The 1974 San Jose mayoral election was held to elect the mayor of San Jose, California. It saw an initial election held on June 4, 1974, followed by a runoff election on November 5, 1974 after no candidate managed to obtain a majority in the initial election. The runoff was won by Janet Gray Hayes, who became the first female mayor of the city, making San Jose the first United States city of more than 500,000 residents to elect a female mayor.[3][4][5]
Alfredo Garza Jr., San Jose city councilor since 1971[7]
Paul Moore
Robbie Robertson
Peter B. Venuto
Campaign
San Jose was considered to be the fastest growing city in California at the time the election took place.[6]
The runoff campaign was regarded as very contentious and negative.[6]
Collins initially accused Hayes of being sacred to debate him face-to-face. However, when the League of Women Voters attempted to organize televised debates between the two candidates during the runoff campaign, Collins refused to participate in any debate which featured a black or Mexican-American panelist. When he was accused of racism for this, Collins denied it, giving the excuse that he only did not one to do so because he believed questions that would be "prejudiced " against him might be asked by such a panelist, since claimed that he had once arrested a community leader of one of those two ethnic groups.[6]
During the campaign, Collins alleged that Hayes had voted in favor of a developer's project after receiving a $500 campaign contribution the developer, accusing her of having had a conflict of interest.[6] Despite him trying to tie her to developers, local developers were reported to actually have unfavorable opinions of both Hayes and Collins. Developers reportedly felt that Collins did not have a grasp on the concerns developers had about strict city controls over development. Developers also were unhappy with the position that Hayes had staked out in favor of controlled growth in the city.[6]
Collins had served 38 years on the city's police force, and his only previous experience in politics was an unsuccessful effort he had made, in partnership with downtown businessmen and real estate interests, to pressure the San Jose City Council to appoint him the city's police chief after Ray Blackmore retired.[6]
1974 1974 in film June 1974 1974 Eastern Suburbs season List of elections in 1974 1974 Washington Redskins season 1974 World Series of Poker 1974 Super Outbreak January 1974 1974–75 Bundesliga July 1974 1974 FIFA World Cup 1974 Brisbane flood December 1974 1974 Illinois elections 1974 Massachusetts elections 1974–75 NFL playoffs 1974 Tennessee Volunteers football team 1974 Úrvalsdeild 1974–75 Mersin İdmanyurdu season 1974 Pittsburgh Steelers season 1974 Pacific hurricane season NASL Final 1974 Boxing at the 1974 Asian Games 1974 United States gubernatorial elections 1974 Yugoslav Const…
itution 1974 Pacific typhoon season 1974–75 Primeira Divisão 1974–75 Divizia A 1974 Connecticut Huskies football team 1974 Los Angeles Dodgers season 1974 WANFL season EuroBasket Women 1974 Cycling at the 1974 Asian Games 1974–75 Nationalliga A 1974 NHL amateur draft 1974–75 FA Cup 1974–75 Scottish Cup 1974–1979 Labour government 1974 U.S. Open (golf) 1974 Scheldeprijs 1974–75 2. Bundesliga Wrestling at the 1974 Asian Games 1974 State of the Union Address 1974 Atlanta Falcons season Tennis at the 1974 Asian Games 1974 NHL expansion draft 1974–75 Eredivisie 1974 Miami Dolphins season 1974 Atlantic hurricane season 1974–75 La Liga 1974 NSWRFL season Kentucky Route 1974 1974 in the United States Philadelphia Wings (1974–1975) 1974–75 NHL transactions 1974–75 New York Islanders season 1974 NAIA basketball tournament Swimming at the 1974 Asian Games 1974–75 Los Angeles Kings season 1974 Los Angeles Rams season 1974 Buffalo Bills season 1974 Miami Redskins football team 1974 Milan–San Remo 1974–75 A Group List of statutory instruments of the United Kingdom, 1974 1974 BYU Cougars football team 1974 New York Mets season 1974 Denver Broncos season List of Span