Related’s Day The Related Companies’ Executive Vice President Steve Eimer and President and CEO Ken Himmel met with most of City Council in October, and City Manager Deanna Santana — who maintains biweekly meetings with the developer — and Assistant City Manager Ruth Shikada sat in on those meetings. All meetings with Related occurred on … Read more
Campaign donations have accelerated since the September campaign finance reports, with plenty of treats from real estate and union interests for mayoral candidate Lisa Gillmor and City Council District 2 candidate Nancy Biagini. Direct donations so far have reached about $117,000 cumulatively, while spending by PACs currently stands at $60,000 Gillmor, Biagini and candidates for … Read more
Tuesday’s City Council meeting’s agenda was largely appointments to the Planning and Senior Commissions, the Library Board of Trustees and the City Clerk post that became vacant when Acting City Clerk Jennifer Yamaguma took a job with the City of Milpitas. The Council voted unanimously to appoint Assistant City Manager Nadine Nader to the post … Read more
September calendars continue the pattern of mostly developer meetings, interspersed with public meetings and events. Mayor Lisa Gillmor Immediately after Labor Day, Gillmor met with San Jose resident *Kirk Vartan to discuss the “Agrihood project:” 160 mixed-income apartments, 165 affordable senior apartments, 36 townhomes and approximately 1.5 acres of agricultural open space at the … Read more
“We filed what we were told to file by the [Santa Clara] City Clerk,” said Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce PAC treasurer Dave Tobkin. The new — and false — accusation is City Hall’s latest offensive against the Chamber. The Chamber of Commerce is a separate legal entity from the Chamber PAC, although the Council majority … Read more
Management of the Santa Clara Convention Center continues to be a source of bad blood between the City Council and Chamber of Commerce. With the completion of a performance audit, the Council heard details Tuesday night regarding how the Convention Center and Convention & Visitors Bureau will be run in the wake of its decision … Read more
With the first campaign financial reports in, Mayor candidate Lisa Gillmor leads with a campaign treasury of $16,955. Second is City Council candidate Nancy Biagini with $14,220. City Clerk candidate Hosam Haggag is next with $12,412, and City Council candidate Raj Chahal is close behind at $12,247. All other candidates currently have $5,100 or less. … Read more
Of all elected official calendars available through Ordinance No. 1950, only Police Chief Mike Sellers and Acting City Clerk Jennifer Yamaguma had their August schedule up for viewing prior to the Sept. 10 deadline. Every other calendar, less City Manager Deanna Santana and City Attorney Brian Doyle, was up exactly one week after the deadline, … Read more
Organizations on whose boards Santa Clara City Council Members previously and currently sit have received discounts for years on their use of the Santa Clara Convention Center. At the same time they disavow any knowledge of the discounts and characterize them as irresponsible and possibly corrupt. “I’m a Chamber [of Commerce] Member. I never got … Read more
When Citizens Advisory Committee (CAC) member Suds Jain emailed City Manager Deanna Santana and Acting City Clerk Jennifer Yamaguma asking about candidate forums little did he know that he would unleash a tsunami of controversy. “I asked an honest question. I wasn’t trying to be controversial. Somehow these people felt threatened. I don’t know why,” … Read more