San Jose Mayor Is Stable After Mild Stroke

Mayor Ron Gonzales probably will remain hospitalized until Friday or Saturday after having a mild stroke during his State of the City address Wednesday.

Leslie Kelsay, assistant administrator at San Jose Medical Center, said Thursday that the mayor’s condition remained fair. She characterized the stroke as “extremely mild” and said his condition was “extremely stable.”

Vice Mayor Pat Dando said she and the city manager of San Jose, the 11th-largest city in the United States, would assume mayoral responsibilities through next week. Gonzales is expected to operate on a reduced schedule for several weeks.

It’s unclear whether Gonzales will make the scheduled lobbying trip to Washington in February, chief of staff Rebecca Dishotsky said.

Gonzales, 52, was diagnosed with bleeding in the lower center portion of his brain but showed no signs of paralysis or physical weakness, Kelsay said. Relatives who visited him Thursday morning said he was tired but lucid, and his speech was clear.

“He is very alert,” said Bob Gonzales, the mayor’s brother. “I think he’s ready to come back and finish his speech.”

Bob Gonzales and his mother, who attended the annual State of the City event Wednesday evening, said they suspected something was wrong within 10 minutes of the start of the speech. Gonzales, a nonsmoker who exercises regularly, stumbled while walking toward a podium and had difficulty reading a TelePrompTer.

Gonzales suffered a “hemorrhagic” stroke, or bleeding in the brain, which accounts for 15% of all strokes. They are more likely to be fatal than the more common “embolic” stroke, caused by blood clots in the brain.