Tuesday’s Santa Clara City Council meeting brought welcome relief from the fractious and quarrelsome meetings that characterized the last two years. Not only was there virtually no disagreement among council members, they made evident efforts toward restoring collegiality on the Council. The Council approved the new Silicon Valley Power electric rate schedule beginning Jan. 1, … Read more
It was almost paint-by-numbers during a Santa Clara City Council meeting responding to findings of the civil grand jury report that alleged the Council majority are puppets for the 49ers. In a special meeting Wednesday, Nov. 16, the Santa Clara City Council picked apart a scathing grand jury report released in October. Less than a … Read more
A divisive housing development for the poor ignited a firestorm of public comments at the Santa Clara City Council meeting Tuesday night. The Council heard nearly two hours’ worth of public testimony from proponents and opponents alike. The two camps were divided on whether the proposed 108-apartment complex, set to be located at 1601 Civic … Read more
Mayor Lisa Gillmor got on her soapbox about ethics at the Council’s most recent meeting, saying her Council colleagues — who were subject of a Civil Grand Jury report that accuses them of suspect dealings with the San Francisco 49ers — should not be “policing” themselves. Gillmor lobbed the accusation several times at Tuesday night’s … Read more
Santa Clara Police Chief Pat Nikolai has asked the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s office to investigate the accusations made against a portion of the Santa Clara City Council by the Civil Grand Jury. In a memo [Nikolai Memo to Rosen] issued on Monday evening, following the release of the report, Nikolai wrote, “The report … Read more
The Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury has called out some members of the Santa Clara City Council, saying, “…the actions and inaction of certain council members are not consistent with the duties owed to the constituents they were elected to serve, causing severe dysfunction in City governance.” The Weekly has obtained a copy of … Read more
Santa Clara’s mayor has tried to soften the tenor of a letter she wrote to Gov. Gavin Newsom — without Council knowledge — imploring him to expedite a decision on whether the biggest development in California history is subject to prevailing wage law. Tuesday night, Mayor Lisa Gillmor reframed her intent in writing a letter … Read more
The Santa Clara City Council will discuss Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom where she asked for special dispensation for a real estate developer months before the company made a six-figure donation to her re-election campaign. Council Member Anthony Becker, Gillmor’s opponent in the upcoming mayoral race, requested the item be put on … Read more
The Santa Clara City Council had a relatively short agenda for its Sept. 13 meeting, but that didn’t translate to a short meeting. The Council spent several hours revisiting the four-plus-year-old El Camino Real Specific Plan, ultimately voting to spend another $250,000 on a revised plan. It also reconsidered an Aug. 30 decision about City … Read more
The recent heated exchange between members of the Santa Clara Council is a good barometer of this election. Mayor Lisa Gillmor relies on her last remaining supporter on Council, Kathy Watanabe, to run interference to promote her bias. Watanabe has a knack for being insolent with a sharp tooth in carrying the mayor’s backpack. When … Read more