Santa Clara City Council Member Anthony Becker appeared in court on Aug. 2 to set a court date for his trial, however, it didn’t happen. Becker’s lawyer says that after conferring with the District Attorney’s office, both sides have agreed to postpone the trial setting for a few more weeks.
The judge set a new trial setting date for Sept. 13 at 1:35 p.m. in Department 26.
Becker attended the trial setting hearing with his mother, stepfather and his husband. Also in attendance were Council Member Kathy Watanabe and Santa Clara small business owner Kirk Vartan, a frequent speaker during public comment during Santa Clara City Council meetings. Vartan and Watanabe arrived and left the courtroom together and also sat together during the hearing.
In early May, Becker entered a plea of “not guilty” to charges of perjury and violation of duty. During the hearing, Becker was assigned a public defender.
All of this stems from Becker’s testimony to the Santa Clara Civil Grand Jury last year. That’s when he stated that he did not distribute a preliminary copy of the Civil Grand Jury report titled “Unsportsmanlike Conduct” to members of the public. The report stated that some members of the City Council, including Becker, united to create a voting bloc to vote for items in favor of the San Francisco 49ers and Levi’s Stadium. The District Attorney’s office says that Becker lied under oath about distributing the report and that he violated his duty as a council member when he allegedly distributed the report.
Becker and several other members of the Council say the report was biased.
Becker remains a sitting member of the Santa Clara City Council despite calls from some members of the public for his resignation. Other members of the public say Becker is innocent until he is proven guilty.
It’s unfortunate that Kathy and Kirk attend these court proceedings just to taunt and antagonize up Mr. Becker. Other than the Mayor, it has been said that Kathy doesn’t communicate with the other council members. What then are her reasons for being there? Perhaps to provide an update to the mayor?
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One thing is certain: that is what Kirk is there for; in his capacity as the mayor’s personal adviser, he will undoubtedly transmit images and report back to the mayor in order to make up a tale about Mr. Becker’s actions and cry foul while he is the one harassing Mr. Becker at every council meeting.
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As of this morning, it appears that the photos Kirk took are published on a blog that only serves to harass and castigate anyone who disagrees with the mayor.
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It begs the issue of whether those four—Kathy, Kirk, Lisa, and Robert—are collaborating to create some sort of lie to use as evidence against Mr. Becker.
Very well said, Buchser.
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Instead of letting the justice system take its due course, Kathy Wantanabe, Kirk Vartan, Robert Haugh, and others have really stepped over the line and seem to be interfering.
CSC,
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How do you think Watanabe and Vartan and Haugh have been interfering with Becker’s perjury case?
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I have not seen them interfere with his case in any way. Erika’s article reads as if she was there and she reported no interference by Watanabe and Vartan and did not report Haugh being present.
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The above comment was not written by me in case you could not tell from the hysterical accusations it contains.
Erika,
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I appreciate how your article is pretty straight reportage. Unlike most pieces on this site that are feeble “whatabout” attempts to divert attention away from Becker’s alleged perjury.
Actually, the direct above comment was not written by me in case you could not tell from the hysterical misreading it contains.
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No where in the initial comment mentions anything about “Haugh”. It begs the new question of who is Haugh working with?
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The late city attorney Doyle, perhaps?
You seem to have riddled yourself into a permanent state of confusion.
Doyle seems to have got himself fired into a permanent state of vendetta.