The 1978 San Jose mayoral election was held to elect the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of San Jose,

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

. It saw an initial election held on June 6, 1978, followed by a

runoff election The two-round system (TRS), also known as runoff voting, second ballot, or ballotage, is a voting method used to elect a single candidate, where voters cast a single vote for their preferred candidate. It generally ensures a majoritarian resul ...

on November 7, 1978 after no candidate managed to obtain a majority in the initial election. The runoff was won by

incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an official, office or position, usually in relation to an election. In an election for president, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the office of president before the election, whether seek ...

mayor

Janet Gray Hayes Janet Gray Hayes (July 12, 1926 – April 21, 2014) was the 60th Mayor#United States, mayor of San Jose, California, elected to two consecutive, four-year terms from 1975 to 1983. She was both the first woman to be elected mayor San Jose, and ...

Candidates

;Advanced to runoff *

, incumbent mayor *Alfredo Garza Jr.,

San Jose city councilor The San Jose City Council, officially San José City Council, is the legislature of the government of the City of San Jose, California. As the Mayor of San Jose, Sam Liccardo casts the 11th vote on matters before the council and acts as chair ...

and candidate for mayor in 1974 ;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 Housing, or more generally, living spaces, refers to the construction and assigned usage of houses or buildings individually or collectively, for the purpose of shelter. Housing ensures that members of society have a place to live, whether it ...

in the city. 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. 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 A city manager is an official appointed as the administrative manager of a city, in a "Mayor–council government" council–manager form of city government. Local officials serving in this position are sometimes referred to as the chief execu ...

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. Garza was believed to have been the main force behind the firing of Tedesco, and Hayes was greatly upset with Tedesco's firing. The election was seen as giving a strong

mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also ...

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. Garza, as a

chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...

(

Mexican-American Mexican Americans ( es, mexicano-estadounidenses, , or ) are Americans of full or partial Mexican heritage. In 2019, Mexican Americans comprised 11.3% of the US population and 61.5% of all Hispanic and Latino Americans. In 2019, 71% of Mexica ...

), 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. Neither the city, nor any other major Californian city, had had a

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

mayor since California obtained statehood in 1850, and this would remain the case until

Ron Gonzales Ronald R. Gonzales (born 1951) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party, who served as the 63rd Mayor of San Jose, California. Gonzales was the first Hispanic to serve as Mayor of San Jose since 1845. Early life Gonzales ...

was elected mayor of San Jose in 1998. Hayes was among very few female mayors in office at the time in the United States.

Results

General election

Runoff

References

San Jose San Jose

1978 Events January * January 1 – Air India Flight 855, a Boeing 747 passenger jet, crashes off the coast of Bombay, killing 213. * January 5 – Bülent Ecevit, of Republican People's Party, CHP, forms the new government of Turkey (42nd go ...

{{1978 United States elections