Less than four weeks before Election Day, Santa Clara's mayoral race has picked up a campaign finance dispute. Councilmember Suds Jain filed a complaint on Oct. 5 asking City Attorney Glen Googins to examine whether former Councilmember Kathy Watanabe's mayoral campaign broke the city's contribution limits, San José Spotlight reported.
What the complaint says
Santa Clara caps individual contributions at $760 for candidates who agree to the city's voluntary spending limits and $380 for those who do not. Jain says Watanabe has not accepted the limits, so the lower cap applies. Her July filing, according to the complaint, listed $500 each from Paul Larson and Michael McWalter. It showed a $220 refund to Larson but none to McWalter, and Jain said he found no record of one in later filings either. He also alleges other errors involving cash payments and expenditures, and asks the city attorney to look for further irregularities. Jain told San José Spotlight he was surprised at how careless the filings were for someone who has run for office many times.
Watanabe's explanation
Watanabe said Larson and McWalter, who are married, gave $1,000 together through the online fundraising platform Zeffy when she launched her run. She said the campaign sent the couple a single refund check, came up $20 short because of a math mistake, and then mailed Larson a separate $20 check. She said it was her treasurer's first time filing disclosure forms, that the campaign closed its Zeffy account after finding the problem, and that it has filed an amended report. She added that she is willing to talk with the city attorney and is not trying to get around the rules. Googins was not available for comment, the Spotlight reported.
The race
Watanabe was on the council in 2024 when it adopted the voluntary limits, which are set at $55,890 for citywide races and $29,590 for district races. She is one of six candidates seeking to succeed term-limited Mayor Lisa Gillmor, along with Armando "Gary" Ferraris, Karen Hardy, David Kertes, Kevin Park and Mike Wiltberger, according to Hoodline. Ballots are due by Nov. 3.