There is a term in politics called “pork barrel” spending. It’s when a politician stuffs money into legislation to support projects they favor.
Santa Clara, like it or not, you are suffering a hangover from eight years of Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s pork barrel spending on her pet priority: soccer.
Dozens of families and community members gathered at the Santa Clara Unified School District Board of Trustees meeting earlier this month to decry the district’s plans to pave over the baseball fields at Haman Elementary. In particular, the good people of Westside Little League, which plays on those fields.
And while those angry eyes were pointed at the board members, they should also turn to Gillmor. Because folks, Gillmor has pulled off perhaps the greatest pork barrel spending coup in Santa Clara’s history.
In her more than three decades on the city council as either mayor or council member, Gillmor has prioritized the Santa Clara Youth Soccer Park and drove the creation of the Reed & Grant Soccer Sports Park. Make note there is no space for Little League at this “sports park.” Combined, the two complexes have created eight full-sized, professional-quality soccer fields for Santa Clara youth to enjoy almost exclusively.
During that same time, Gillmor watched the International Swim Center shutter because it was unsafe, the BMX track lose its national accreditation, and now, the little leaguers are without a viable field option within the city.
In case you’re wondering, the City of Santa Clara has four baseball fields to its 12 soccer fields.
Youth soccer is worthy of support, but does it deserve more support than little league, swimming, or riding a BMX bike?
Santa Clara is cash-strapped. It likely will not be able to build itself a baseball park to help these Little Leaguers find a home.
That said, when will Santa Clarans say, “Enough is enough?” Gillmor has used the city to build herself and her pet projects up while ignoring the majority of her constituency. The swimmers, the little leaguers, the bike riders have all lost out because Santa Clara needed another soccer field.
One has to wonder, which youth sport will be the next to fall prey to Santa Clara’s soccer-first mentality?
