In the Nov. 5 election for three seats on the Gilroy City Council, incumbent Zach Hilton holds a steady lead among the six candidates, according to data from the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters website.
Two other incumbents running for reelection—Fred Tovar and Rebeca Armendariz—have not secured enough votes to crack the top three ballot recipients who will be sworn in as council members early next year.
As of 12:15am Nov. 6, a total of 31,915 Gilroy voters’ ballots had been counted in the city council race, the registrar’s site says.
Hilton leads the field with 6,497 votes, or 20.36%, according to the registrar’s site. Terence Fugazzi is in second place, with 6,331 votes or 19.84%; and Kelly Ramirez holds third place with 5,779 or 18.11%.
Voters in the Gilroy City Council race could choose up to three candidates for the election for the seats held by Council members Hilton, Tovar and Armendariz.
Rounding out the rest of the field are Tovar, with 5,259 votes or 16.48%; Stefanie Elle with 4,755 or 14.9%; and Armendariz with 3,294 votes or 10.32 percent.
Hilton was first elected to the city council in 2020. He said on Nov. 5 that he owes his presumptive victory in the 2024 election to maintaining “the same simple narrative” as a council member and city commissioner in recent years.
That narrative is “a liveable Gilroy for all, everybody working, everybody gets a little bit (and) we leave nobody behind.”
He added in a statement, “Whether it is accomplishments we made in active transportation, safe routes to school, welcoming new businesses that allow us to grow as a community, housing for all, and safe spaces for youth, the role my office plays in the community makes me proud each day.”
Fugazzi said he is looking forward to being seated on the city council and getting ready to start tackling Gilroy’s challenges—namely those related to the budget. Fugazzi is a small business owner who has lived in Gilroy for about 11 years.
He has not run for political office prior to the Nov. 5 election.
“I think the people in Gilroy have pretty much spoken—they want somebody to bring them together and they want some change,” Fugazzi said. “I have a big responsibility; it’s a huge responsibility that I have the trust of so many people.”
He added that with the ongoing fiscal dilemmas that Gilroy faces—particularly related to public safety—he will focus as a council member on hearing all sides and try to “figure out how we can try to get rid of some of the division, which is one of the reasons I ran.”
Ramirez, a 49-year Gilroy resident, is a city planning commissioner and has served on the Gilroy Garlic Festival Board of Directors. She is a former teacher and the current president of the Gilroy Rotary Club.
“I’m just really proud to be elected, proud of the campaign we ran—a nice, clean, honest campaign—and I look forward to representing the entire community,” Ramirez said.
Even Ten South throwing gobs of money didn’t save Tovar and Armendariz from their negative history.