By Robert Haugh
Santa Clara City Attorney Glen Googins denies writing the ballot language to eliminate the right of voters to pick the Santa Clara Police Chief and City Clerk.
The ballot language is being challenged as being biased by a potential lawsuit.
The City Council is meeting in an emergency executive session today at 5 p.m. to discuss the lawsuit threat.
In response to a question about Googin’s role, City staff emailed this response:
“Staff researched other cities that transitioned from elected to appointed positions and provided sample ballot language for the committee to discuss. The City Attorney’s Office did not draft the language but did review it for legal compliance.”
But the Charter Review Committee (CRC) did not write the language according to one of its members or discuss it.
“About the ballot language within the committee, we never had the opportunity to discuss the Ballot Language suggested to the City Council,” wrote Satish Chandra.
“I assumed we could have a discussion and reach a consensus. Even though the CRC Chair suggested a simple language in our last meeting, the content and final recommended language was not brought to our attention.”
Chandra is one of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
Googins’ denial is also contrary to what Councilmembers at Council meetings said they understood to be his responsibility.
“I am not worried about the exact language because it will be the City Attorney (Googins) who would write that based on the City Charter,” said Councilmember Karen Hardy at the November 7 Council meeting.
Googins’ denial suggests that a member of the City Manager’s office was responsible for the controversial ballot language.
In the letter threatening a lawsuit against the City, political law attorney Bradley Hertz wrote:
“Assistant City Manager Cynthia Bojorquez acknowledged that the ballot question was developed from successful language in similar measures in other local jurisdictions.”
Hertz said he would file a lawsuit on Monday to meet the upcoming ballot deadlines.
This is a developing story.
[…] the lawsuit against the ballot language written by the City Manager’s office that’s supposed to be accurate and impartial but is allegedly deceptive will be decided by Judge […]
[…] argues in his filing that City Attorney Glen Googins admits that the City Manager’s staff (Cynthia Bojorquez) wrote the ballot language, not […]
Dear Ignore the POA Echo Chamber,
I am flattered by your comparison to “POA representative (POA President) Jeremy Schmidt.”
I have heard him talk at city council meetings and he is articualate, well spoken, and very cogent.
Better luck next time in identifying posters.
It sure is ironic that new City Attorney, who served in the same position in Chula Vista, was elected to his position by Chula Vista citizens, and not appointed by a rogue city council.
The City of Santa Clara absolutely should also have citizen elections for City Attorney – and take that power away from our city council too.
Looks like the Chula Vista city council is in hotwater too.
https://www.kpbs.org/news/politics/2023/11/07/chula-vista-councilmember-andrea-cardenas-faces-criminal-charges-calls-to-resign-what-comes-next
GOOGINS was a disaster in Chula Vista. He ignored blatant criminal behavior by the electeds…..allowed numerous Brown Act violations….wrote and sponsored an illegal sales tax measure in clear violation of Prop 218……the CA Bar Association should launch an immediate investigation on the gross negligence by this man.
Thank you Adam, and you are correct, “Observation” is right on point.
By the way, I think Jain should start to look over his shoulder, I have heard some talk that he is next on the list of People who will need to answer for their actions, or in this case, lack of action.
The term I heard thrown around was Complicit?
Is that a serious charge? What page of the Ethics Manual is that talked about?
Burt Field
It is ironic to me that the current city council majority collectively epitomize perfectly the poster child of why we need, at least at this point in Santa Clara’s history, an elected police chief and city clerk. This is perhaps the worst time in Santa Clara’a history to make such a move. There are allegations and charges of felonies committed by at least one member of the council, and I sure don’t want him participating in hand-picking the next chief. Also, in my opinion, we really don’t know much about either the new city attorney and city manager who would be very active in hand-picking the next chief; not impressed by the new city attorney and don’t know where his allegiances lay. Our great Mayor has had to correct him many times during city council meetings, along with the city manager.
Santa Clara is the only city to elect their police chief, but that does not make our city wrong. We are also one of the relatively few cities with an amusement park and our own electrical power company, as well as Levi’s stadium. There are many examples of Santa Clara being independent and innovative, and not in the majority of what other cities do. With political corruption stories being a daily read with other cities, perhaps many other citizens in other cities would love to vote for an independent police chief, but they have never been offered the choice by their city councilmembers.
Thanks for the breaking info, Robert.
Observation, your sentance structure and use of uncertainty phrases is verbatim the voice of POA representative Jeremy Schmidt. A police chief and/or city clerk should never be used as a political counter weight to a city council. Council Members are direct voices of residents, an employee union representative who doesn’t live in the city is not. City Attorney Googins and City Manager Grogan appear to have had good relationships with the City Councils and Police Chiefs of Chula Vista and San Bruno, no one should devalue their education and experience especially out of ignorance.
No matter who Observation is, they care about public safety and the citizens of SC. You assume a lot about CA and CM. They came from cities no where near the size of SC. And if you don’t feel they have issues with public safety/city councils where they came from, why are they not supporting the chief of SC? Why take on this unsupported ballot measure by residents when you’ve only been employed in SC for less than a year? What’s the motivation?
“Assistant City Manager Cynthia Bojorquez acknowledged that the ballot question was developed from successful language in similar measures in other local jurisdictions.”
Translation: “Assistant City Manager Cynthia Bojorquez ‘CUT and PASTED,’ or plagiarized OTHERS’ legal work.”
As Bojorquez earns at least total pay & benefits of $413,582.66, Santa Clarans do NOT have the brightest and virtuous city leaders and council per tax $$$ paid.
See: https://transparentcalifornia.com/salaries/2021/santa-clara/cynthia-bojorquez/
Viva Santa Clara!
Wow, grab some popcorn. A large bag. Not only does this drama keep getting better and better, it never seems to end. Still, all traceable to the niners ninnies.
Bring the popcorn! This is getting good!