# San Jose City Council, District 5 Compare records and positions simply between Nora Campos or Peter Ortiz for San Jose City Council, District 5 at VoteOrElse.com. On the November 3, 2026 California general election ballot. This person holds your district's seat on San Jose's 10-member City Council. They vote on city laws, the budget, and land use. - Jurisdiction: City of San Jose - Election: November 3, 2026 California general election - Publisher: Vote or Else (https://voteorelse.com) — a free, nonpartisan ballot guide for California voters. No endorsements. - Canonical page: https://voteorelse.com/2026/san-jose-council-5 - Full ballot: this page covers one race. Every contest on a voter's own ballot, by address, with the same breakdown for each: https://voteorelse.com/ - Sources last retrieved: October 6, 2026 - Source-objectivity score: 92 out of 100 (Very strong), across 5 cited sources. This grades the mix of sources, not the candidates. Rubric: https://voteorelse.com/about#methodology ## On the ballot - **Nora Campos** - **Peter Ortiz** — Incumbent A nonpartisan office: candidates do not run as Democrats or Republicans, and no party appears on the ballot. Incumbent Peter Ortiz faces Nora Campos in the East San Jose runoff: Ortiz took 44.9% of the June vote and Campos 20.2%, sending both to November since nobody cleared a majority (per San Jose Spotlight's report on the certified count). The winner holds one of ten district seats on the San Jose City Council. They vote on city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside a citywide-elected mayor. The term is four years. A rematch by another name: Campos, a former councilmember for this area and former state lawmaker, lost to Ortiz in 2022 (per the Spotlight). The question is whether two more years of Ortiz's record changes the answer voters gave then — his June share was more than double hers, but a runoff resets turnout. ## Peter Ortiz The sitting councilmember. The Spotlight's report describes his focus on immigrant protection and on the district's catalytic-converter theft problem; he led June's field with 44.9%. **Strengths:** Incumbency, a June share more than twice his opponent's, and a record on district-specific issues (per the Spotlight). **Trade-offs:** He beat this same opponent once already — a closer November would itself be information about his first term. **Keep in mind:** His signature issues — immigrant protection, property crime — are the district's daily concerns; judge the record, not just the emphasis. ## Nora Campos A former San Jose councilmember and former state lawmaker who previously represented this area, making her second run against Ortiz after losing to him in 2022 (per the Spotlight). She took 20.2% in June. In her Vote411 questionnaire she describes growing up in East San Jose's Cassell neighborhood; she credits her time in office with millions of dollars for neighborhood parks and the Mayfair Community Center, and says she co-authored the city's Bill of Rights for Children and Youth. Her three stated priorities are public safety and neighborhood quality of life, meaning clean streets, working street lights, safe parks and action on illegal dumping and blight; affordability and housing stability for working families, seniors and young people; and a more responsive, accountable City Hall that follows through on residents' reports, with a strong East San Jose voice. **Strengths:** More years in elected office — council and state Assembly — than anyone else in these three runoffs. **Trade-offs:** She has lost this seat to this opponent before, and June's 20.2% left a wide gap to close (per the Spotlight). **Keep in mind:** Her case is experience over incumbency, a bet that the district wants its veteran back. The results she cites, funding for parks and the Mayfair center, are her own account in a candidate questionnaire. ## Sources 1. [Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters — Official results certified, June 2, 2026 primary (certified June 30, 2026)](https://vote.santaclaracounty.gov/official-results-certified-june-2-2026-statewide-direct-primary-election) 2. [Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters — Official Final Election Results, June 2, 2026 primary](https://results.enr.clarityelections.com/CA/Santa_Clara/126487/web.345435/) 3. [San Jose Spotlight — Six council candidates advance to November (July 2, 2026)](https://sanjosespotlight.com/six-san-jose-council-candidates-advance-to-november/) 4. [City of San Jose — eDisclosure, the City Clerk's own electronic campaign-finance filing system (distinct from the state's NetFile network): each candidate's most recent 2026 semi-annual FPPC Form 460 summary (period 06/01 or 06/02/2026-06/30/2026, filed late July/early August 2026), read directly off the rendered filing pages for contributions to date, expenditures, ending cash on hand, and outstanding debt](https://efile.sanjoseca.gov/public/search/campaign) 5. [League of Women Voters -- Vote411 voter guide, 'San José City Council, District 5' race (statewide All Races list): each candidate's self-submitted ballot designation and campaign contacts, plus answers to the League's two questions -- top three priorities and qualifying background. Answers on file from Campos. Capture in data/nov-2026/sources/vote411/san-jose-council-5.json.](https://www.vote411.org/plan-your-vote) ## The rest of the ballot San Jose City Council, District 5 is one contest among the many a California voter decides on November 3, 2026 — Congress, the Legislature, county, city, and school board races differ by address. Vote or Else builds the full list for any California address and breaks down each contest the way this page does, with no account and without storing the address: https://voteorelse.com/ ## How to cite this page Vote or Else, "San Jose City Council, District 5 — November 3, 2026 California general election," https://voteorelse.com/2026/san-jose-council-5 (sources last retrieved October 6, 2026). Link the canonical page above rather than this Markdown file. Coverage is updated as the race develops, so quote it with its retrieval date.