Political news, Local politics and government news reporting in Santa Clara and Sunnyvale.
A former Santa Clara City Council member will have to pay hefty government fines for misusing campaign money if he doesn’t respond to the agency that found him at fault soon. Dominic Caserta served on the Santa Clara City Council until 2018. Amid a firestorm of sexual harassment allegations, in the midst of his bid … Read more
A judge has reportedly reversed a ruling on several motions in the perjury trial of Santa Clara City Council Member Anthony Becker after defense argued that Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s credibility is suspect. While Judge Julie Emede did not allow access to Gillmor’s communications with the Civil Grand Jury, a motion filed by the defense on … Read more
The deadline to apply to run for office has passed and we’re now getting a better picture of who wants to represent Sunnyvale on the City Council. There are four positions up for election this November. According to data from the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters unofficial list, there are three council seats are … Read more
Another day and another delay in the perjury trial of Santa Clara City Council Member Anthony Becker. On Monday, Aug. 12, Becker appeared in Department 24 at the Santa Clara County Hall of Justice, prepared to have his case assigned to a judge. It went as planned, and both sides were told that the jury … Read more
The field appears to be set for several Santa Clara elections. According to the unofficial list released by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters on Aug. 12, Santa Clara voters have a lot of decisions to make on Nov. 5. The deadline to submit papers for all of the races was Aug. 9, which … Read more
Santa Clara’s general fund will see $7 million in profits from non-NFL events at Levi’s Stadium — performance rent — that has been languishing in a stadium legal contingency fund for almost two years. The final lawsuit settlement with the 49ers released the money from the contingency fund. “Based on the terms of the settlement,” … Read more
Members of the Santa Clara City Council frequently speak of public trust. Toward that end, they cite transparency as the best avenue to achieve that goal. Mayor Lisa Gillmor and Council Member Kathy Watanabe wrote about public trust in an editorial criticizing the original bond measure set to appear on the November ballot. They took … Read more
As preparations for the Monday start of the perjury trial against Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker continue, the defense once again asked a judge for access to parts of the civil grand jury investigation that have, to date, not been provided Becker’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Chris Montoya, filed a motion on Wednesday asking … Read more
Real estate lobbyist and political maven Jude Barry has emerged from the shadows, playing a possible role in the November election and in a local politician’s perjury trial. Barry attended a July 19, 7 p.m. meeting on a “Related Santa Clara update” on Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s calendar. Gillmor met with Barry and District 6 council … Read more
The Sunnyvale City Council has approved public art for the Lakewood branch library. Adjacent to Lakewood Park and Lakewood Elementary in north Sunnyvale, the library will have both interior and exterior art. The council approved the art at its July 23 meeting. Developer fees to the tune of $188,761 will fund the art, with $30,000 … Read more