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.
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.