City of San Jose · Statewide General Election
San Jose City Council, District 7
Draft candidate list — early preview until the state’s official list publishes on August 27, 2026.
This is one contest. Enter your address to see every race on your November ballot, and keep track of your picks.
On the ballot
- Van Le
- Bien Doan — Incumbent
This person holds your district's seat on San Jose's 10-member City Council: city laws, the budget, and land use.
Incumbent Bien Doan faces Van Le in the District 7 runoff: Doan took 47.8% of the June vote — just short of the majority that would have ended the race — and Le 22.4% (per San Jose Spotlight's report on the certified count).
The winner holds one of ten district seats on the San Jose City Council: city ordinances, the budget, and land use, alongside a citywide-elected mayor. A four-year term.
Both candidates are prominent in the district's Vietnamese community (per the Spotlight), so the contest turns on record and role rather than identity: a sitting councilmember running on public safety against a school-district trustee making her fourth run at the seat. Doan needs only a sliver beyond his June share; Le needs nearly everyone who voted against him.
Bien Doan
The sitting councilmember, prominent in San Jose's Vietnamese community, with an emphasis on public-safety improvements (per the Spotlight). His 47.8% in June led the field.
Strengths
Incumbency and a June share within a few points of winning outright (per the Spotlight).
Trade-offs
A majority of June voters still chose someone else; runoffs consolidate opposition as often as they ratify leaders.
Keep in mind
Public safety is his stated center of gravity — evaluate what changed in the district on his watch, not the emphasis alone.
Van Le
An East Side Union High School District trustee and a three-time previous candidate for this seat (per the Spotlight). She took 22.4% in June.
Strengths
Elected experience on a major school board and demonstrated persistence — this is her fourth campaign for the seat (per the Spotlight).
Trade-offs
Three prior losses for this office, and a June share less than half the incumbent's.
Keep in mind
Repeat candidacies read two ways — commitment to the district, or a ceiling the district has already set; her runoff coalition-building answers which.
Source review: Strong (88/100) · 2 cited sources
Official records anchor this contest, with a narrow source base.
- vote.santaclaracounty.gov (opens in a new tab)Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters — Official results certified, June 2, 2026 primary (certified June 30, 2026)
- sanjosespotlight.com (opens in a new tab)San Jose Spotlight — Six council candidates advance to November (July 2, 2026)
Last updated August 22, 2026.