By Robert Haugh
Yesterday, Anthony Becker was convicted of felony perjury for leaking a Grand Jury report to the 49ers and lying about it.
He may be removed from the Santa Clara City Council. Becker may not be able to participate in next week’s Council meeting.
Former Santa Clara City Attorney Brian Doyle shared this in a Santa Clara News Online comment yesterday:
Government Code Section 1770:
An office becomes vacant on the happening of any of the following events before the expiration of the term:
…(h) His or her conviction of a felony or of any offense involving a violation of his or her official duties. An officer shall be deemed to have been convicted under this subdivision when trial court judgment is entered. For purposes of this subdivision, “trial court judgment” means a judgment by the trial court either sentencing the officer or otherwise upholding and implementing the plea, verdict, or finding.
Becker’s term on the City Council started in 2020. He has been controversial, dishonest, and frequently abusive.
Now Becker will be known as the first Santa Clara Councilmember to be convicted of a felony and likely to serve jail time.
Becker will be sentenced on January 31 by Judge Javier Alcala.
Here’s what others are saying:
Mayor Lisa Gillmor
“Anthony Becker’s felony conviction highlights a deeply troubling and consistent pattern of misconduct and betrayal of public trust in Santa Clara. As multiple Grand Jury reports have documented, it’s only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to undue influence and lack of transparency in the way the City Council and some City staff interact with the 49er organization.
“The people of Santa Clara deserve a government that operates legally and ethically. I ask our residents and City staff to demand of us the highest standards and expose further wrongdoing so that we can restore integrity at City Hall.”
District Attorney Jeff Rosen
“When an elected official lies under oath, it undermines the criminal justice system and that’s what Mr. Becker did.
“We have a lot of large companies in this Valley: Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Amazon, the list goes on and on. The behavior in this case of the 49ers is not something that I have seen with any of those other companies.”
Councilmember Kathy Watanabe
“While justice has been served, the political career of a young man has been irreparably damaged by the undue influence of power and money that backed his candidacy for Mayor in 2022.
“Thankfully, his election was thwarted. However, this verdict sends a clear and powerful message to organizations like the 49ers: Stay out of local politics. Rather than trying to buy influence, invest your millions in the community. Your attempts to control the City of Santa Clara have left a stain on local politics, tarnishing the career of an individual who pursued public office for the wrong reasons.
“Let this serve as a reminder that it is the community—not money or power—that should shape the future of our cities.”
Dr. Tom Shanks, former executive director of Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
“This trial should be a major warning to Santa Clara residents that the 49ers have corrupted local politics and city government. Anthony Becker’s actions have exposed a dark underbelly of unethical practices that many people are unaware of but unfortunately still exist.
“I hope it doesn’t take more indictments for Santa Clara City government to choose to become the role model for legal and trustworthy leadership it once was. We should be asking, ‘What ethics skills do we need to learn so this never happens again?’”
[…] By his actions on Saturday, Becker doesn’t seem happy to be back in the spotlight. Almost exactly a year ago, Becker became the first Santa Clara City Councilmember in history to be convicted of a felony. […]
[…] previous day, he was found guilty of felony perjury and could have been removed from […]
He resigned late this afternoon.
Where are the comments from the 49er5? What’s their take on the loss of their buddy?
The voters already spoke last month with effective and decisive electoral pitchforks. Becker finished third as an incumbent. When has that ever happened in Santa Clara history? Sure, some people lost reelection to Council, but he’s seriously done politcally, at least for now. Third place. Against two newcomers to electoral politics.
I advise that City leaders take the high road and the safe road because the law about removing a convicted Councilmember is complex, as you all have read in the posted definitions and subdefinitions. You gotta read it all.
If Becker appeals and wins in whole or in part, we residents do not want any possibility that he could sue the City for damages relating to removing him from office before the end of his term. City leaders cannot open SC to any liability or connection to his coming appeal. He can appeal on his own time, but he should have nothing to ever claim back from the City in case his conviction is overturned for any reason.
Becker will not be sentenced prior to Councilmember-elect Cox being sworn in. Just let the few remaining days pass. If he wants to show up to a meeting, let him show up. Is fighting that battle really worth it to gamble a future lawsuit? This is our communal tax money at risk.
None of us even know yet if the judge will pause imposing Becker’s sentence until after the appeal is decided.
I don’t want to see this issue on a future Closed Session Council agenda with the City as a defendant against a defamation suit based on removing Becker before his sentencing, after a possible scenario that his conviction is vacated.
New Councilmember on the way in. New day for Santa Clara. We all have to just let this go. The voters took care of business. Now we all need to keep City government away from more connection to the case.
Happy Advent.
Chris Stampolis
Santa Clara, CA
My only comment on this issue is that the 49ers are being blamed for something that was way out of their control. Anthony lied and that’s on him. He did have a target on his back for a long time that probably aided in his poor judgment. Let’s not cry over spilt milk. Let’s move forward now with the new council and make it better.
😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂
You’re joking about the 49whiners??? Right???
Oh yeah. You want that pie in the sky downtown. Don’t think ki$$ing up to the 49erwhiners will help!
Look at what they did to Becker. Thrown under the bus for no one to rescue.
What did Becker lie about?
A grand jury report about 49er secret meetings which they initiated.
Four Years ago (12/08/2020), Anthony Becker entered the council chambers with a verbal onslaught boasting about the NEW council majority that lit the chambers on fire(Anthony this is a hyperbole)… Four years later(12/05/2024), Anthony Becker lit himself on fire at the defense table (Anthony another hyperbole) for breaking the law for the 49ers who never cared for him. Now he must dread the next 7 weeks wondering about January 31, 2025.
When a council member served out their term, they receive 12 proclamations from Legislaturr.
A ring from city
A flag
A city plaque
Any observations?
Becker will also receive a free orange jumpsuit as a departing gift
1 down. 4 to go!
“Government Code Section 1770: An office becomes vacant on the happening of any of the following events before the expiration of the term: …(h) His or her conviction of a felony”
Newly elected Council Members Cox and Gonzalez, along with returning members Jain and Park, should be sworn in next week. There’s no need for Becker to be in attendance and certainly no need for readers here to get all worked up.
“I ask our residents and City staff to demand of us the highest standards and expose further wrongdoing so that we can restore integrity at City Hall.”
When, in City Council history, has a member destroyed their electronic device(s) just an as investigation is mounting? Gillmor has been the one consistent figure in decades of infighting and thankfully she is next in the exit aisle.