2022 was most expensive election campaign ever in San Jose, but numbers don’t reveal all

CAMPAIGN FUNDING FLOODED into San Jose elections in 2022, making that cycle the most expensive in city history.

A report compiled by transparency watchdog Maplight found mayoral candidates and individuals vying for five San Jose City Council seats raised more than $7 million collectively in 2022, an all-time high. That amount omits independent expenditures, which spent exorbitantly in the same elections.