Candidates for Gilroy City Council and Gilroy Unified School District have started to pull and file nomination paperwork since the qualifying period began for those seeking offices on the Nov. 3 election ballot.
The nomination period began July 13 and continues through 5pm Aug. 7.
The November ballot will feature the first by-district elections for the city council. Voters will vote only for a single candidate within their district. There are six districts represented on the city council.
The current city council made this change in 2025, after being threatened with a lawsuit for potential violations of the California Voting Rights Act.
On the Nov. 3 ballot are the seats for Districts 4, 5 and 6. The seats are currently occupied by incumbents Dion Bracco, Tom Cline and Carol Marques, respectively.
As of July 21, former City Councilmember Fred Tovar and Diana Sanchez Bentz have pulled nomination papers for the District 4 council seat, according to the City of Gilroy’s website.
In District 5, three candidates, including Cline, have shown interest in running for the District 5 seat. Cline, Christina Tovar and Joseph Garcia pulled nomination papers on July 13.
In District 6, Elizabeth Bracco has pulled and submitted nomination papers to run for office; and former Councilmember Rebeca Armendariz has pulled papers.
Also on the Nov. 3 ballot are four seats on the Gilroy Unified School District Board of Education. The seats on the ballot are for district Trustee Areas 1, 3, 4 and 7.
So far, the incumbent in Area 3, Michelle Nelson, is the only candidate who has pulled or submitted paperwork for any of the seats, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office.
Voters in all of South County—including within the cities of Gilroy and Morgan Hill—will also have the chance to vote for the District 1 Director for the Valley Water board. Jimmy Forbis, former Gilroy city administrator, has pulled or submitted papers.
The current District 1 Director is John L. Varela, who is not yet included on the county elections site’s list of unofficial candidates.
None of these candidates have yet completed the qualification process to appear on the ballot. Candidates must file nomination paperwork with their appropriate city clerk’s or election official’s office. The paperwork includes a short list of signatures, which must be verified before the candidate can qualify.
On Aug. 13, the California Secretary of State will conduct a randomized alphabet drawing to determine the order of candidates’ names on the ballot.
The Nov. 3 ballot will also include a Transient Occupancy Tax Rate Measure for the City of Gilroy. If approved by a majority of voters, the measure would raise the city’s TOT, or hotel tax, from 9% to a maximum of 13 percent. The city council would set the exact new rate if approved by voters.
The text of the measure reads “To maintain critical City services such as street/pothole repair, park and recreation programs, emergency preparedness for storms, flooding and wildfires, and police and fire response shall the City of Gilroy measure raising the Transient Occupancy Tax (hotel tax) rate from 9% to a maximum of 13%, set by Council resolution, providing $700,000 annually paid only by hotel/lodging guests, with annual independent audits, that cannot be taken by Sacramento, until ended by voters, be adopted?”
GILROY NEEDS TERM LIMITS. In October 2021, a large Halloween party was held at the Gilroy property of City Councilmember Rebeca Armendariz. The gathering involved underage drinking and drew numerous teenagers. During the event, a shooting left four youths between the ages of 17 and 19 injured; 18-year-old Michael Zuniga-Macias died at the scene, and 19-year-old Jesse Sanchez later died from his injuries. A city-commissioned investigation concluded that Armendariz assisted in organizing the event and cited her for violating Gilroy’s Social Host Ordinance and other municipal regulations related to the gathering.
There are no incumbents for Council District’s 4,5, and 6 since this is the first time elections have been held in these Districts. There was an error made on the SCC ROV unofficial list of candidates that will be corrected.
Candidate filing updates (not yet qualified) below for the November 3 ballot. Filing period to run for office is July 13-August 7. GUSD Trustee candidates go through the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office to get on the ballot and Gilroy City Council candidates go through the City of Gilroy Clerk’s Office.
Updated July 22 8:00pm
Gilroy City Council D4- Fred Tovar, Diana Sanchez Bentz
Gilroy City Council D5- Tom Cline, Joseph Garcia, Christina Tovar
Gilroy City Council D6- Elizabeth Bracco (qualified), Rebeca Armendariz
GUSD Trustee A1- Gabriela Kim
GUSD Trustee A3- Michelle Nelson
GUSD Trustee A4- Trevor Scott Van Laar
GUSD Trustee A7- Tuyen Fiack
Gavilan College Trustee A3- Gabriel Gutierrez, Shahida S. Merchant
Santa Clara Valley Water D1- Jimmy Forbis
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee for A7- Raeena Lari
Candidate filing updates below for the November 3 ballot. Filing period to run for office is July 13-August 7. GUSD Trustee candidates go through the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office to get on the ballot and Gilroy City Council candidates go through the City of Gilroy Clerk’s Office. #HiltonForCouncil #Gilroy #HiltonForGilroy #DowntownGilroy #GilroyBPAC
Updated July 25 8:00am-
Gilroy City Council D4- Fred Tovar, Diana Sanchez Bentz
Gilroy City Council D5- Tom Cline, Joseph Garcia (qualified), Christina Tovar
Gilroy City Council D6- Elizabeth Bracco (qualified), Rebeca Armendariz
GUSD Trustee A1- Gabriela Kim (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A3- Michelle Nelson (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A4- Trevor Scott Van Laar (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A7- Tuyen Fiack (qualified)
Gavilan College Trustee A3- Gabriel Gutierrez, Shahida S. Merchant
Santa Clara Valley Water D1- Jimmy Forbis, John Lisandro Varela
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee for A7- Raeena Lari
Candidate filing updates below for the November 3 ballot. Filing period to run for office is July 13-August 7. GUSD Trustee candidates go through the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office to get on the ballot and Gilroy City Council candidates go through the City of Gilroy Clerk’s Office.
As of July 28 6:00pm-
Gilroy City Council D4- Fred Tovar, Diana Sanchez Bentz
Gilroy City Council D5- Tom Cline, Joseph Garcia (qualified), Christina Tovar
Gilroy City Council D6- Elizabeth Bracco (qualified), Rebeca Armendariz
GUSD Trustee A1- Gabriela Kim (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A3- Michelle Nelson (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A4- Trevor Scott Van Laar (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A7- Tuyen Fiack (qualified)
Gavilan College Trustee A3- Gabriel Gutierrez, Shahida S. Merchant (qualified)
Santa Clara Valley Water D1- Jimmy Forbis, John Lisandro Varela
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee for A7- Raeena Lari
As of July 31 7:30pm-
Gilroy City Council D4- Fred Tovar, Diana Sanchez Bentz
Gilroy City Council D5- Tom Cline, Joseph Garcia (qualified), Christina Tovar (qualified)
Gilroy City Council D6- Elizabeth Bracco (qualified), Rebeca Armendariz, Brad Starks
GUSD Trustee A1- Gabriela Kim (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A3- Michelle Nelson (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A4- Trevor Scott Van Laar (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A7- Tuyen Fiack (qualified)
Gavilan College Trustee A3- Gabriel Gutierrez, Shahida S. Merchant (qualified)
Santa Clara Valley Water D1- Jimmy Forbis (qualified), John Lisandro Varela
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee for A7- Raeena Lari, Karla Dominguez Vega
Candidate filing updates below for the November 3 ballot. Filing period to run for office is July 13-August 7. GUSD Trustee candidates go through the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office to get on the ballot and Gilroy City Council candidates go through the City of Gilroy Clerk’s Office.
Candidate filing updates below for the November 3 ballot. Filing period to run for office is July 13-August 7. GUSD Trustee candidates go through the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office to get on the ballot and Gilroy City Council candidates go through the City of Gilroy Clerk’s Office. #HiltonForCouncil #Gilroy #HiltonForGilroy #DowntownGilroy #GilroyBPAC
As of August 10 7am-
Gilroy City Council D4- Fred Tovar (qualified), Diana Sanchez Bentz (qualified)
Gilroy City Council D5- Tom Cline (qualified), Joseph Garcia (qualified), Christina Tovar (qualified)
Gilroy City Council D6- Elizabeth Bracco (qualified), Rebeca Armendariz (qualified), Brad Starks (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A1- Gabriela Kim (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A3- Michelle Nelson (qualified), Dan Harney (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A4- Trevor Scott Van Laar (qualified), Jane Stevens (qualified)
GUSD Trustee A7- Tuyen Fiack (qualified)
Gavilan College Trustee A3- Gabriel Gutierrez (qualified), Shahida S. Merchant (qualified)
Santa Clara Valley Water D1- Jimmy Forbis (qualified), John Lisandro Varela (qualified)
Santa Clara County Board of Education Trustee for A7- Raeena Lari (qualified), Karla Dominguez Vega (qualified)