By Dr. Tom Shanks
Last week, the San Francisco 49ers opened independent expenditure accounts totaling nearly a million dollars to influence Santa Clara’s City Council elections this November. It’s their latest attempt to maintain control of Santa Clara.
Since 2010, the 49ers have fundamentally changed Santa Clara politics. The team’s political expenditures and influence over Santa Clara city hall rivals that of any private corporation in America.
While independent political expenditures are legal, they are not necessarily “ethical” – which for many years Santa Clara has defined as actions that advance the best interests of the public. Are these independent expenditures in the best interests of the people or the best interests of the 49ers? That’s the key question.
In the last two years, the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury has weighed in on that question. It released three reports criticizing the City Council majority and the 49ers for unethical behavior as they have repeatedly favored the team over Santa Clara residents, especially on financial matters.
Data I’ve collected over decades confirm the Grand Jury’s concerns about the decline of public trust. The chart below shows that eight years into the Ethics & Values Program that I helped create virtually every resident (91%) thought the City was going in the right direction in 2008. Now that number has dramatically dropped to 40%, according to the City’s recent survey.
This decline is disastrous. But it’s reversible. That’s why I proposed the Santa Clara Ethics Pledge for candidates and am launching a website (https://publicethicsnow.com) to support this initiative.
Last month, I asked Santa Clara candidates running for City Council and other offices to sign the Santa Clara Ethics Pledge. It’s stronger than the state ethics pledge that all California candidates usually sign. I specifically targeted the root causes of Santa Clara’s decline of public trust.
The pledge requires candidates to take responsibility and action both for themselves and third parties who may be helping them. Today in American politics, third-party independent expenditures play a major role in campaigns. In Santa Clara, particularly with the 49ers’ unprecedented and unmatched spending, the team has set a negative tone for local campaigns. For candidates (and the media) to ignore that reality is irresponsible.
Some candidates have signed the Santa Clara Ethics Pledge. Others have declined because they believe it’s unnecessary or redundant to the state’s code. Some have used the excuse that they must be passive because independent expenditures are legal. I consider that argument a convenient dodge for those who seek to benefit from third-party spending on negative campaigns. If candidates truly care about changing the tone of Santa Clara campaigns and regaining the public trust, they should use their power to influence third parties. They can easily do so by recusing themselves if elected as a council member from voting for that third party’s interest if that party engages in negative campaigning. That simple action will be a major deterrent to the negativity we’ve seen in Santa Clara that destroys public trust.
The Santa Clara Ethics Pledge could dramatically reduce or eliminate third-party negative campaigning. But it will still allow candidates to compare, contrast, or criticize their opponents. In a democracy, candidates must engage in healthy debate using ethical principles. But when candidates allow third-parties to criticize their opponents and simply look the other way, public trust suffers. That has been the case in Santa Clara, particularly since 2018.
Next week, I’ll be publishing a report on the Santa Clara Ethics Pledge and how the candidates responded. My focus is to encourage ethical leadership among City leaders and candidates. I aim to hold them accountable through their ethics pledges and let Santa Clarans know through a regular report card which candidates are acting ethically and which ones are falling short.
I also plan to scrutinize local media for their coverage and accuracy. I believe that journalism also contributes to the public trust felt in a community. It’s essential to ensure that the media fulfill their role as government watchdogs. I’ll provide regular report cards for media stories to help residents evaluate the information they receive.
I have deep roots in Santa Clara and was a resident from 1977 to 1999. I served as the City’s on-call Ethics Advisor from 1998-2014, designed and led the City through a consensus-building process to develop the City’s core values and Code of Ethics & Values (1998 to 2000).
My advocacy now is voluntary, independent, and nonpartisan. I do not support or oppose any political campaign. My goal is to restore ethical standards and public trust in Santa Clara by providing voters with accurate and fair information about candidate and campaign ethics.
Suds, you have had years to formulate and sign an ethics pledge yet you never did. If you had taken that initiative you could have included that, on your own, on your ballot statement. Whining now doesn’t change that.
Here’s an email I sent to Dr. Tom Shanks on August 14th to which he never bothered to reply.
Remember Matt Dillon is really James Rowen who doesn’t even live in Santa Clara and who owes hundreds of thousands of dollars in a defamation case. Perhaps he thinks using aliases will allow him to escape future cases.
=====================
Mr. Shanks,
I just read through the candidate statements for the ballot. I see that
Satish Chandra submitted his nomination papers on 7/30/2024
David Kertes submitted his nomination papers on 8/5/2024
Kelly Cox submitted her nomination papers on 8/1/2024
I submitted my nomination papers on 8/2/2024
They also submitted their ballot statements on those dates and their ballot statements say they signed the ethics pledge
Ballot statements available at: https://www.santaclaraca.gov/our-city/departments-a-f/city-clerk-s-office/election-information/november-5-2024-election
Satish writes that he has taken the Santa Clara Ethics Pledge
David Kertes says that he has taken the Ethics Pledge
Kelly Cox says that she has signed the Santa Clara Ethics Pledge
BUT the first email I received from you asking me to sign the ethics Pledge was August 9th at 2:21 PM well after I submitted my nomination papers and ballot statements.
How is it that these Gillmor supported candidates received your ethics pledge in time to put it on their ballot statements but the rest of us did not? Seems unethical to me.
Also I don’t consider you to be an unbiased participant since you are so closed aligned to Kirk Vartan, special advisor to Mayor Lisa Gillmor.
You have produced podcasts together and written Op-Eds on Robert Haugh’s extremely biased opinion website that claims to be “news” .
How is it that Lisa Gillmor who approved the management contract with the 49ers has never received a Jabroni award from Robert Haugh? Maybe it is because she has supported him financially.
Finally how is it that you never responded to me when I gave you the attached email thread between me and Kirk Vartan, questioning her transparency on her public calendar and in PRAs?
The Grand Jury reports are full of bias and errors. I never voted to fire Deanna Santana, for example. How can I sign a pledge to accept such flawed reports verbatim?
— Suds
Be smiling when you challange Marshall Dillon, partner Suds. Why did Eric Blair or Sam Clemens do this?
So ethics is a Gillmor tool.
Gosu, an ethics commission would chevk everyone.
Did you say anything when Kevin Patk used a children’s book to harass Kirk Vartan? The grand conspuracy crawling through Suds’ 900,000 49er mind. Who cates what I say. The only people who matter are the voters. The voters rejected your two charter amendments. What do you care about ballot statements?
Suds Jain is so obsessed with Lusa Gilllmor.
So bothered. Talk to Kevin Park, the Mental Health Advicate about what programs he can get you.
Careful Suds, there ie a special assistant lurking.
Guess you’re just guilty by association, Suds Jain. Maybe you should get some new friends.
Off topic, but I just read Becker’s trial will now not start until November. What a joke.
When Becker is not reelected, will the 49ers still supply Becker with two high-powered and high priced attorneys?
Mr Dillon, I saw that. Cracked me up. There may be something legitimate behind that but I don’t know what it could be.
Howard
Real Reason
Park needs the endorsements of OTTO LEE, SUSAN ELLENBERG.
These two county aupervisors have set Mental Health Services as county’s top priority. Ed McGovern ran for Cpubty Supetvisor. Jay Reed Kevin Park’s handler, was a partner of McGovern.
Howard, you are a clever man
Add the parts, The whole is Park’s new approach.
Funny Mr. Dillon, I read that as well. Simply confused, but welcome to the election cycle for 2024. It’s a small window where suddenly people tend to align themselves with all kinds of causes or groups of people that might somehow get them some votes.
Sadly this one has no merit whatsoever.
None.
Never voting in favor of any transitional housing to be built in Santa Clara is a much stronger statement.
As they say in Baseball… you can look it up.
At best Mr. Park, you are a sell out to our community. At worse you are an angry / confused embarrassment to our City.
Your ugly, rude and embarrassing treatment of a valued, and respected Business Owner in our City will never be forgotten. Mr. Vartan is still owed a public apology from our City.
At worse he can read it here from me….
I’m sorry you were treated in such a manner. It was just so wrong.
Someone needed to step in and shut that down that night, all in attendance should be held accountable, including our City Manager and City Attorney.
Just because something is not illegal does not mean it is a good idea.
Case in point…. please note for future meetings to shut this type of activity down quickly. Let’s not repeat this type of treatment of anyone ever again.
Sir you have issues, and should never have been in charge of anything or anyone, frankly not even yourself.
November 6th, hope you have somewhere you are needed, I can’t imagine it will be anywhere near our City Hall.
So the night you voted me out of my volunteer position in our City, you asked in a very mocking tone, “Who is Burt Field”.
I still laugh at that, but if you have any questions now, I am the person who is going to help Teressa O’Neil get her seat back on the City Council.
She will represent our residents. It’s been a while since that has happened.
I’m a huge music fan, and the song by Bob Dylan fan, titled “The Times They are A-Changin'”, seems to be a good song to get use too.
Please consider these 6 people when you place your votes in the next election.
Bob O’Keefe City Clerk
Cory Morgan Chief of Police
Satish Chandra Council D1
Teresa O’Neil Council D4
David Kertes Council D5
Kelly Cox. Council D6
Burt Field
I await your report, Dr. Tom Shanks.
All the 49ers Men
By Robert Penn Warren
2016. Rich Robinson and Ed Mcgovern create BLUPAC. ( Rusell Miller 49er IE treasurer is McGovern’s lawyer!!!) Guess what? Miller fined over 50 grand by Fppc.
2018 49ers run Caserta IE
2020 jain, becker, park financed by 49ers
2022. Becker financed by 49ers
2024
Jain
Park
Gonzalez financed by 49ers
ALL THE 49ERS MEN
KEVIN PARK
HAS OPPOSED AN ETHICS COMMISSION SINCE 2005.
Is now advertising himself as mental health advicate.
Lie