GILROYAfter three weeks of counting ballots in a good race against incumbent Mayor Marie Blankley, Greg Bozzo has declared victory in his bid to take Gilroy to the highest spot.
The declaration comes after an especially close race during which Blankley initially led by a narrow margin – at one point by just 12 votes – before Bozzo built a gradual, if narrow, lead. Wednesday morning's count showed his lead at 210 votes, with an estimated 2,500 votes remaining across Santa Clara County.
“When you look at the collective experiences of the people of Gilroy, we have the ability to finally solve the problems that have dogged us for years, and I believe that now more than ever,” Bozzo said.
In the Gilroy mayoral race, incumbent Blankley, who ran along with her six years of experience as a city council member and mayor in addition to her expertise as an accountant, ran against landscape contractor Bozzo. Bozzo criticized the present city government and called for greater cooperation between officials and the population.
Bozzo believes the outcomes are evidence that Gilroy residents want change. Of the 4 incumbents running in Gilroy this 12 months — Blankley and three city council members — just one city council member, Zach Hilton, was capable of retain his seat, in keeping with current results.
“Gilroy has so much more potential than it currently realizes, and that’s why (Gilroy residents) are voting for change,” Bozzo said.
Bozzo said his first priority upon taking office might be improving customer support at City Hall and “reviewing and renewing” Gilroy’s goals in collaboration with residents and the City Council. He said he would also prioritize solutions for housing, economic development and the reintroduction of a “reimagined” garlic festival. Although the Garlic Festival just isn’t hosted by the town of Gilroy, Bozzo has argued that the town can play a job in facilitating its return.
Blankley didn’t immediately reply to a request for comment.
However, in a conversation earlier this month, Blankley pointed to negative promoting campaigns to elucidate the tight margin. She won her 2018 city council election with hundreds of votes and won her mayoral seat in 2020 with greater than twice as many votes as her competitor.
This election cycle has seen a flood of negative ads and mailers, lots of which were sponsored by Building Tomorrow, a committee with ties to developer Ten South, which is currently suing the town over a Builder's Remedy project. According to recent filings, Building Tomorrow spent $51,750 on Blankley and $11,500 on supporting Bozzo.
With greater than 99% of all votes counted within the county as of Wednesday morning, in keeping with a Mercury News evaluation, the election won't be officially certified until early next month. After certification, the mayor and city council might be sworn in on December ninth.
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