Politics

Local and regional representatives and public officials held an early 100th birthday celebration last week for South Valley political icon, Gilroy Hall of Famer and longtime farmer Sig Sanchez.

Rep. Zoe Lofgren was front and center at the opening session of the impeachment trial of President Donald Trump, arguing for a motion for the Senate to subpoena new evidence in the case against the President. Lofgren, whose 19th Congressional District includes Morgan Hill, San...

Longtime Gilroy City Councilmember Dion Bracco announced his candidacy for mayor on May 21. Bracco is the first to declare his run for the mayor’s seat that will be vacated by Roland Velasco, who announced in January that he would not be seeking re-election in...

Neil Kitchens—a Prunedale resident who ran unsuccessfully against Robert Rivas in the 2018 race for state assembly—pleaded guilty to felony election fraud on election day 2020, according to authorities.

The official March 3 Primary Election Day is more than a week away, but vote-by-mail ballots are already piling up at the Santa Clara County board of elections. Some voting centers will be open for business on Saturday, Feb. 22. This year, for the first...

The Gilroy City Council on Feb. 26 rejected a proposed resolution calling for an Israel-Gaza ceasefire.  The council’s vote followed more than an hour of public comments presented by more than 70 people in the audience who spoke passionately about whether a local resolution on...

Top city officials in Gilroy have begun a campaign to build public support for a sales tax increase in 2020. Mayor Roland Velasco, Police Chief Scot Smithee, Interim Fire Chief Jeff Clet and City Administrator Gabriel Gonzalez all signed an open letter posted online Sept....

Local slow-growth advocates and environmentalists chalked up a win in the Nov. 3 San Benito County election as Measure N—which would create the Strada Verde Specific Plan—appears headed for a resounding defeat.

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., sentenced Mariposa Castro, of Gilroy, to 45 days in jail Feb. 23 for her participation in the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Castro, also known as Imelda Castro, was also ordered to pay a $5,000...

Longtime congresswoman Zoe Lofgren is locked in a contentious battle with Muwekma Ohlone tribal leader Charlene Nijmeh and former San Benito County Supervisor Peter Hernandez that will be decided in November, when the two highest primary vote getters face off. The normally routine business of...