By Robert Haugh
It’s been a challenging time for Indicted Santa Clara Councilmember Anthony Becker.
Three months ago, he was charged with leaking a Grand Jury report (a misdemeanor) and lying about it (a felony). If convicted, Becker could serve jail time.
Last month, Becker was cited for a traffic violation. According to reliable sources, he was driving while talking on a cell phone. Becker did not return multiple emails for comment.
Currently, there is only general information on the Santa Clara County Superior Court website:
Becker’s latest violation does not have the threat of jail time.
But it is considered a serious traffic violation that could result in a fine and an increase in his auto insurance.
“Using a cell phone while driving creates enormous potential for deaths and injuries on U.S. roads,” according to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Department of Transportation statistics report that distracted driving claimed 3,522 lives in 2021.
The NHTSA has a special campaign to stop distracted driving called: “U Drive. U Text. U Pay.”
Such a Nuisance thing.
And very petty. The council should be more concerned with potholes and things that need repairing and stuff instead of somebody with driving their car texting
I encouarge every SANTA CLARA RESIDENT TO END THEIR ADDRESS WHEN SPEAKING TO COUNCIL WITH THIS
REAPPONT FIELD
RESIGN NOW, BECKER
The Council has no concern about his driving. That is a police matter.
City council made appointments to the Bike/Ped committee yesterday. Becker voted too after receiving this traffic violation? After he could have hit a bicyclist or pedestrian? Hope he is mandated to attend traffic school.
You will not be able to stay home, Mission City Voters
You will not be able to plug in, turn on and cop out
You will not be able to lose yourself on Judge Judy voters
Skip out for beer during commercial
Because the voters’ revolution will not be televised
The Santa Clara voters revolution will not be televised
The revolution of Mission City voters will not be brought to you by Xerox
In four parts without commercial interruptions
The peaceful revolution will not show you pictures of Trump
Blowing a bugle and leading a charge by Tucker Carlson
Jed York and Al Guido
To eat garlic fries at Levis
The revolution of voters will not be televised
The revolution of Santa Clara democracy in all future SC elections will not be brought to you by the 49ers and will not star
Rahul Chandhok or Bullwinkle and Becker
The revolution of voters in the Old Quad will not be about donuts for Jain and Becker
The revolution will not get rid of books Kevin Park will use to humilate
The voters in Santa Clara will not be impressed with Jain or Becker’s texts about coffee cups
Because the revolution of voters will not be televised
There will be no pictures of 49ers fans littering Northside residents homes
There will be no more attempts of Suds Jain to conceal records
Or dozens of secret meetings with 49ers officials
There will be no more million dollar elections in the Mission City
Santa Clarans will continue to elect the clerk and police chief
There will be no more commissioners dismissed for opposing Becker
Soccer parks and swim centers will be helped out
There will no more council members elected who have to abstain on all downtown business projects
For just the proper occasion
Green Acres, Beverly Hillbillies, and Hooterville Junction
Will no longer be so damned relevant, nor will Becker and Jain’s texts about Gillmor and \Watanabe
And Burt Field will be reappointed to the Parks abd Rec Commission
And Kevin Park will not get to use books to humiliate people
Nor will Park get to accuse people of embezzlement
Because the voters peaceful revolution will not be televised
There will be no highlights of Becker giggling at Kevin Park on the eleven o’clock news
There will be no Taylor Swift proclomations
The theme song will not be written by Jim Webb
Or Francis Scott Key, nor sung by Glen Campbell
Tom Jones, Johnny Cash, Englebert Humperdink or the Rare Earth
The revolution of the voters will not be televised
The revolution at the ballot box will not be right back
After a message about the 49ers keeping records secret
You will not have to worry about a dove in your bedroom
The tiger in your tank or the giant in the parking lot
The revolution will not go better with Coke
The revolution will not fight germs that may cause bad breath
The voters revolution will Becker in the driver’s seat to use a cell phone
The revolution of voters will not be televised, will not be televised
Will not be televised, will not be televised
Anthony Becker will be judged guilty by a jury for lying
The revolution of the voters in Santa Clara will be live at the ballot box
I am not a Becker fan by any means, but this is a non story. People get infraction citations everyday.
It is indeed “newsworthy” in and of itself as it supports Becker’s ongoing pattern of putting himself above the law and above the work-a-day citizens.
And as far as “intellectual honesty”? You claim you are posting as a “resident” and then go on about your oath of office.
Pick one of the other bub.
https://chng.it/fvHDVRTR
Again, Becker resignation petition
Ps, Suds Jain and Anthony Becker attacked Haggag under Chandhok’s urging.
John Llewellyn,
Getting cited for a traffic violation in and of itself is not an indication that someone is putting themselves above the law. If, however, Mr. Becker (or any other elected official) argued with the police officer that they should not be cited because they are an elected official and deserved special treatment (ie: “Don’t you know who I am?!”), then yes that would be newsworthy. But just getting a citation, which could possibly be dismissed by a judge, is in fact a scenario work-a-day citizens / everybody else goes through as well.
To be clear, I’m not defending Mr. Becker’s action here or his other actions – if his traffic citation is upheld he should be fined just like everybody else. I just feel like this incident does not rise to the level of newsworthiness since it does not pertain to his role as a councilmember, and as far as we know he did not request special treatment because of his position.
Maybe I’m wrong and you all feel this is indeed newsworthy, but that’s just my personal opinion.
As to the intellectual honesty bit, I was referring to any elected official’s oath of office. Nothing about my oath of office was unique or different. As I said in my original comment, nobody is above the law (whether you are a public official or not).
With respect and peace,
Hosam Haggag (commenting as a resident)
Hosam you are entitled to your opinion but why don’t you defend others who have been wronged by the 49er whiners and others on blogs? What a shame.
No Hosam. I do not get your point. What I will say is this Becker dude is out for your job. He just approved money to get you FIRED! I wish you hadn’t said anything.
https://chng.it/MyKtV7zPgX
More important issue
Return Burt Field to Parks and Rec
Sam Tam,
I am not defending Mr. Becker or his actions. My comment was to share my opinion that this on its own is not a newsworthy story. When you focus on non-issues (like someone’s personal traffic infractions or citations) it distracts and dilutes from the serious policy issues or behaviors that are more worthy of concern. Otherwise it just feels like a petty witch-hunt when there are real issues at hand.
I think my perspective on what is going on with the 49ers is pretty well-known and my track record is there to substantiate it.
I hope you understand my point.
With respect,
Hosam Haggag (commenting as a resident)
I have generally refrained from commenting on anything on any of the news sites unless it pertains to my role as the Clerk, but this comment is solely as a resident.
What is newsworthy here? This is a bit much. Yes, distracted driving is very serious and can hurt the driver or others on the road. But are you going to chase every single citation for all public figures, even the ones that don’t pertain to their duly-elected responsibilities? If Mr. Becker goes to court and the judge dismisses the citation, will you retract the article or issue a new one with the information that the citation was dismissed? What other potential violations unrelated to his elected duties would you write articles about – is someone going to check to see that he is properly separating his trash and recycling? Where exactly do you draw the line?
Yes, all elected officials should be held to a high standard. We each take an oath to uphold the Constitution of the US and the Constitution of the State of California, and none of us are above the law. But we all need to be intellectually honest about what is newsworthy and related to our elected duties, versus what would be perceived as a hit-piece.
We can all do better.
Hosam Haggag (commenting as a resident)
Hossam,
I am with you on this being inconsequential. I would not say it is not newsworthy per se but it is not significant.
Unfortunately we all know that the type of distracted driving that Becker apparently was caught doing is something that too many drivers to count do too many times to count.
This does not mean it is okay but there is no political angle to this story unless the only point that one is trying to make is a partisan political attack of a personal nature.
There is more than enough substantial ground for criticizing Becker than this.
Though I have been a critic of Mr. Haggag, I do respect his views on this matter. He is being more tolerant of Mr Becker then visa versa. He did help deal with Mr Park’s misreporting which is his job, and that is what to expect.