The primary election is 10 months away, but there is already a long list of people who have filed paperwork to run for mayor of San Jose. So far, almost half the city council is officially on that list.
Most of those on this list are pretty much aligned with Mayor Chuck Reed, so it will be interesting to see if the mayor endorses anyone in the race.
Sam Liccardo is the latest councilman to throw his hat in the race. Liccardo walked into the city clerk's office on Friday.
“We filed to open a campaign committee to begin the first steps of exploring a run for mayor,” Liccardo said.
So far, nine people have filed similar paperwork, including councilmembers Pete Constant and Madison Nguyen.
Pierluigi Oliverio told NBC Bay Area he will file soon. And Rose Herrera said she will likely run as well.
Five other people have also filed, mostly perennial candidates.
“Half the city council is running for mayor, and the other half is probably thinking about it,” said NBC Bay Area political analyst Larry Gerston.
Gerston said the election will pin those who support Mayor Reed's policies against each other.
“Pension reform will continue to be an issue, no question about it,” Gerston said. “Dealing with morale of civil service employees, particularly police and fire, will be a huge issue."
The police union has already promised a fight against Liccardo and others who pushed for pension reform.
How expensive will that fight be? It only costs $25 to run for mayor, but if you want to win, one consultant told NBC Bay Area, if you can't raise $500,000 for the primary, maybe you shouldn't bother running.
Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese told NBC Bay Area he is actively and aggressively putting things together for his run for mayor. Cortese would have the full backing of the political machine called Labor.
The primary election is June 3, 2014.
Follow Damian Trujillo on Twitter: @NewsDamian
