When I first filed a complaint with the Santa Clara County Civil Grand to investigate the city of Santa Clara’s contracting practices, I did it for journalists, residents, watchdogs, and to prove that things are broken. I want to thank the grand jury for their thorough report but I feel it lacks consequences and repercussions.
The current administration hangs its hat on transparency and attacks Levi’s Stadium management for not presenting documents. In light of this grand jury report, that’s like the pot calling the kettle black. It’s like the blind leading the blind. It shows that management in the city and the stadium need to be replaced.
Our city needs a fresh start.
Transparency is key in government and I am embarrassed that Santa Clara has failed to deliver—let alone follow orders from the civil grand jury. It shows blatant disregard for the law. This investigation, the lack of cooperation from the city and PR flak Sam Singer declining to be interviewed make me believe that there’s enough smoke to suggest a fire.
The lack of compliance begs the question of who really is running the city and whether, behind the scenes, it’s in major disorder. I hope this step toward accountability is just the beginning—not only for Santa Clara but other cities as well.
There need to be solutions to fix these problems. First, where is the accountability? Second, what are the consequences? The city’s response is an insult and a direct lie.
With that, I believe we should call for the resignation of City Manager Deanna Santana, who has a checkered history—both locally and with other cities. Her management should have been more responsive and transparent with the civil grand jury.
I also call for the resignation of the public records manager for failing to modernize the process and respond in a reasonable time frame to jurors’ requests.
It is time to fix the failures and time to turn a new leaf.
June 21, 2019
San Jose Inside
By Anthony Becker
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