Review note: Bill Chuan's own campaign site (billchuanformilpitas.com, redirecting to a Wix-hosted page), self-description attributed in text: confirms this is a second consecutive run following 2024, his FPPC filer ID (#1488016), and a brief note that he decided to run again after "further reflection, continued prayers, continued discussions and encouraging support" from community members and family. and Seema Kanani's own campaign site (votekanani.com), self-description attributed in text: her tagline "Collaborate - Advocate - Listen - Lead" and her own pledge, "I refuse to take a single dime from PACs or corporations. Every dollar comes from neighbors like you." may have more bias because they are advocacy voter guides compared to other formal government and nonprofit journalism sources.

milpitas.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Milpitas -- City Clerk Suzanne Guzzetta's certified "Certified List of Candidates for Elective Office in the City of Milpitas, Municipal Election - November 3, 2026" (in SOS randomized-alphabet order, dated Aug. 13, 2026): names all four qualified Mayor candidates ("One (1) 2-Year Term Expiring 2028") and all five qualified City Council candidates ("Two (2) 4-Year Terms, At Large, Expiring 2030"), each with filed ballot designation and qualification date.
milpitas.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Milpitas -- official bilingual "Notice of General Municipal Election, November 3, 2026," signed by City Clerk Suzanne Guzzetta: confirms exactly "One Mayor... full term, two years" and "Two Members of City Council... full term, four years," and cites Elections Code section 10229 as the appointment mechanism if a seat draws no or only one nominee.
milpitas.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Milpitas -- the City Clerk's own "Public Candidate Contact List" for the 2026 election: each candidate's office sought and voluntarily provided email, campaign website, and phone number.
milpitas.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Milpitas -- "Elections" page: states the city's structure directly -- "four councilmembers and one Mayor, all elected at-large," with Council serving 4-year terms and the Mayor 2-year terms.
milpitas.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Milpitas -- "2026 Election" page: confirms the November 3, 2026 date, the Aug. 13, 2026 randomized-alphabet drawing, and lists Mayor Carmen Montano and Councilmembers Garry Barbadillo and Hon Lien as the eligible incumbents for this cycle's seats.
netfile.com (opens in a new tab)City of Milpitas's own NetFile-hosted public campaign-finance portal (aid=MIL), queried directly for all nine 2026 candidates via its own QuickNameSearch and filings/byFiler JSON API (reverse-engineered from the portal's own downloaded JS bundle), with each available Form 460/470 downloaded directly via the portal's own CampaignDocuments/download endpoint. Seema Kanani reported $3,555 in monetary contributions plus a $5,000 self-loan ($8,555 total) against $2,889.03 in expenditures, ending cash $5,665.97. Bill Chuan reported $9,313 in monetary contributions, $500 nonmonetary, and a $1,000 self-loan ($10,813 total) against $864.56 in expenditures, ending cash $9,448.44. Ha Phan filed a Form 470 (a scanned image PDF, read by rendering it to PNG) declaring she does not expect to raise or spend more than $2,000 for the year. The other six candidates have filed only organizing paperwork (Form 410/501), or in Dipak Awasthi's case a Form 410 alone, with no Form 460 on file as of this retrieval.
milpitas.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Milpitas -- "City Council" page: names the current five-member Council -- Mayor Carmen Montano, Vice Mayor Garry Barbadillo, and Councilmembers Evelyn Chua, Hon Lien, and William Lam.
en.wikipedia.org (opens in a new tab)Wikipedia's Milpitas, California article -- 2020 census population (80,273) and council-manager form of government.
milpitas.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Milpitas -- Vice Mayor Garry Barbadillo's own city-hosted biography page: a practicing attorney (J.D., B.A. Political Science, M.P.A.) repeatedly named "Best Attorney" by the Milpitas Post (2015-2019, 2021-2022), a Commissioner starting 2012 before winning a Council seat in 2014, elected Vice Mayor by his colleagues in November 2022, 2018 Milpitas Citizen of the Year, and a member of the Milpitas Chamber of Commerce and Silicon Valley Regional Interoperability Authority boards.
milpitas.gov (opens in a new tab)City of Milpitas -- "Planning Commission" page: lists Dipak Awasthi as a sitting Commissioner with a term expiring December 2027.
milpitasbeat.com (opens in a new tab)The Milpitas Beat -- "Seema Kanani is running for Milpitas City Council" (by Rhoda Jordan Shapiro, Jun. 2, 2026), read in full: confirms her 19 years as a licensed clinical social worker at Kaiser Permanente, SEIU-UHW executive board service, and her housing-affordability, public-safety, and transparency platform.
milpitasbeat.com (opens in a new tab)The Milpitas Beat -- "'I don't give up easily': Bill Chuan announces run for Milpitas City Council" (by Rhoda Jordan Shapiro, Jan. 30, 2026), read in full: confirms his 2019-2024 Planning Commission service (chairing 2022-2024), his Gulf War-era Army service, and his 2024 result (17.06% of the vote, third of six candidates for two seats, behind Evelyn Chua's 29.62% and William Lam's 19.9%).
milpitasbeat.com (opens in a new tab)The Milpitas Beat -- "Dipak Awasthi focused on winning seat on the Milpitas City Council" (by Rhoda Jordan Shapiro, Oct. 2, 2024), read in full: confirms his 1996 immigration from India, his family's decade running a retail market, his multi-commission service, and his fiscal-responsibility platform including opposition to extending Measure J past 2029.
milpitasbeat.com (opens in a new tab)The Milpitas Beat -- "Garry Barbadillo is running for Milpitas City Council" (May 11, 2022), read in full: confirms his move to the U.S. from the Philippines in his late twenties, entry-level jobs before a Santa Clara County courtroom-clerk position, and self-studying for and passing the bar exam in 2008 after his employer twice denied him study leave.
votekanani.com (opens in a new tab)Seema Kanani's own campaign site (votekanani.com), self-description attributed in text: her tagline "Collaborate - Advocate - Listen - Lead" and her own pledge, "I refuse to take a single dime from PACs or corporations. Every dollar comes from neighbors like you."
billchuanformilpitas.com (opens in a new tab)Bill Chuan's own campaign site (billchuanformilpitas.com, redirecting to a Wix-hosted page), self-description attributed in text: confirms this is a second consecutive run following 2024 and his FPPC filer ID (#1488016).

Last updated August 31, 2026.

City of Milpitas

Milpitas City Council

This person would hold one of two open seats on Milpitas's City Council. The council has five members. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use. Milpitas is a Santa Clara County city of about 80,000 people. Milpitas also has a separately elected Mayor. Two other Council seats are not up this cycle. The term is four years. All Council seats, like the Mayor, are elected citywide, not by district.

Five candidates are running for two open Milpitas City Council seats on November 3, 2026. Both seats are elected at large, and incumbent Garry Barbadillo is running. The top two win outright, with no primary or runoff.

This person would hold one of two open seats on Milpitas's five-member City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use in this Santa Clara County city of about 80,000, alongside the separately elected Mayor (a distinct contest on this same ballot) and the other two Council seats. The term is four years. All Council seats, like the Mayor, are elected citywide (at-large) rather than by district.

Both open seats belong to Council members first elected in 2022: Garry Barbadillo, running for reelection here, and Hon Lien, who is not seeking reelection to this seat and is instead a candidate in the separate Mayor's race on this same ballot. The other two Council seats (Evelyn Chua and William Lam, elected 2024) aren't up this cycle.

Seema Kanani

Seema Kanani is a clinical social worker with 19 years at Kaiser Permanente. She runs on housing costs, public safety staffing, infrastructure upkeep, and transparency. She sits on SEIU-UHW's executive board and was a 2023 Kaiser strike captain.

Bill Chuan

Bill Chuan is a military veteran and former Milpitas Planning Commissioner. He runs on public safety, fiscal responsibility, and keeping senior staff. He ran for Council in 2024 and placed third with 17.06% of the vote.

Ha Phan

Ha Jennie Phan's ballot label is "Community Volunteer." They filed no candidate statement, and no news coverage of their campaign was found. Their committee filed a form saying they will not raise or spend more than $2,000.

Dipak Awasthi

Dipak Awasthi moved to Milpitas from India in 1996. He runs on fiscal responsibility and opposes extending Measure J past 2029. This is his third Council run, after losses in 2022 and 2024.

Garry Barbadillo

Garry Barbadillo is the incumbent, elected to Council in 2022, and a working attorney. He runs on fiscal discipline, more police officers, city services, and seniors' rights. He passed the bar exam in 2008 after studying on his own.

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