An explosive new civil grand jury report accuses several Santa Clara City Council members of getting too cozy with the San Francisco 49ers, neglecting their duties to constituents and potentially violating state law.
The Santa Clara County civil grand jury report raises a series of concerns about the conduct of five council members who frequently vote in favor of the football team’s interests. It comes a month before an election into which the 49ers already have poured more than $1 million.
Council members Anthony Becker, Suds Jain, Kevin Park, Karen Hardy and Raj Chahal frequently meet with 49ers lobbyists behind closed doors, raising a “serious question” about whether they are violating state open meeting laws, according to the report. The grand jury also accused them of refusing to hold the company that manages the stadium accountable after events held there failed to produce revenue for the city. And the report takes issue with some of the council members’ personal use of the stadium.
“The Civil Grand Jury’s investigation confirms that the actions and inaction of certain councilmembers are not consistent with the duties owed to the constituents they were elected to serve, causing severe dysfunction in city governance,” according to a preliminary draft of the report reviewed by this news organization. The report is tentatively set for a public release Monday.
49ers spokesman Rahul Chandhok immediately fired back against the grand jury’s allegations.
“This report is a shocking political hatchet job from what is supposed to be an independent body but is stacked with Mayor Gillmor’s neighbors, business associates, and allies,” he said in a written statement. “It is based solely on cherry-picked talking points from Gillmor’s inner circle, contains dozens of lies, and yet still fails to find any evidence of wrongdoing by anyone.”
The investigation began after the grand jury received “numerous” complaints this year about the ethics of five Santa Clara City Council members, according to the report. Anyone can submit a complaint to the civil grand jury, which is tasked with investigating the performance of city and county agencies and public officials.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
