gubernatorial General Election Results". Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved March 2, 2026.
  3. ^ "Nonpartisan Offices". UC Law SF. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  4. ^ "Governance Structure". City of San Jose. Retrieved January 14, 2026.
  5. ^ "March 6, 2001 Special Election Results". Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved February 27, 2026.
  6. ^ Koehn, Josh (March 6, 2013). "The Unraveling of George Shirakawa Jr". San Jose Inside. Retrieved March 2, 2026.