By Robert Haugh
At the end of last night’s Council meeting with few people in attendance, Santa Clara City Councilmember Suds Jain moved to help a community group with City money.
Jain wants to agendize an action item for the September 24 City Council meeting to help fund the Diwali Festival that takes place just four days later.
But that’s not the normal process. And Jain was vague about the details and provided no written information.
He said only that “they should apply for one of our grants to community groups and that we should entertain discussion of whether we should grant them the money.”
But according to City Manager Jovan Grogan, the Diwali Festival has yet to apply for a grant.
It looks like Jain is unfamiliar with the Community Grant Process which is on the City’s website. Or he is familiar with it but is trying to get around it.
If the City follows its written process that other groups must follow, Jain’s request violates the City’s policy.
Councilmember Kathy Watanabe pointed out something that Jain did not disclose. The Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce is co-sponsoring the event. Its CEO, Harbir Bhatia is running for City Council.
Bhatia is known for using the organization and events to promote herself.
“This is City money,” said Watanabe. “I know we want to help our nonprofit community but at the same time too we need to be transparent as to who’s asking for the City money.”
“The perception is you’re sponsoring an event that’s sponsored by a City Council candidate and I don’t think that public money should be used for that,” said Mayor Lisa Gillmor.
“I’m all for the event. But they should apply like every other community group applies through our community grant process.”
Councilmember Karen Hardy also raised concerns about the process and Jain’s request to circumvent it.
“I want to know if they applied for the grant because I have been through the process,” said Hardy. “It’s not horrible. It’s actually quite easy.”
Jain’s motion to agendize the Diwali Festival funding request for September 24, passed on a 4-3 vote.
Jain was joined by City Councilmembers Anthony Becker, Raj Chahal and Kevin Park in voting yes.
Gillmor, Hardy, and Watanabe voted against it.
The City’s grant program funds groups like the Parade of Champions, Santa Clara Lions Football, and the Santa Clara Women’s League.
There are four corrupt city council members that MUST go in November. Becker, Park, Hardy and Jain. Bhatia sounds like BAD NEWS to me! Bhatia should NOT be given “special” treatment either, regarding requesting “city money” for Diwali, or anything else. Bhatia needs to be voted down. These members obviously do not know how the system works or they are pretending that they do not. They are playing Santa Clarans for FOOLS.
Never before, in the 62 years I have lived in this city, has the city council been so corrupt!
Wake up voters! November 5th is the day to make your voice heard, and to stop such lawlessness in our city.
Suds as an MIT grad, one wonders how such incompetence is pervasive in his deleterious positions and actions. One cannot believe an MIT graduate would be dumber than a box of rocks. In the olden days, MIT students were taught to excessively PAY ATTENTION to details. Well, some MIT graduates seem to coast by with credentials without actual merit… to the detriment of those around that person. Now, Santa Clara suffers from some MIT flunky. Voters get what they deserve.
Suds learned nothing from the Becker drama. Suds is still complicit. Glad his lack of transparency came out. How ethical.
Bhatia got support in 2020 just like Pork, Pecker and Pain. They ran together. Looks like they are again. Time to expose all these crooks and vote them down on November 5.
Bhatia is good at stiffing nonprofits and seniors. She bamboozled mission city community fund out of $25k and Police activity league out of $2500. How? She took top sponsorships for 2 major fundraising events, got all the benefits and never paid the sponsor invoice. And now she’s using suds to raid city coffers.
Keep these crooks and creeps out of office. Suds already wasted $500k. Imagine them together? They’ll bleed the City dry to make Jed happy. Once in the 49er pocket…always in the 49er pocket.
Shame on these people who prey on the naive. Karma is coming and it can’t come soon enough.
Jain gave Bhatia 600 in 2020
Abuse of power & resources. All 3 council members have to go (Sucks, Pork, Pecker). They are getting Cosy with her sister Harbir self proclaimed CEO of some Chambers, her track record of being spokesman of Silicon Sage & siphoning money of poor senior citizens with ponzi scheme. These are perfect examples of how they bring City down…
Isn’t putting it on the agenda and giving special treatment
circumventing the process? November can’t come soon enough.
Festival organizers are endorsers of Bhatia and Jain.
Deal was made last month for an IE committeer
OMG! Why is Suds Jain even on the City Council? If he doesn’t understand the process on how his group needs to file the correct paperwork and rather then try and circumvent the system then Suds needs to step down now.
What is with some of these questionable Council Members attempting to by pass our rules and laws. People, if you care and want a good honest City Council then there needs to be a “Marshall “in charge to reprimand, fine, or removed from Office.
This woman Harbir Bhatia needs to decide if it’s more important to support her group or be a Council Member. If it’s a Council member then she needs to divest herself from her CEO job at the Chamber of Commerce and not to support this group and if she is attempting too support this group then pull out of the City Council race.
As for Becker and Park, come on people, they need to be held accountable for their actions so at the very least they should be temporarily removed until the City Attorney, DA’s office or Judge can complete an investigation or they are found innocent or guilty of their ignorance or real abuse of their positions. I really thought that the Palo Alto City Council were really ignorant over the past years however now I see that it’s OUR City Council that are the rotten ones. Not all but a few.
Stewart,
I am not keen on Harbir Bhatia at all but why does she need to choose between being the CEO of the Silicon Valley chamber of commerce and running for Santa Clara city council?
She can work for and support the chamber and run for city council or serve on city council just like Lisa Gillmor can be a major property owner in Santa Clara and be mayor. And Karen Hardy can be a teacher in a SCUSD school and be on city council.
COUNCILMANIC INTERFERNCE=SUDS JAIN
CPRA ON JAIN TO BHATIA
CPRA ON JAIN TO PARK AND BECKER
CPRA ON JAIN TO CITY STAFF