By Robert Haugh
Earlier this month, Dr. Tom Shanks testified to the City Council about 49ers COO Al Guido’s Potential conflicts of interest when he negotiated stadium contracts for the World Cup.
Last week, Santa Clara business leader Kirk Vartan also raised the issue about Guido at a City Council meeting.
Now, the San Francisco Chronicle reports that they are investigating the issue.
Here’s what the Chronicle posted online yesterday:
A letter sent last week to Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen renewed allegations of illegal conflicts of interest by San Francisco 49ers President Al Guido, in connection with the team’s successful efforts to bring World Cup soccer matches to Levi’s Stadium in 2026.
In their four-page letter, three local 49ers critics contended the city of Santa Clara has known for more than two years that Guido may have violated state clean-government laws in World Cup negotiations. But Santa Clara, which is controlled by a City Council majority elected with the help of 49ers campaign contributions, won’t do anything about it, they claimed.
“The issues we raise in this letter are important, time-sensitive and urgent,” wrote Thomas Shanks, former director of Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics; Teresa O’Neill, a former City Council member; and Pedro Hernandez-Ramos, an assistant education professor at Santa Clara University.
Here’s the DA’s office response:
Sean Webby, a spokesperson for Rosen’s office, wrote in an email to the Chronicle on Monday, “We have received the complaint alleging impermissible conflicts of interest in the making of contracts related to the City of Santa Clara’s bid to host 2026 World Cup games at Levi’s Stadium. We are in the process of gathering additional information to determine the appropriate course of action.”
And City Attorney Glen Googins who has been accused of covering up the issue for months, looks like he might have to do something. Here’s what he said:
“I am aware of potential conflict issues in this matter and they are under analysis,” Googins said Monday in a statement emailed by a city spokesperson. “As with all such matters, any legal advice my office provides … (will be) both consistent with City/Stadium Authority objectives and protect City/Stadium Authority interests.”
The Chronicle also reported these important facts:
Violations of the state conflict of interest law usually are punished by fines. Public contracts marred by conflicts of interest can be canceled.
At the local level, the law is typically enforced by city attorneys or district attorneys, but private parties can sue for enforcement if authorities choose not to act. The city has refused to release financial information about the World Cup, including what rent FIFA will pay to use Levi’s Stadium.
This is a developing story.
[…] Clara Business leader Kirk Vartan and ethicist Dr. Tom Shanks share the Leg Drop Award for publicly calling out 49ers Executive Al Guido’s apparent conflicts of […]
What is the alleged conflict of interest?
Click on the link above for the article written last week that summarizes the issue. The slide says it all. 1090 is clearly violated, making the contract void. You can’t negotiate a contract when the same person signs the contract for two organizations with competing interests. Additionally, if you *could* benefit financially, you are barred from signing the contract.
Kirk,
Thank you. After reading that again I believe that the issue is that Guido being on the host committee should not be allowed because that is categorized as a public official and a conflict of interest due to him being an executive with the Forty Niners which is an entity that will profit from host committee decisions when it comes to the stadium.
I really hope the DA’s Office can help, our City really needs some fresh “Outside Eyeballs” on our issues.
I’ll just say it again, apparently putting the “Fox in charge of guarding the henhouse” is still not a great, long term successful way to manage anything.
At the end of the day,
To be able to set their own contracts, then agree to them. To effectively tell the landlord how they are going to manage our asset.
This alone has put our City at peril financially.
Let me know when you think that is a good long term business situation.
Santa Clara gets all the risk, 49ers get all the rewards.
Who agreed to that? Oh yeah, the 49ers agreed to that.
Our City has not seen a Performance Rent Payment in years. When did this change?
Right about the time our City Attorney Mr. Brian Doyle beat them in court for the 7th straight time.
Where is Doyle? Where is Santana our previous City Manager? Both fired? Why?
Take a good guess why they were fired.
For now, let’s just hope the DA will look into this and allow our City to rightfully be in charge of the Stadium they built and are still paying for.
Burt Field
burt.field@gmail.com
First Rahul Chandhok. Now Al Guido. Jed throws people under the bus. Just ask anyone who got laid off after the pandemic. Jed didn’t take a cut in pay did he?