San Jose Spotlight: Details of Jim Zito’s divorce become campaign issue in race for San Jose council

San Jose City Council candidate Jim Zito controlled nearly every aspect of his ex-wife’s life, from the temperature in their home to chores, finances and even how much toilet paper the family used, court documents reviewed by San José Spotlight show.

Zito and his ex-wife, Zoe Bizzell, married in 1991, lived in the Evergreen suburbs as he worked in tech and served on the San Jose Planning Commission and Bizzell raised their three children. But behind closed doors, the divorce records show Zito took control of everything during their 16-year marriage. According to Bizzell’s declaration, she was forced to get permission to leave the house, fill out a mileage logbook and save receipts from purchases for him to highlight and review. She was restricted on how often she could buy gas and needed approval to buy essential items for the kids, even underwear.

Zito declined comment Tuesday, but said he filed a declaration to the court responding to the claims in the divorce filings. Zito didn’t have a copy of the document and it was not immediately available to San José Spotlight. Calls to his attorney, Kathryn Schlepphorst, were not returned.

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