Expand / Collapse search
☰

San Jose District 3 election called by razor-thin margin, headed to a runoff

By
Published  April 28, 2025 11:57pm PDT
News
KTVU FOX 2
District 3 Runoff: Two candidates emerge with a chance to fill the seat

District 3 Runoff: Two candidates emerge with a chance to fill the seat

The results were announced on Monday, after the close election triggered a recount that took weeks to certify.

The Brief

    • Gabby Chavez-Lopez and Antony Tordillos emerged as the two winners of April's first election for the District 3 City Council seat.
    • The third leading candidate, Matthew Queredo, shared a congratulatory statement for the two winners.
    • The runoff election will take place in June.

SAN JOSE, Calif. - A hotly-contested race for a seat on San Jose’s City Council is now moving into a runoff, with the first election being decided by a margin of only 6 votes. 

The latest results published by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters on Monday certified that by Chavez-Lopez receiving the largest share, 2712 votes. Lopez-Chavez celebrated her win in a social media post, sharing that her "tremendous lead is clear, and the voters have spoken."  

KTVU reached out to Chavez-Lopez for a statement, but we have not yet heard back.

The results announced after the close election triggered a recount that took weeks to tally and certify. The city's election rules require that if no one candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, the top two candidates in the special election will then advance to a runoff.

Anthony Tordillos edged out his closest opponent, Matthew Quevedo, by only 6 votes, a testament to the importance of voting in local races. The second-place finish earned Tordillos a place in the runoff.  

Quevedo is deputy chief of staff for Mayor Matt Mahan, who endorsed the run.

Quevedo shared a statement with KTVU on the loss:

What they're saying:

"While the margin is small, the result is now clear. I would like to congratulate both anthony and gabby for advancing to the run-off and thank all of the candidates who worked so hard to deliver their thoughtful messages, as well as the county election officials who worked tirelessly to count every vote quickly and accurately." – Matthew Quevedo

"Obviously saw that it was a very close race with Matthew and I trading places a couple of times, but a testament to the strength of the campaign that he ran as well," Tordillos told KTVU. "Happy to have emerged victorious and excited to move on to the runoff."

The runoff election between Chavez-Lopez and Tordillos will take place on June 24.

The Source: Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, statement from Queredo and interview with Tordillos. 

NewsSan JoseMatt Mahan