1978 San Jose mayoral election
June 6, 1978 (first round)[1]
November 7, 1978 (runoff)[2]
Turnout59.31% (first round)
66.79% (runoff)
 
Candidate Janet Gray Hayes Alfredo Garza Jr.
Party Democratic Nonpartisan
First-round vote 68,643 55,093
First-round percentage 48.77% 39.14%
Second-round vote 107,872 44,358
Second-round percentage 70.86% 29.14%
 
Candidate John Russell
Party Nonpartisan
First-round vote 9,044
First-round percentage 6.43%
Mayor before election

Janet Gray Hayes
Democratic

 Elected Mayor

Janet Gray Hayes
Democratic

The 1978 San Jose mayoral election was held to elect the mayor of San Jose, California. It saw an initial election held on June 6, 1978, followed by a runoff election on November 7, 1978, after no candidate managed to obtain a majority in the initial election.[3] The runoff was won by incumbent mayor Janet Gray Hayes.

Candidates

Advanced to runoff
Eliminated in first round
  • Claudette Begin
  • John Russel
  • Ben Golf Trevinu

Campaign

Incumbent mayor Janet Gray Hayes campaigned almost exclusively on her support for controlling growth by placing restrictions on both the amount and location of new units of housing in the city.[4] Her runoff opponent, Alfredo Garza Jr., had been on the opposite side of the issue both as a mayoral candidate and as a city council member, supporting more rapid growth in the city, being considered a member of the council's “let's‐grow‐faster" bloc.[4][6] The issue of whether or not to mitigate growth was a hotly contested issue in the city's politics ahead of the election. The City Council, in August, fired city manager Ted Tedesco over his attempts to control the rate of development in the city, with Garza being one of the City Council members who voted to fire him.[4][6] Garza was believed to have been the main force behind the firing of Tedesco, and Hayes was greatly upset with Tedesco's firing.[7] The election was seen as giving a strong mandate to controlling the rate of growth. Hayes, staking out this position, won an overwhelming victory in the runoff over an opponent with the opposing stance. Additionally, in the coinciding city council elections, Joe Colla, a longtime member of the council who was part of the "let's-grow-faster" bloc, notably lost reelection.[4]

Garza, as a chicano (Mexican-American), was aiming to be the first such mayor of the city. Mexican Americans, at the time, comprised as much as 25% of the city's electorate.[8] Neither the city, nor any other major Californian city, had had a Latino mayor since California obtained statehood in 1850, and this would remain the case until Ron Gonzales was elected mayor of San Jose in 1998.[9][10]

Hayes was among very few female mayors in office at the time in the United States.[11]

Results

General election

1978 San Jose mayoral general election[1]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janet Gray Hayes (incumbent) 68,643 48.77
Nonpartisan Alfredo Garza Jr. 55,093 39.14
Nonpartisan John Russell 9,044 6.43
Nonpartisan Ben Golf Trevinu 5,208 3.70
Nonpartisan Claudette Begin 2,769 1.97
Turnout 140,757 59.31

Runoff

1978 San Jose mayoral runoff election[2]
Party Candidate Votes %
Democratic Janet Gray Hayes (incumbent) 107,872 70.86
Nonpartisan Alfredo Garza Jr. 44,358 29.14
Turnout 152,230 66.79

References

  1. 1 2 "Direct Primary Election June 6 1978-2.pdf" (PDF). Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  2. 1 2 "STATEMENT OF ALL VOTES CAST AT THE GENERAL ELECTION HELD ON NOVEMBER 7TH, 1978 IN THE COUNTY OF SANTA CLARA STATE OF CALIFORNIA" (PDF). Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  3. ↑ "Nine SF Bay Are Officials Lose". Newspapers.com. Santa Cruz Sentinel. Associated Press. June 7, 1978.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Lindsey, Robert (December 30, 1978). "San Jose Moves to Manage Its Growth". The New York Times. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  5. ↑ "Direct Primary Election June 4 1974-2.pdf" (PDF). Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  6. 1 2 "San Jose City Manager Fired". Newspapers.com. Santa Cruz Sentinel. Associated Press. August 16, 1978. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  7. ↑ "THE STATE". Newspapers.com. Los Angeles Times. August 17, 1978. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  8. ↑ "A Battle to Replace Councilman Ruynon". Newspapers.com. The San Francisco Examiner. August 27, 1978. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  9. ↑ Simon, Mark (November 4, 1998). "Ron Gonzales Wins Race for San Jose Mayor / He is the first Latino since Mexican rule to lead city". SFGATE. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
  10. ↑ Tobar, Hector (November 5, 1998). "In Contests Big and Small, Latinos Take Historic Leap". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ↑ "San Jose Woman Mayor Keeps Job". Newspapers.com. Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press. November 9, 1978. Retrieved July 4, 2021.
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