In 1900, it briefly became the Santa Clara Valley Improvement Association before changing its name to the San Jose Chamber of Commerce the following year.

It was dominated by the chamber and Merchant's Association and headed by Professor Thomas H. Reed of the University of California, Berkeley, who eschewed the city commission plan in favor of a council–manager government modeled on that of Dayton, Ohio.

[5][6] In 1929, the chamber raised $480,000 in donations by Santa Clara County residents to acquire a 1,000-acre (400 ha) parcel of the Yñigo Ranch on the San Francisco Bay and sold it for a nominal price to the U.S. Navy to serve as an airbase for the USS Macon airship and later Moffett Federal Airfield.

[21] In October 2020, the SVO PAC published a controversial webpage against Jake Tonkel's campaign to unseat Councilmember Dev Davis.

It featured a photo of Black rioters in South Africa and alleged that Tonkel supported defunding the San Jose Police Department.

Under pressure from member organizations, President and CEO Matt Mahood issued an apology and resigned, and the SVO PAC was dissolved in November 2020.