The victory of a pro-labor candidate in the San Jose council race has tipped the balance of power in the divided city.
The last few years of San Jose politics saw one closely fought vote after another, and all the fighting has made for some tense council sessions.
Most of those votes have split the 11-member city council along a 6-5 divide, with six pro-business council members holding a narrow majority over a five-member pro-labor block.
But that math has now been reversed.
“My hope is that the council won’t continue to be a divided council,” said labor-friendly candidate David Cohen, who just won in the race for the city’s District 4 seat and beat out pro-business incumbent Lan Diep.
Now Cohen’s vote could prove decisive as the council prepares to take on a range of hot button issues, including housing policy and a number of development projects.
But Cohen hopes his victory could also bring about something else - a shift in city politics toward more collaboration across the divide.
“Because a group that used to be a majority of six now finds themselves in the minority, there will have to be compromise, for more people in the council to come to a winning position,” Cohen said.
Feeling less optimistic though is outgoing Councilmember Johnny Khamis, who worries that with the council’s new labor-friendly majority, San Jose’s business community won’t have much of a voice in city politics.
“If business doesn’t have a good environment, then we can’t employ people,” Khamis said. “And that’s the real worry.”