Every election news item OurGilroy tracks for the November 3, 2026 ballot — local press coverage, candidate announcements, measure updates and radio appearances — newest first. Sourced from the Gilroy Dispatch, Patch and other local outlets, campaign channels, and a daily automated news scan.
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Everyone
Brad Starks (3)
Christina Tovar (7)
Diana Sanchez Bentz (5)
Elizabeth Bracco (4)
Fred Tovar (4)
Joseph Garcia (4)
Rebeca Armendariz (15)
Tom Cline (7)
Measure B — Gilroy hotel tax (TOT… (1)
October 2026
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2026-10-06I was in the Gilroy council chambers in February 2024 when well over 100 people packed the room for a Gaza ceasefire resolution. More than 70 of them lined up to speak. Councilmember Tom Cline didn’t just vote no. He seconded a motion to reject “any and all” ceasefire resolutions. Foreign wars, the council majority […]
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2026-10-02In this week’s edition, as part of our ongoing election coverage the Dispatch will feature candidates for Gilroy City Council District 6.  Candidates in that race are Elizabeth Bracco, Brad Starks and Rebeca Armendariz.  We asked candidates for a short biographical intro and a statement about why they are running and what they hope to […]
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2026-10-02In this week’s edition, as part of our ongoing election coverage the Dispatch will feature candidates for Gilroy City Council District 6.  Candidates in that race are Elizabeth Bracco, Brad Starks and Rebeca Armendariz.  We asked candidates for a short biographical intro and a statement about why they are running and what they hope to […]
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2026-10-02In this week’s edition, as part of our ongoing election coverage the Dispatch will feature candidates for Gilroy City Council District 6.  Candidates in that race are Elizabeth Bracco, Brad Starks and Rebeca Armendariz.  We asked candidates for a short biographical intro and a statement about why they are running and what they hope to […]
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2026-10-01In this week’s edition, as part of our ongoing election coverage the Dispatch will feature candidates for Gilroy City Council District 6.  Candidates in that race are Elizabeth Bracco, Brad Starks and Rebeca Armendariz.  We asked candidates for a short biographical intro and a statement about why they are running and what they hope to […]
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2026-10-01In this week’s edition, as part of our ongoing election coverage the Dispatch will feature candidates for Gilroy City Council District 6.  Candidates in that race are Elizabeth Bracco, Brad Starks and Rebeca Armendariz.  We asked candidates for a short biographical intro and a statement about why they are running and what they hope to […]
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2026-10-01In this week’s edition, as part of our ongoing election coverage the Dispatch will feature candidates for Gilroy City Council District 6.  Candidates in that race are Elizabeth Bracco, Brad Starks and Rebeca Armendariz.  We asked candidates for a short biographical intro and a statement about why they are running and what they hope to […]
September 2026
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2026-09-26A campaign Facebook video promoted her as one of the judges for the 11th Annual Tamal Festival & Car Show, a CARAS-organized downtown Gilroy community event held Sept. 26, 2026.
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2026-09-24Youth Alliance held a nonpartisan candidate forum at South Valley Middle School (7881 Murray Ave.) on Sept. 24, 6-8pm, with young people leading questions to municipal candidates on local priorities including the proposed detention center, the AI data center proposal, and homelessness. Spanish-English interpretation and voter registration were offered. Photos posted by candidates afterward show Brad Starks, Christina Tovar and Joseph Garcia attending with table placards; the organization's own writeup does not list attendees.
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2026-09-24Photographed with a table placard at Youth Alliance's “Engage, Lead & Transform” candidate forum at South Valley Middle School, alongside fellow candidate Joseph Garcia and others.
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2026-09-24The Dispatch's District 5 candidate-profile installment ran Tovar's statement as written by the candidate. A longtime Gilroy resident, accountant and business owner (with her husband, of R.A.C. Services and SynerG Coworking downtown), she emphasizes collaboration, careful resource management, and the insight from her business and nonprofit volunteer experience.
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2026-09-24Photographed with a table placard at Youth Alliance's “Engage, Lead & Transform” candidate forum at South Valley Middle School, alongside fellow candidate Christina Tovar and others.
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2026-09-24The Dispatch's District 5 candidate-profile installment ran Garcia's statement as written by the candidate. A 25-year railroad engineer and father of five who identifies as No Party Preference, he emphasizes independent, pragmatic leadership focused on working families and seniors, protecting the Llagas Subbasin aquifer, and public-safety and infrastructure priorities.
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2026-09-24The Dispatch's District 5 candidate-profile installment ran Cline's statement as written by the candidate. Seeking reelection, he cites the council's work during his term — creating district elections, hiring an Economic Development Director, planning a fourth fire station, and continued street investment — and says he will keep meeting with constituents and securing proper resources for emergency personnel.
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2026-09-24In this week’s edition, as part of our ongoing election coverage the Dispatch will feature candidates for Gilroy City Council District 5 and Gilroy Unified School District Trustee Area 4.  Running for Council District 5 are Joseph Garcia, Christina Tovar and Tom Cline. Candidates for GUSD TA4 are Trevor Scott Van Laar and Jane Stevens.  […]
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2026-09-24In this week’s edition, as part of our ongoing election coverage the Dispatch will feature candidates for Gilroy City Council District 5 and Gilroy Unified School District Trustee Area 4.  Running for Council District 5 are Joseph Garcia, Christina Tovar and Tom Cline. Candidates for GUSD TA4 are Trevor Scott Van Laar and Jane Stevens.  […]
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2026-09-24In this week’s edition, as part of our ongoing election coverage the Dispatch will feature candidates for Gilroy City Council District 5 and Gilroy Unified School District Trustee Area 4.  Running for Council District 5 are Joseph Garcia, Christina Tovar and Tom Cline. Candidates for GUSD TA4 are Trevor Scott Van Laar and Jane Stevens.  […]
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2026-09-22The South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council's published "2026 November Endorsements" page (as of Sept. 22, 2026) lists a sole endorsement of Diana Sanchez Bentz for Gilroy City Council District 4 and a sole endorsement of Rebeca Armendariz for District 6. No District 5 endorsement is listed. Organizational endorsements are reported here as sourced facts; OurGilroy does not endorse candidates.
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2026-09-22The South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council's published 2026 November Endorsements page (as of Sept. 22, 2026) lists a sole endorsement of Diana Sanchez Bentz for Gilroy City Council District 4. Organizational endorsements are reported here as sourced facts; OurGilroy does not endorse candidates.
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2026-09-22The South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council's published 2026 November Endorsements page (as of Sept. 22, 2026) lists a sole endorsement of Rebeca Armendariz for Gilroy City Council District 6. Organizational endorsements are reported here as sourced facts; OurGilroy does not endorse candidates.
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2026-09-18Boys in particular showed "statistically significant" declines in sadness, hopelessness, and suicidal ideation, according to the study.
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2026-09-16The Dispatch says it will publish short bios and statements (as written by the candidates) for all local council and school-board races between now and early October, starting with Council District 4 and GUSD Trustee Area 3. The paper also notes the County will begin mailing vote-by-mail packets by early October, early voting begins October 5, and the registration deadline is October 19.
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2026-09-16The Dispatch's first candidate-profile installment covered District 4, but the paper notes Sanchez Bentz had not submitted a biography or candidate statement for publication as of press time; only Fred Tovar's ran.
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2026-09-16The Dispatch opened its 2026 candidate-profile series with District 4. In his statement, published as written by the candidate, Tovar cites eight years each on the Gilroy City Council and GUSD board, four years on the San José/Evergreen college board and 26 years in higher education (18 at Stanford, then Santa Clara University), and says District 4 “deserves more — more representation, more engagement, more accountability and more solutions.”
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2026-09-15A Dispatch report on the Sept. 14 county press conference marking a federal preliminary injunction that halts construction of the proposed ICE facility on Holsclaw Road quotes Armendariz in her role as chair of the ICE Out of Gilroy Coalition, crediting months of community organizing and urging supporters to stay engaged through local rapid-response networks.
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2026-09-04A letter to the editor from Gilroy resident Michael E. Hingle backs Tom Cline in District 5 and Diana Sanchez Bentz in District 4, and argues Rebeca Armendariz should not hold office while the October 2021 homicides at her family’s property remain unsolved. (Reader letter — the views are the writer’s own.)
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2026-09-04In an editorial, Dispatch publisher Robert Airoldi urges voters to research the candidates, attend forums and check their registration ahead of the October 19 deadline. The paper says it will not endorse: “We won’t tell you which candidate deserves your vote. That’s your decision.”
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2026-09-04Tom Cline needs to be brought back for District 5. Not only has he volunteered for years, but he has also been readily available to Gilroy residents since his election in 2022; if you text him, he will return your call. In District 6, two grieving families in Gilroy still have not gotten closure. The […]
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2026-09-03At its September 3, 2026 Central Committee meeting, the Santa Clara County Democratic Party endorsed Diana Sanchez Bentz (District 4), Christina Tovar (District 5) and Rebeca Armendariz (District 6), per the party's published recap. The same recap lists a YES position on the Gilroy Unified School District facilities bond. Organizational endorsements are reported here as sourced facts; OurGilroy does not endorse candidates.
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2026-09-03At its September 3, 2026 meeting, the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee voted to endorse Diana Sanchez Bentz in the District 4 race, according to the party's published meeting recap. (The party endorsed one candidate in each of Gilroy's three council districts.)
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2026-09-03At its September 3, 2026 meeting, the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee voted to endorse Rebeca Armendariz in the District 6 race, according to the party's published meeting recap. (The party endorsed one candidate in each of Gilroy's three council districts.)
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2026-09-03At its September 3, 2026 meeting, the Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee voted to endorse Christina Tovar in the District 5 race, according to the party's published meeting recap. (The party endorsed one candidate in each of Gilroy's three council districts.)
August 2026
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2026-08-27San José Spotlight's roundup profiles all eight candidates with interviews — the first occupation details for several: Diana Sanchez Bentz (paralegal at Paul Hastings LLP), Brad Starks (product marketing director), Elizabeth Bracco (CFO of Bracco's Towing and Transportation) and Rebeca Armendariz (Movement Building Director at Working Partnerships USA). The article notes only Councilmember Tom Cline is seeking to stay on the council, and that Mayor Greg Bozzo's at-large seat is not up until 2028.
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2026-08-27The Spotlight's profile — the first in-depth coverage of his campaign: Starks, 43, is a product marketing director who has lived in Gilroy for just over a decade. He names cost of living, housing affordability, infrastructure, water, public safety and the city's economic standing as his concerns: “I want to focus on progress that people can actually see in their everyday lives.”
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2026-08-27The Spotlight's profile of the eight-candidate field: Sanchez Bentz, 67, is a Gilroy native, a 40-year paralegal professional at the law firm Paul Hastings LLP, chair of the city's Open Government Commission, and a District 4 resident of more than 30 years. She names infrastructure, poor lighting, conditions at low-income housing such as Alexander Station, and public safety among her priorities: “If we are able to increase public safety personnel and get mental health, drug abuse services, we can hopefully reduce the number of people who come to Gilroy for drugs and end up on the streets.”
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2026-08-27The Spotlight's profile: Armendariz, 51, is Movement Building Director at Working Partnerships USA. Her campaign focuses on supporting youth, renters and homeless residents, and on opposing the proposed federal immigration detention facility on Holsclaw Road just outside Gilroy — she has been an organizer in the “ICE OUT” rallies; the article notes construction at the site is on hold pending legal proceedings in early September.
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2026-08-27The Spotlight's profile describes Tovar, 57, as a higher-education professional and college admissions consultant with stints at Stanford, Santa Clara and San Jose State universities, who moved from District 2 into District 4 earlier this year to help what he calls an “underrepresented” area. His platform centers on accountability, public safety, economic development and responsible growth: “District 4 deserves more, and I want residents to know they have someone who will show up, listen, and follow through.”
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2026-08-27The Spotlight's profile: Tovar, 47, is a 30-year Gilroy resident with finance and accounting degrees from San Jose State and the University of Maryland Global Campus, and owner of property-maintenance company R.A.C. Services. (The article identifies her as the wife of Fred Tovar's cousin Raul Tovar.) Her priorities are fiscal responsibility, transparency, easier zoning for businesses and a livelier downtown: “My biggest concern is that we’re standing still while other cities are moving forward.”
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2026-08-27The Spotlight's profile: Garcia, 50, is a Santa Cruz Beach Train locomotive engineer who moved to Gilroy six years ago. His policy focus is protecting older adults, zoning reform, neighborhood infrastructure investment and supporting working families and small businesses: “I am a working father living in District 5 who understands what everyday families and seniors face when balancing household budgets.”
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2026-08-27The Spotlight's profile: Bracco, 31, is chief financial officer of Bracco's Towing and Transportation, studied public policy with a criminal-justice focus at Jessup University, and is a former Gilroy police intern. She wants better communication between the council and law enforcement, a public park near a Las Animas Avenue housing development, and youth-oriented amenities: “I am not my father — the decision to run for District 6 and my campaign is mine alone.”
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2026-08-27The Spotlight's profile: Cline, 65, is president of Cline Glass Contractors in Fremont and a Gilroy resident of nearly four decades. His priorities include tax revenue for more police patrols and staffing the new Santa Teresa Fire Station (citing the forthcoming Amazon Web Services data center as a boost to the general fund) and pursuing a Sharks Ice facility at Gilroy Sports Park with the San Jose Sharks.
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2026-08-15A bilingual meet-and-greet with Christina Tovar: Saturday, August 15 from 10:00am to noon at Miller Park, 7851 Carmel St. Everyone is welcome — “come meet Christina, share your ideas, ask questions” — with light snacks and beverages provided. Announced on her campaign Facebook page August 10.
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2026-08-12With the nomination period closed, the Dispatch rounds up the full November 3 field — two candidates in District 4, three each in Districts 5 and 6, with headshots for all eight. Also noted: Councilmember Dion Bracco is retiring after 21 years (and hopes the city remodels Wheeler Auditorium into a community center rather than demolishing it), Councilmember Carol Marques is not seeking reelection, GUSD Trustee Areas 1, 3, 4 and 7 are on the ballot, and Valley Water District 1 pits incumbent John Varela against former Gilroy City Administrator Jimmy Forbis.
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2026-08-12The Dispatch's wrap-up of the closed nomination period notes she is the daughter of Councilmember Dion Bracco, who is retiring after 21 years on the council. Her candidate headshot ran with the story.
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2026-08-05In a widely shared Facebook video (600+ reactions) she films herself taking the candidate’s oath at the City Clerk’s office: “I am officially a ‘qualified’ candidate today! … I guess it’s because I am taking an oath to represent my community.” The City Clerk’s table records her qualification on August 6.
July 2026
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2026-07-29Her campaign Facebook page posted photos from a Workers Rights / Know Your Rights training on July 29: “Ended the day at a Workers Rights/Know your rights training with these powerful dedicated women!”
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2026-07-22She sat for an interview on KKUP 91.5 FM’s Queer Time program, aired July 22. Neighbors shared the listen-back instructions on Nextdoor (kkup.org → schedule → July 22 broadcast).
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2026-07-22Her campaign launch was held Wednesday, July 22 at 6:00pm on the patio at the Old City Hall Restaurant, 7400 Monterey St. (invitation-only, per the campaign's flyer). Attendees posting on Facebook described a well-attended evening, with photos of her speaking from the podium in front of campaign banners.
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2026-07-22The Dispatch's roundup of the qualifying period: seven council candidates so far across Districts 4, 5 and 6, plus the GUSD trustee races (Areas 1, 3, 4, 7), the Valley Water District 1 seat, and the city's hotel-tax measure on the same ballot.
June 2026
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2026-06-12In a letter to the Gilroy Dispatch, Councilmember Tom Cline announced he will run for the new District 5 council seat in November, citing district elections, the Economic Development Department, a fourth fire station and street maintenance among the council's accomplishments during his term.
February 2026
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2026-02-19Coverage of the proposal: current 9% rate unchanged since 1983, county average about 12%, and revenue potential rising from $1.8M to as much as $2.6M a year.
November 2024
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2024-11-05Running for a third term in the November 2024 at-large election, Tovar finished fourth for three seats, about 400 votes behind Kelly Ramirez. Zach Hilton, Terence Fugazzi and Ramirez won the seats.
November 2022
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2022-11-28Organizers submitted 6,375 signatures in October 2022, but the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters determined the petition was insufficient after a random sample of 500 signatures found only 383 valid. The recall never went to a vote, and Armendariz served out her term through 2024.
October 2022
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2022-10-03At a contentious October 3, 2022 meeting, a council majority (Mayor Blankley and Councilmembers Dion Bracco, Leroe-Muñoz, Marques and Fred Tovar) directed the mayor to draft a formal resignation request if the recall petition gathered enough signatures. Armendariz said she would not resign: "I didn't ask for this recall, just like I didn't ask for that party."
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October 2022The Santa Clara County Democratic Party, on a resolution written by then-Councilmember Zach Hilton and others, withdrew its endorsement of Tovar, stating his record was in conflict with the party's platform. Tovar said attacks on his record were unfair: "I'm trying to represent the entire community."
August 2022
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2022-08-22The family of Jesse Sanchez, one of the men shot at the party who later died, filed a wrongful-death suit in Santa Clara County Superior Court naming Rebeca, Augustina and Domingo Armendariz along with the City of Gilroy as defendants.
May 2022
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2022-05-16Recall organizers served Armendariz with a notice of intent to recall. Proponents needed signatures from 20% of Gilroy's registered voters (at least 6,217) to force a recall election.
April 2022
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April 2022An administrative investigation by the Hanson Bridgett law firm, released in mid-April 2022, concluded Armendariz violated several city ordinances in helping organize the party, including failing to obtain a permit and hosting an event where underage drinking occurred. The city issued her 10 citations; her attorney appealed them.
October 2021
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2021-10-30Two people were shot and killed and two others injured at a Halloween party at Armendariz's Gilroy residence. She was later cited by the city in connection with the event.
News items are collected from public coverage and campaign channels and refreshed daily; items badged “auto-detected” were found by an automated feed scan and may not have been editorially reviewed yet. OurGilroy does not endorse candidates or measures. Spot a story we missed? Let us know.