The effectiveness of the Santa Clara City Council is being questioned by a county civil grand jury report, alleging that city officials’ disagreements have made life worse for residents.
The Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury released a Santa Clara-focused Report on Wednesday, this time criticizing dysfunction and pettiness at city council meetings and detailing how it hurts the city’s quality of life. Two years ago, another contentious grand jury report looked at the San Francisco 49ers’ influence on city politics, which the team refuted.
Among the grand jury’s recommendations are that all council members, including Mayor Lisa Gillmor, attend conflict resolution training by October and that the city hire a conflict resolution professional.
The report alleges that councilors’ constant bickering during meetings has eroded residents’ trust, decreased staff morale and disrupted city operations.
“The role of leaders is to create an environment that promotes collaboration, an essential component of building an effective board,” the report reads. “City council’s inability to communicate respectfully and work together has undermined effective governance and morale in the city.”
The report also recommended that council members Anthony Becker, Raj Chahal, Karen Hardy, Suds Jain and Kevin Park attend ethics training, and that Becker, Park and Chahal attend training on the city’s parliamentary process. The report alleges that the city’s Ethics and Governance Committee is ineffective and has no influence over the city council, and recommends that the city establish an Independent Ethics Commission to oversee behavior.
Gillmore, Chahal, Hardy, Jain, Park and Councilwoman Kathy Watanabe could not immediately be reached for comment. Becker referred his comments to her attorneys.
The grand jury is asking the city (and all council members) to respond to the report.
After the 2022 report was released, 49ers executives called the jury “stacked” with Gillmor’s political allies. The report was released shortly before the November 2022 election, where Becker and Gillmor faced off. Several council members, including Becker, previously told San José Spotlight that they were not interviewed for the report.
Several people allegedly leaked the 2022 report before its release. Becker allegedly leaked the report to the 49ers and is caught up in litigation over alleged perjury to which he has pleaded not guilty. Supporters also suggested Gillmor may have leaked the report to the city’s police union, after talking points from the report were posted early on a website monitored by the union.
Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X, formerly known as Twitter.
