One thing is for sure, Santa Clara Police Department is not being defunded soon. The City Council, led by Mayor Gillmor, continued to pad the pay for our folks in blue, making them the envy of officers throughout the region if not the state.
The average salary for a Santa Clara police officer is now $146,000 annually, which is roughly double the national average.
However, there are reasons. No, it’s not rioting, or the mobs of thieves the police are forced to deal with. It has more to do with “cooperation.”
The Santa Clara Police Officer’s Association isn’t just in the business of representing the interests of its members. Its Political Action Committee (PAC) operates as a money “clearing house” for developer contributions.
Now you expect elected officials to be associated with PACs…but police officers?
Many police departments have established PACs and for a variety of reasons. It may surprise you that the primary reason is…money.
Money given to the PAC is used to support candidates sympathetic to the cause associated with the PAC. In Santa Clara’s case, it does get interesting.
Four years ago, when Lisa Gillmor was running for Mayor (her first winning campaign for the office) she used the Police PAC as her election piggy bank.
Developers were strongly “encouraged” to make contributions to this PAC, which in turn supported Gillmor’s election.
Tens of thousands of dollars found their way into the Police PAC which in turn were used to promote Gillmor’s campaign for Mayor.
So, what is the connection and why the relationship between Gillmor and the SCPD PAC?
Just go back a few years and take a brief look at SCPD employee raises. During Gillmor’s first official term as Mayor, she and her hooked-at-the-hip council members gave the SCPD THREE salary increases within two years. These three increases amounted to 17%.
Salary increase given to elected police Chief Mike Sellers at that time or later?
Zero!
Funny how soon we forget. Sellers waited through a five-hour council meeting to see what his raise would be. Neither Mayor Gillmor nor any council member even acknowledged Chief Sellers or addressed his salary adjustment, either that night or at any future council meeting.
This is just another reason Santa Clara needs new leadership and representation.
Why is Lisa Gillmor still Mayor?
