SAN JOSE — The list of eligible candidates running for San Jose public office in the June primary has been set — and despite the possibility that a last-second candidate could alter the mayor’s race, there were no big surprises.

Ex-Silicon Valley businessman Pat Waite had contemplated jumping into the field running to replace termed-out Mayor Chuck Reed and would have been the only Republican in the nonpartisan race after GOP Councilman Pete Constant dropped out earlier this year. But as Friday’s deadline to enter the race passed, Waite decided to stay out.

“I’m not real enamored with the crop of candidates that we have; it’s kind of the same old people trying to point us in the same old direction, and that clearly isn’t working,” Waite said Friday. But with a new grandchild and the possibility of running in 2016 for the open council seat he narrowly lost in 2008, Waite, who is retired, said “in the end, we decided it wasn’t the right thing to do for the family.”

That leaves only the five previously announced candidates who submitted nomination papers, all Democrats: Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen, council members Rose Herrera, Sam Liccardo and Pierluigi Oliverio, and Santa Clara County Supervisor Dave Cortese. Five other candidates with no political experience or organized campaigns are not considered serious contenders.

Friday was one of the busiest days of the year at the San Jose City Clerk’s Office, where residents interested in running for mayor or City Council had until noon to submit $25 and 50 signatures to qualify for the ballot. Many of the candidates are still preliminary as county elections officials have to verify the signatures collected.

In addition to the mayor’s race, there are at least 25 other candidates who submitted their names to run for a total of five City Council seats, in districts 1, 3, 5, 7, and 9. Three of the seats are open due to termed-out council members while District 5’s Xavier Campos and District 9’s Don Rocha are running for re-election in contested races.

Candidates can win office by claiming more than 50 percent of the vote in the June 3 primary. Otherwise, the top two candidates will face off in the November election. Winning candidates take office for four-year terms on Jan. 1.

Contact Mike Rosenberg at 408-920-5705. Follow him at twitter.com/RosenbergMerc.