By David Kertes
As a resident of District Five and regular patron of both Franklin Mall and the Farmers Market, I feel compelled to voice my concerns about recent policy decisions that appear to lack adequate community input and thorough economic analysis. I hate to say it, but this is what residents in District 5 voted for in the last election.
A Pattern of Decisions Without Community Engagement
This isn’t the first time we’ve seen policies proposed without meaningful resident consultation. Councilmember Suds Jain’s recent bike lane proposal for Benton Street faced significant community opposition, largely because residents weren’t included in the initial planning discussions.
That proposal would have displaced parking into residential neighborhoods, creating unnecessary burdens for families. There were also traffic and safety issues concerns. Fortunately, community pushback prevented its implementation. Suds’ plan failed.
The Current Parking Meter Proposal
Now we face a similar situation with the proposed “Suds Jain Paid Parking Plan” for the Franklin Mall and Farmers Market areas. Some even blamed Mayor Lisa Gillmor on NextDoor, but I was able to set the record straight that it is Suds, not Lisa, who put this proposal together.
This timing seems particularly problematic, as local businesses and market vendors are still recovering from the economic impacts of COVID-19. Just as foot traffic is returning to these vital community spaces, implementing paid parking could significantly deter visitors. Is this a vendetta from Suds against Mayor Gillmor?
Missing Economic Analysis
Before implementing such a policy, several critical questions need to be answered:
• What is the estimated cost of installing and maintaining parking meters?
• What return on investment can the city realistically expect?
• How will this impact revenue for local businesses and market vendors?
• Where will displaced parking end up, and how will this affect residential neighborhoods?
• What potential tax revenue might the city lose if businesses suffer?
The Need for Business-Minded Leadership
These concerns highlight why Santa Clara needs council members with strong business backgrounds who understand economic impact analysis and the importance of stakeholder engagement.
Effective governance requires weighing costs against benefits and considering all affected parties before implementing policy changes.
A Call to Action
I encourage fellow residents, particularly those living near Franklin Mall, to engage with our city leadership on this issue. Contact our council members and city manager to express your views. Ask for the economic analysis. Demand community input sessions before any final decisions.
As we look toward future elections for mayor and council positions, we must prioritize candidates who demonstrate a commitment to transparent governance and genuine community engagement. Our representatives should put residents’ interests first and make data-driven decisions that benefit the entire community.
The success of our downtown revitalization efforts depends on thoughtful planning that considers all stakeholders. Let’s ensure our voices are heard before policies that could harm our local economy are implemented. Everyone should ask what Council Member Suds Jain is doing to put the shovels in the ground now.
Sincerely,
David Kertes
Weekly Franklin Mall and Farmers Market shopper
[…] been publicly criticized for the stupidity of his idea, and some community leaders think Jain has a personal […]
Readers should recall that the Franklin Mall parking meter issue was just one of dozens of items that thousands of voting residents in District 5 had on their minds this past November, when they diligently decided Suds Jain is the better candidate to represent them.
Speaking of decisions without community engagement. Where was, or is, Kertes in speaking out about Measure I language intentionally not informing residents that the police officers’ union intends to spend $3,000,000 of residents’ money on a facility to operate drones and $30,000,000 on an indoor ‘combat town’? Measure I’s ballot language read: “To improve 911 emergency response; fix streets to reduce potholes and provide safer roads and routes for drivers, pedestrians, and cyclists; upgrade storm drains/pipes to prevent flooding/sinkholes; and renovate/replace recreation, library and other community facilities; shall the City of Santa Clara’s measure authorizing $400,000,000 in bonds, funded by levying an estimated $19 per $100,000 of assessed value while bonds are outstanding, generating approximately $21,674,000 annually, with annual audits and citizen oversight of spending, be adopted?”
You can see the entire itemized list of Measure I Expenditure Plan here: https://www.santaclaraca.gov/home/showpublisheddocument/84549/638576027384130000
According to data and analysis from U.S. News and World Report, 27.2% of students in Santa Clara live in economically disadvantaged households and rely on taxpayer funding for nutrition at school. If Santa Clara residents were allowed to decide if part of the additional $21,674,000 annual taxes should (a) go to construct an indoor combat town for less than 150 employees who don’t live in the city or (b) the 3,786 undernourished and economically challenged children who live here, my educated guess is that they would pick the children. https://www.usnews.com/education/k12/california/districts/santa-clara-unified-101953
Kertes and his husband appear to have at least two young children. Even if they are part of the city population who can adequately nourish their children, there is no justification for a $30M indoor shoot-house in the City of Santa Clara.
Missing Economic Analysis
Before constructing multi-million dollar drone and tactical training facilities, several critical questions need to be answered:
• Of the 150 officers, fewer than two dozen are assigned to SCPD’s Special Response Team. What is the estimated cost of having them train at the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s training center that already serves as the primary firearms training center for many surrounding law enforcement agencies? The SCCSO facility features two multimedia classrooms, five shooting ranges, one sniper range, and a live-fire structure. https://sheriff.santaclaracounty.gov/bureaus/support-services/training-and-professional-development-division
• What return on investment can the city realistically expect from spending $30M on a shoot-house used by only a handful of officers?
• Where is the data clearly illustrating a need for a tactical training center that no other city in either Santa Clara, San Mateo, or Alameda Counties has?
• How will millions of dollars in property tax increases each year impact already economically disadvantaged households?
Speaking of “strong business backgrounds”, what’s the city’s justification for doling out salaries 20%-25% higher than neighboring jurisdictions? Any competent business person who has successfully negotiated contract bids would have ample documentation and justification for paying T&M hours significantly above county prevailing wages. In all the years of open discussion about police and firefighter salaries, no one from the city or employee unions has provided satisfactory reasoning for such an exorbitant expense in the City of Santa Clara. The City is currently in salary and benefits negotiations with the SCPOA, and there is no expressed detriment to the quality of service provided by police officers if salaries and O/T hourly rates were to be frozen for three years allowing for adjustment to competitive rates in Sunnyvale, Mountain View, Campbell, and the Sheriff’s Office.
We do share Kertes’ call to action not only on the paid-parking at Franklin Mall matter, but in all matters that residents were not made fully aware of. Contact all council members and let them know that neither a drone facility nor an indoor combat shoot-house was clearly outlined in the Measure I Bond language. Taxpayer money should be carefully allocated to programs that benefit the community, especially our most vulnerable residents, not a select group of employees who don’t live here. Let’s see if Kertes, and other District 5 residents, have an opinion about that!
Suds is a corrupted politician. Proven time after time. He needs to be voted out by his district along with the remaining bought and paid for 49er politicians. Becker got off too lightly IMO!
OMG, I live near Benton and did Not know that Jain sicced the Bike lane controversy on Benton St. I wonder what all that COST the city? They hired an outside contractor for the study and never passed our comments on to the city. Fortunately, we started a petition and had good leaders.
It would have been a parking nightmare for residents. We don’t have anything against bikes, but Benton isn’t safe for anyone or anything. Can you imagine the speeders with no parked cars to contend with? They already pass other cars whenever they can. Cars coming off of San Tomas have broadsided a mail truck and also ran into a house. We’re still waiting for the speed bumps (as they are called everywhere else in the US), not humps, and painted bike lanes.
What an idiot! Thanks for the Info about Jain. I will pass that along to the other signers of the petition. Now we know who to thank for that mess.
Jain is a massive investor in an automaker but wants to enforce bike lanes. He has a mansion but encourages high density housing on neighborhoods.
Jain is the imperial liberal of Santa Clara
Thanks David,
You should think of running for City Council…. oh yeah that’s right you did!!
My hope is you will choose to run again. If you do, I can promise you will get a lot of support from people from all over the City.
I’m still shocked and confused that somehow Jain and Park got re-elected. And who is this Gonzales dude?
By the way, this is all part of the 49ers plan.
Remember, diversion and distractions work for any group of people who just want the attention / focus taken off them.
So the whole time we get all worked up about this stupid proposal is just more free time for the 49eras to plan more problems they can pour onto our little City….
This whole “Pay for Parking” issue makes no sense at all, that is until you really understand it was never their goal to even start with.
“Chaos creates opportunity”. That’s the 49ers motto for dealing with Santa Clara.
Sad, should have been a Win / Win, is now just a survival game for the residents. At the same time, all the 49ers do is keep looking for revenue streams they can siphon from our City to their bank accounts.
“Just Win Baby” sounds a whole lot better than “Just Pay Baby”.
Burt Field
78′ Buchser High Grad
Thoughts while brewing Lavazza coffee for my Lavazza mug.
Suds Jain vs Lisa Gillmor form 700s.
LG IS REMARKABLY TRANSPARENT AND Ethical.
Jain’s tainted fingers are in many pools.
In the famous Rowen vs Santa Clara Unified, the issue was NEVER Gary Gollmor”s performance as land consultant. He and Lisa have made MILLIONS for school districts. The issue was the negotiations with Gary should be in public.
Lisa’s own Bay Area wide record is completely in sunshine.
Like Vartan, she practices what she preached.
Jain, like any political Sneagol, wants his golden rings in the depths of caves.
He invests in businesses that profit on a depressed economy
Jain insists in secret meetings.
Lisa is from a long time family that helped establish downtown Santa Clara as a working family haven
Vartan advisea on worker cooperatives.
Restaurants thrive on free parking
We want many restaurants.
Franklin Square was set up to keep in business on Franklin
Parking was made free to attract families.
Caserta urged Jain to attack LG when possible.
Becker and Jain texted each other about LG Franklin Squate businesses and agreed to go after them.
Related. I am critical of Related. I am.
How do you check special interest money?
Reform spending.
An ethics commission would be peopled by rivals of LG. Look at the council majority.
But LG wants one.
Why?
Because Lisa has learned the one immortal rule of politics,
Disinfect campaigns with public information.
Jain smeagols in the foul mist of swamps yearning for his precious.
Let’s clean up Franklin Mall a bit before we start charging people to park there. We want people to want to go there—right now the grass area is half dead, the fountain is turned off, and when I went to the post office recently (around 930am) there was a man passed out, or sleeping it off sitting up on a bench. I don’t think this mall is an area that the city should be proud of. Also I don’t know if there is any parking enforcement. I see people parked on curbs, in red zones. I’ve asked a policeman directly if anyone is doing parking enforcement, and I was told yes. But I have yet to see it.
Let’s hope the City administration is tracking the cost of this “project”. It’s hard to image how this pencils out from a cost-benefit analysis. It’s also very hard to understand who this is supposed to benefit. The average person to use these downtown lots is simply going to one of the small local businesses or the post office. When faced with the bother and expense of dealing with paid parking, they will likely take their business elsewhere. Valley Fair and Downtown San Jose Municipal garages both have one or two hours of free parking to encourage people to patronize the local businesses. Why is the City Council even considering imposing this additional burden on local businesses and Santa Clara residents when we are facing these insane tariffs that are already creating financial headwinds?
Texts between Becker and Jain in early 2021.
Gilmor runs Franklin Square.
Both committ to use paid parking to challenge.
David, they outlined this.
Caserta encouraged rhem
Suds Jain has investments in Franklin Square competitors. He is heavily invested in Starbucks, restaurant suppliers. He hates lg. Bear in mind, Jain first connections when elected,
Caserta
49ers
Still maintains those connections. By far a smug, self serving politician! Bought and paid for by the niners!