Santa Clarans received their County Voter Information Guide with what I believe are inaccuracies submitted to them. Through research and to ensure fair, accurate, and transparent elections the following are clarifications.
Clarifications Rebuttal to Argument Section – City Clerk
Page 17
- A part-time elected City Clerk HAS NOT been “enshrined in the city’s charter for decades.” The role was changed by the City Council in 2018.
- Executive searches for City employees do not cost more than ballot elections. The City Manager’s office confirmed an election costs residents hundreds of thousands of dollars.
- The current part-time City Clerk proclaimed he has no certifications and may vote to change the position to appointed. The current full-time Assistant City Clerk holds a Master Municipal Clerk certification and completes 99% of clerk responsibilities.
Page 18
SPONSORED
- The current City Clerk proclaimed he may vote to amend the City’s Charter to appoint the City Clerk and may not seek the role in the future, this may leave it empty in 5 months.
- Aside from residing in Santa Clara, no other qualifications for an elected City Clerk were designated in 2018 when it changed to part-time.
- The City Council isn’t involved in hiring a full-time appointed City Clerk. Whereas a part-time elected City Clerk needs to raise campaign money and seek political alliances.
Visit www.AppointCityClerk.com/ballot for additional information.
Clarifications Rebuttal to Argument Section – Chief of Police
Page 23
- The National Center for Education Statistics and the FBI Uniform Crime Reporting categorize Santa Clara as a Mid-Size, Group 2 municipality like Sunnyvale and Mountain View. Santa Clara’s socioeconomics or city performance should not be compared to Large, Group1 cities with very complex challenges.
- There ARE NOT 64 officers eligible to run for police chief in Santa Clara. Presentation from the employee union president cited sixty-four PORAC members from a third-party mailing list. PORAC is an insurance & benefits trust provider, not a list of current of full-time police officers. A simple call to the City Manager’s office can further clarify this for you, (408) 615-2210.
- Any peace officer cannot move to Santa Clara and serve as police chief. Santa Clara’s longest serving, full-time paid, Chief of Police Frank Sapena had to request “two-months leave of absence without pay for the purpose of campaigning.” Sapena was joined by fellow Santa Clara Chiefs of Police Donald Ferguson, Charles Arolla, and others speaking in favor of amending the current Charter for police chief.
Page 24
- With 33 years’ service, the current Police Chief is due to retire. The current City Charter requires candidates for police chief to live in the city at least 30 days before they can be placed on the ballot. Neither of the Assistant Police Chiefs live in Santa Clara. With just 9 months before the current Police Chief’s term ends, no senior leadership qualified candidates have been identified to replace him.
- 11 of 13 municipalities in the County appoint their police chief. This includes Sunnyvale, Campbell, Los Gatos, Palo Alto, Mt. View, and Milpitas. Police Chiefs in those cities are vetted, interviewed, and hired by the City Manager.
- City Managers are not pressured to hire a particular Police Chief, just ask them (408) 615-2210.
- With less than 5 months before candidates must confirm qualification and be nominated, residents don’t have the time, resources, or professional experience to identify qualified police chief candidates. Santa Clara’s City Manager and City Attorney have experience doing this in the cities of San Bruno and Chula Vista.
Visit www.ApointPoliceChief.com/ballot for additional clarifying information.
Residents for a Better Santa Clara ask you to Vote YES on both Measures A and B!
SPONSORED
