By Robert Haugh
A review of individual City Council calendars, shows how often 49ers meet to lobby Santa Clara Councilmembers. It’s a lot.
The majority of the City Council meets regularly with the team and it’s more than any other business or organization in Santa Clara by far.
For much of the time reviewed, the meetings or conference calls are held weekly with two separate groups of Council members.
Chahal and Hardy
In 2020, Councilman Raj Chahal met with the 49ers a total of 11 times during the year. Eight of those meetings included Councilwoman Karen Hardy. Hardy’s total for 2019 was eight meetings.
This year, Chahal and Hardy have met together with 49ers team executives twice so far. Hardy has had an additional four meetings or calls with the 49ers.
For their meeting March 15, 2021, Chahal reports the topic as “Stadium Operations.” That’s the subject he reports for all his meetings. But Hardy reports that the meeting on that day was to discuss “Stadium Builders Licenses.”
But Hardy’s calendar entry isn’t always more detailed than Chahal’s. For their April 20, 2020 meeting she doesn’t disclose that 49ers executive Al Guido was in the meeting. City Staff discovered that Guido has a conflict of interest and looks like he was engaged in self-dealing with contracts for the Red Box Bowl.
Three Million Dollar Men
Last year, Jed York spent $3 million and got three Councilmen elected who had never won a Santa Clara election before.
This year, 49ers executives are cashing in on that investment. They meet regularly with the “three million dollar men.”
Councilman Suds Jain has met or had calls with 49ers executives eight times since January.
Councilmen Anthony Becker and Kevin Park have met with the team six times. Jain was also in those six meetings.
Becker and Park list the topic of all their meetings as “Stadium Operations.”
Jain is more specific. Jain reports that they discussed with the 49ers the following topics:
- Legal contingency
- Form 700 (financial disclosure form)
- Stadium Noise
- Creek Trail
- Fire code violations
- Panthers game
- Vaccination costs
- Vote at March 23 Council Meeting
- City Attorney Brian Doyle (who the 49ers want “gone”)
- Nex Systems
- 12% Interest Payment on Shared Stadium Expenses
- Electrical Repairs
We’ll be looking more into these issues that the 49ers appear to be lobbying the Council on.
The 49ers do not appear on the calendars of Mayor Lisa Gillmor or Councilwoman Kathy Watanabe even though she represents the neighborhoods surrounding the stadium.
Here’s a link to the Mayor and Council calendars.
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[…] what the 49ers wanted. Jain is one of five Councilmembers who meets with the team regularly. We did a special report after reviewing their […]
You nailed it Howard. Sud’s hypocrisy has no bounds. From what I read earlier, Suds can divide his home into about 10 micro apartment units.
Not for the ruling class!
Zillow lists Jain’s house
at 3434 sf!
4 bed/2.5 bath.
$2.4M!
That sure could help
a lot of people. Wow!
And he wants to put Santa Clarans into cages? Come on man…
LOL!
Click on link to calendars!
Look at the pictures of M&CC.
Guess who doesn’t have his
Picture posted?
Inquiring minds want to know
Why not!!??
LOL!!
Remember, Suds Jain wants 7,000 micro apartment units on El Camino Real. (A micro apartment is a smaller-than-average rental unit that typically measures less than 350 square feet.)
How does this help the residents of Santa Clara? How many vehicles is that? Where is the retail to support these units as well as the 10,000+ apartments he wants?
Hey wait, is that the same Suds that lives with one other person in a 3,000+ sq ft home? In an area that can’t be developed?
If he is and advocate of high density anywhere but near his home would he be called a NIMBY?
That might be the more polite name to call him.
Suds Jain wants 7,000 micro housing units on El Camino Real, which is already being overbuilt as we speak?? I didn’t agree with Mr. Jains many times when he served on the planning commission, and I most certainly don’t agree with him now. How is it that he feels that Santa Clara should be providing such an insane number of housing units on our main thoroughfare when we have physically only about 18 square miles within which to build? Does he not realize that El Camino Real is already being crowded again as people return to their physical workplaces? Does he not realize that the neighborhoods directly behind and around these mega-developments are impacted by cars trying to find faster ways through traffic as well as parking spaces? And yes, people will bring their cars with them – where does he intend to find 7,000 parking stalls/spaces for these 7,000 substandard housing units? Santa Clara can’t provide housing for the entire south bay area; if we don’t build carefully and with thought for the future today, we will be living in an overbuilt concrete jungle tomorrow
Since none of these sneaky elected council members have got the niners to pay their bills or build the creek trail as promised they should all be watched closely.
What have they accomplished?