As of Oct. 6 at 8 p.m., we have new numbers for the money that has rolled into Santa Clara candidate committees. Fired city manager Deanna Santana — a Sunnyvale resident — donated to Mayor Lisa Gillmor’s slate of council candidates, as did the Sacramento political committee, the Peace Officers Research Association Issue Political Issues Committee.
Subsidized Kick-Offs
Usually, candidates pay for their own campaign events. But this year, things changed when the police union PAC — the vast majority of whose members don’t live in Santa Clara — ran the campaign against professional appointments for city clerk and police chief, Measures A and B, respectively.
This appears to be the new normal for Gillmor’s candidate slates. For November’s election, Gillmor and the Santa Clara police union PAC subsidized campaign kick-off events for Satish Chandra, Kelly Cox, David Kertes, Corey Morgan, Teresa O’Neill and Bob O’Keefe. (The police union PAC also subsidized state assembly candidate Patrick Ahrens’ kick-off.) No other candidates received campaign event subsidies in the form of “non-monetary donations.”
In addition, Chandra, Cox, Morgan and O’Neill paid Debbie Tryforos a total of $1,058 for fees paid for their shared booth at the Santa Clara Art & Wine Festival, in the main festival area, instead of the free speech zone. Tryforos is also Kertes’ campaign treasurer.
PAC/Independent Expenditure Committees
A new PAC entered the campaign to pass the $400 million infrastructure bond (Measure I) Invest in Santa Clara, Vote Yes on Measure I, whose founder and sole donor is Devcon Construction CEO Gary Filizetti, who donated $50,000.
49ers Committees
Four 49ers PACs have added over $600,000 to their four independent expenditure committees since the Weekly’s last update, making a total of $1.57 million in contributions.
Police Officer Association PAC
The police union PAC has received $67,394 in donations, including $10,000 from apartment builder SCS Development. The remainder of the PAC’s money comes from union dues. The PAC’s only spending so far is for campaign kickoffs.
Related hasn’t reported any additional donations to its independent expenditure committee since its $49,000 contribution in September and has reported no spending to date.
Police Chief Donations
Cory Morgan has received $11,122 in individual donations. Of his 26 donors, 2 (7%) live in Santa Clara.
Morgan’s opponent, Mario Brasil, donated $500 to his own campaign.
City Clerk Donations
Pornima Gopi donated $1,346 to her own campaign.
Steve Kelly has received $4,000 in donations in addition to his $5,000 loan to his campaign committee. Of his 8 donors, 7 (88%) are Santa Clara residents.
Bob O’Keefe has received $1,060 in individual donations, including $762 in nonmonetary donations and his $4,000 loan to his campaign committee. All of O’Keefe’s 5 donors are Santa Clara residents.
Paul Tacci reported $0 donations.
District 1 Donations
Harbir Bhatia has received $7,666 in individual donations; 6 (26%) of her 23 donors are Santa Clara residents.
Satish Chandra has received a total of $15,803 in individual donations; 4 (7%) of his 52 donors are Santa Clara residents. He received one PAC donation from the Sacramento Police Officers Research Association PAC.
Albert Gonzalez has received $2,105 in donations, including a $25 loan from himself. None of his four donors are Santa Clara residents.
District 4 Donations
Teresa O’Neill has received $18,597 in donations, including $2,500 in loans from herself, and $605 in non-monetary donations. Of O’Neill’s 51 donors, 31 (61%) are Santa Clara residents.
O’Neill also received donations from four PACs: the Santa Clara police union PAC, the Police Officers Research Association PAC, the Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters and San José UA Local 393, Plumbers and Pipefitters.
Kevin Park has received $16,299 in donations, including $605 in non-monetary donations. Of Park’s 36 donors, 9 (25%) are city residents.
District 5 Donations
Suds Jain has received $26,330 in donations, including a $20,000 loan to his campaign and $657 in non-monetary donations. Of his 16 donors, 7 (44%) are Santa Clara residents.
David Kertes has received $22,404 in donations, including a $20,000 loan to his campaign and $102 in non-monetary donations. Of his 8 donors, 5 are Santa Clara residents and 2 are PACs: The Peace Officers Research Association Of California and the California Real Estate PAC.
District 6 Donations
Anthony Becker has received $1,452 in donations, including $657 in non-monetary donations, and $795 in aggregated un-itemized contributions — in California, that’s cash donations under $99 — from individuals. His single donation of over $99 comes from a Santa Clara resident.
Kelly Cox has received $7,034 in donations, including an $800 loan to herself and $422 in non-monetary donations. She has two PAC donors — the Police Officers Research Association of California Issues Committee PAC and the Santa Clara County League of Conservation Voters. Of Cox’s 23 donors, 13 (57%) are residents.
George Guerra has received $2,760 in donations — $1,500 of which is from himself. Of his other two donors, one is a city resident.
Peace Officers Research Association Of California (PORAC) PAC
PORAC lobbies federal and state governments on law enforcement legislation, and this year has become a player in Santa Clara politics. Its PAC makes significant donations to Republican party committees in California as well as donating to state and local candidates and legislation and police PACs.
PORAC gets its money from California law enforcement PACs, including the Border Patrol Supervisors Association, Santa Clara County Correctional Peace Officers’ Association, and $2.6 million in aggregated un-itemized contributions — in California, that’s cash donations under $99. PORAC PAC donated $300,000 to the California Republican party.
Previously this year, it donated $30,000 to defeat a Santa Clara measure to make the positions of police chief and city clerk professional appointments. PORAC has declined to comment on its involvement in Santa Clara politics.
California Real Estate PAC (CREPAC)
CREPAC is financed by donations from real estate businesses and the Civil Justice Association of California. The vast majority of the PAC’s donations are aggregated un-itemized contributions totaling $4.1 million in 2024. This year, CREPAC donated $1.4 million to the California Democratic party and $565,000 to the California Republican party.
Information in this report is what has been reported to the city as of Oct. 6, 2024. PAC donations (Form 497) and expenditures (Form 496) are reported daily, so the numbers can change on a daily basis.
Santa Clara’s Netfile campaign reporting webpage can be found at: www.netfile.com/agency/csc/. Candidates for county and school board offices file their reports at ssl.netfile.com/static/agency/scc/. Look up information about state candidates and California political committees at cal-access.sos.ca.gov, and www.transparencyusa.org.
View Comments (13)
Well, I think the Silicon Valley voice has once again cemented its reputation as an untrustworthy rag by burying the lead in this article, that is the huge amount of money the 49ers are pumping in compared to any of the other sources. Decent analysis would have pointed this out and made it the lead, but not you.
Did you miss their headline? It’s right there in bold, black and white. Large font too.
Well, isn’t this a cozy little arrangement? The Trump Four—Kertis, Cox, Chandra, and O'Neill—are rolling in campaign cash, courtesy of Trump’s billionaire pal Stephen Ross and his Related Company. If you’re wondering, yes, that’s the same Stephen Ross who's funneling *hundreds of thousands* of dollars into their campaigns. Just check the fine print on those glossy mailers piling up in your mailbox—paid for by Related Santa Clara, a local arm of the Trump money machine.
And what’s Lisa Gillmor got to show for Related’s deep pockets? Oh, just a rent-free pass for Related on a huge chunk of city-owned land. They were supposed to be *developing* something, but so far, we’ve got a whole lot of nothing. The city missed a prime opportunity to develop the area when the stadium opened, but hey, why rush when you’re getting prime land for free?
Not only that, but Gillmor and her council buddies went full throttle with taxpayer dollars to boot David’s banquet facility off the golf course land using eminent domain—the first time Santa Clara’s ever played that card. And let’s not forget how they shut down the BMX track, promising to relocate it, and then...well, you guessed it—NOTHING.
Gillmor even wrote to Governor Gavin Newsom asking if Related could get out of paying prevailing wages for their massive $8 billion project. That’s right, she wanted to make sure Related could pay workers less, using the governor to cozy up to a painters union fighting for fair wages.
Here’s the thing: Gillmor's obsession with the 49ers’ campaign contributions starts to make a lot more sense when you realize how many favors she’s handed out to Related. I guess when you’re used to giving out sweetheart deals, you assume everyone else is playing the same game.
Fortunately for us, the majority of our current city council has more ethics in their little fingers than Gillmor and her cronies have shown in years. They’re keeping their focus on what’s best for the residents, not just their friends in high places.
So, just say “NO” to the Trump Four—Kertis, Cox, Chandra, and O'Neill—and back the candidates who are actually working to clean up the mess Gillmor and her crew have made of Santa Clara.
This is the best you have? "So, just say “NO” to the Trump Four" To throw that statement out there is completely irresponsible. You don't have any idea who these people are so you just throw out idiotic nonsense. I'm guessing you are either a plant by the 49ers or one of the 49er five. But without a doubt you're just plain stupid.
So, just say “NO” to the Trump Four—Kertis, Cox, Chandra, and O’Neill—and back the candidates who are actually working to clean up the mess Gillmor and her crew have made of Santa Clara.
Just say no to the Trump 4 makes perfect sense. When the Mayor? had the majority, her minions gave her whatever she wanted with no comment or discussion. The five that make up the majority today often disagree and do not vote as a block. It is called independent thinking.
By the way, your "rent free" comment is also false. Related has been paying Santa Clara $750,000 per month. That figure will most certainly go up. In addition, as of today Related has spent $49,000 from their PAC. This pales in comparison to the 1.5 million, Jed York and the 49ers have spent.
You may not like it, AASCV, but the Trump Four are getting their funding from the same source as Trump--the head of Related Company billionaire Stephen Ross. Doesn't matter what they've reported spending so far, they will drop HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF DOLLARS on these candidates, just like they did for Gillmor alone in 2022.
And Related may be paying rent now, but they didn't FOR YEARS.
And, of course, you have NO comment on Gillmor's cronies using eminent domain to give Related the land. And shutting down the BMX track, and breaking the promise to relocate it. And her appeal to Governor Gavin Newsom asking if Related could get out of paying prevailing wages for their massive $8 billion project.
Pretty obvious that you have drunk the Gillmor-cult koolaid.
Again you associating them with Trump is simply a ploy to agitate voters with inaccuracies. Just because Ross owns Related does not make EVERYONE that does business with them a Trump supporter. I can tell you that none of these people are Trump supporters. You know this but you choose to continue to make untrue inflammatory statements. They spent $250k in 2022 and Jed and the 49ers spent nearly $8 million! Personally, I'd prefer that all of this money is out of these races but until the Supreme Court overturns their decision, we are stuck with it. BTW, Related has been paying rent for the last 2 years to the city. As we all know, many things like this came to a grinding halt during Covid.
Enjoy your kool aid.
What source can you provide for both the start of Related's rent payments AND the amount they are paying?
And, if payments actually started two years ago, then I'd give credit to the CURRENT council for making that happen, because Gillmor and her cronies did not require rent FOR YEARS.
And while you don't want to believe it, at least one of the Trump Four HAS ACTUALLY SUPPORTED TRUMP--he's only back pedaling now because he wants to get elected to city council.
My last name is Tryforos. Any other information you want about David’s donations will gladly be answered if asked. Money from POA was an inkind donation. Largest donation he has received is $320 which is the limit. If the person going through the 460s should notice the rest of his donations from Santa Clara residents wanting a change range from $10 to $200. Of course that’s not the narrative you want. You can look all you want and you will not find anything not ethical in his campaign.
Well, Tryforos, bless your heart for offering up all that info, but here’s the thing—it’s not David’s pocket change we’re worried about. It’s those hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside cash pouring in for the Trump Four, courtesy of Related Company and Trump’s billionaire pal Stephen Ross. Now, I’m sure those $10 to $200 donations are all warm and fuzzy, but they’re getting drowned out by the big-money interests bankrolling this whole operation. So, you can show me all the $320 checks you like, but let’s not pretend that’s the whole picture. We both know the real money isn’t coming from bake sales.
SCV - it's not hundreds of thousands. It's 49k according to the CA 496 form filed. Significantly less than the 1.5 million from the 49ers. But due to the fact that you only reference Related and attempt to brand them all as Trump supporters I have to conclude that you either work for the 49ers, or are a plant by one of our city council people. Please don't waste my time with a response as I'm sure it will just be more divisive rhetoric.
Thank you Ms. Tryforos. The spelling of your name has been corrected. We apologize for the error.