1998 San Jose mayoral election

The 1998 San Jose mayoral election was held on June 2 and November 3, 1998, to elect the Mayor of San Jose, California. It saw the election of Ron Gonzales.

1998 San Jose mayoral election

June 2, 1998 (first round) November 3, 1998 (runoff)
Turnout	40.05% (first round) 56.97% (runoff)
Candidate Ron Gonzales Patricia Dando Kathy Chavez Napoli Party Democratic Nonpartisan Nonpartisan First-round vote 55,699 46,097 14,220 First-round percentage 41.61% 34.44% 10.62% Second-round vote 93,586 89,293 Second-round percentage 47.31% 45.14%
Mayor before election Susan Hammer Democratic Elected mayor Ron Gonzales Democratic

Incumbent mayor Susan Hammer was term limited.

Because no candidate managed to receive a majority of the vote in the initial round of the election, a runoff election was held between the first round's top-two finishers.

Candidates

Advanced to runoff

• Patricia Dando, San Jose city councilor
• Ron Gonzales, Santa Clara County supervisor

Eliminated in first round

• Bill Chew, candidate for mayor in 1990 and 1994
• Kathy Napoli, businesswoman

Results

First round

First round results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ron Gonzales	55,699	41.61
	Nonpartisan	Patricia Dando	46,097	34.44
	Nonpartisan	Kathy Chavez Napoli	14,220	10.62
	Nonpartisan	Bill Chew	5,462	4.08
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	12,374	9.25
Total votes			133,852
Turnout			40.05

Runoff results

Party		Candidate	Votes	%
	Democratic	Ron Gonzales	93,586	47.31
	Nonpartisan	Patricia Dando	89,293	45.14
	Nonpartisan	Write-in	14,935	7.55
Total votes			197,814
Turnout			56.97