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SAN JOSE, California. – Special interest groups have poured millions of dollars into Santa Clara’s November city elections to decide its future government.

The San Francisco 49ers have spent the most money supporting who the team wants to sit on the City Council, burning $2.3 million so far.

Other special interest groups include the Santa Clara Police Officers Association, the Santa Clara Firefighters Union and the Santa Clara-related developer. The police union is the second largest spender and has invested more than $96,000 in the municipal elections. The 49ers have been spending primarily to oppose candidates. endorsed by Mayor Lisa Gillmor and the police union, and support their preferred candidates. Meanwhile, the police union has been spending to support its endorsed slate and oppose others.

He Santa Clara City Hall has four seats up for grabs on Nov. 5 in Districts 1, 4, 5 and 6. District 1 Councilwoman Kathy Watanabe is finishing her term and there are three candidates vying for the seat. The other three districts have incumbents looking to secure another term.

Council members Kevin Park, Suds Jain and Anthony Becker are running for re-election. Former Councilwoman Teresa O’Neill is challenging Park for her District 4 seat, David Kertes is running against Jain in District 5, and Kelly Cox and George Guerra are challenging Becker for her District 6 seat. Harbir Bhatia, Satish Chandra and Albert Gonzalez are vying for the vacant District 1 seat.

Santa Clara voters will also have to choose their next police chief and municipal clerkwith both seats open this year. Santa Clara Police Department Lt. Cory Morgan is running against San Jose Police Department Lt. Mario Brasil to take over when Chief Pat Nikolai retires. City Clerk Hosam Haggag did not run for re-election, and product manager Poornima Gopi, real estate agent Steve Kelly, retired California Highway Patrol Lt. Robert O’Keefe and businessman Paul Tacci are competing for the vacant position.

the 49ers

Santa Clara voters are no strangers to high election spending, especially by the 49ers. In 2022, the team spent more than 4 million dollars helping Becker challenge Gillmor for the mayor’s seat and endorsing councilors Raj Chahal and Karen Hardy in their re-election campaigns. While Becker was defeatedChahal and Hardy won a second term.

This year, the NFL team has opened its wallet again. The millions spent have been purchased on surveys, consultants, banner ads, text messages and online ads. The team opposes the candidates endorsed by Gillmor, Chandra, O’Neill, Kertes and Cox, and supports González, Park, Jain and Guerra.

49ers spokeswoman Ellie Caple declined to comment on the substantial sum of money and reiterated her support for the team’s preferred candidates.

“Our organization is proud to continue supporting a diverse slate of candidates running for city council this year,” Caple told San José Spotlight. “We are pleased to see that the current council has effectively managed the city’s finances, reduced the city’s deficit and continues to serve our community.”

Ads on Facebook and websites promote candidates’ background and experience. For González and Guerra, it was their experience on the Santa Clara Unified School District board and the city’s Parks and Recreation Commission, respectively. The Facebook ads also reveal arguments against other candidates, such as Chandra’s. past support for former President Donald Trump, despite Chandra’s resignation.

The 49ers’ push against Gillmor’s candidates is not surprising in light of their decade-long feud, which has included multiple demands and cost the city millions.

Related Santa Clara

Related Santa Clara, a local branch of New York City real estate firm The Related Companies, has a large stake in Santa Clara. The developer has been working on an estimated $8 billion mixed-use project next to Levi’s Stadium and is a longtime Gillmor supporter.

Related Santa Clara representatives did not respond to a request for comment.

When California was pressing Related pay workers prevailing wages in 2022, Gillmor wrote a letter Governor Gavin Newsom asking the state to reconsider. Related then spent six figures to support his re-election.

On Oct. 15, Related reported expenditures that were made through Sept. 30, apparently violating state law, which requires independent expenditures of $1,000 or more within 90 days of an election to be submitted within 24 hours.

This year, Related created a committee to support Chandra, O’Neill, Kertes and Cox, and has spent $90,000 on advertising to support those candidates. That money has gone toward emails, Facebook ads and a website.

Santa Clara Police Officers Association and Firefighters Union

Police union president Jeremy Schmidt said residents should pay attention to who supports which candidates in this election, emphasizing that the association has residents’ best interests in mind.

“I really don’t care where your support comes from, I have a strong commitment to doing what is right for my organization and what is right for the people of the city of Santa Clara. I can tell you that my people and I put our lives on the line every time.” days to prove it,” Schmidt told San José Spotlight. “We’re not just dipping our hands into the city’s pile of money.”

The association has endorsed Chandra, O’Neill, Kertes and Cox and has been spending to support them, as well as to oppose other candidates. This included Facebook ads, websites, and banner ads.

Facebook ads paid for by the police union featured the three. Reports of the Santa Clara Civil Grand Jury about the city and the town hall. They reiterate the report’s claims that the three starters (Park, Jain and Becker) have intimidated public commentatorsand emphasized Becker’s continuing work perjury trial.

While the police union is the second largest spender, it has only spent about $96,000 to date.

“When you look at the campaign overall, we’re in a David versus Goliath position as far as financing,” Schmidt said. “We just have to be strategic about what we do and when we do it because we really have a responsibility to maximize our money based on the playing field.”

Firefighters union representatives did not respond to requests for comment. The union, International Association of Firefighters Local 1171, has spent $31,067 to support Cox, Kertes and O’Neill, as well as the city $400 million infrastructure bond.

This story first appeared in San José focus.