Santa Clara’s propaganda machine is tuned up and turning this election season, and it’s taking things to a new level.
For years, Santa Clarans have watched the wheels turn from below the city council dais, with the same handful of community members stepping up to the public lectern and tossing out a variety of accusations against council members — everything from bribery to collusion to racism.
But this election cycle, the old guard has sunk to a new low. This time, it’s using a lame-duck council member to spread its lies from the dais.
On Sept. 24, during a city council meeting discussion, Council Member Kathy Watanabe made a reckless and baseless accusation. She accused this publication, The Weekly, of paying for city council candidate Harbir Bhatia’s flier distribution.
Watanabe claimed her information came from a delivery person.
“I said, ‘By the way, who’s paying you to pass out all these fliers?’ and he said, ‘The Santa Clara Weekly,’” Watanabe said. “And he said, ‘Yeah, they give us these, they give us these carriers to carry everything. And to pass them out.’ And I said, ‘Well, good luck to you.’ and he went on his way, and I went home and looked more into this issue.”
What does “look more into the issue” mean, exactly? One thing’s for sure, Watanabe never contacted The Weekly.
If she had, she would know that The Weekly does not endorse candidates or pay for the delivery of candidate materials. We would have told her that we do not donate to political campaigns. In fact, The Weekly has a decades-long track record of not endorsing political candidates.
But Watanabe didn’t ask.
She also didn’t ask the distributor. We did. He told us that the employee remembered the conversation. The employee said he was asked what company he delivered for. He replied with the business owner’s name. Watanabe then asked the employee what else he delivered, and he told her The Santa Clara Weekly.
We’re not splitting hairs. It’s clear that Watanabe heard the answer she wanted to hear and not the actual truth.
Less than 12 hours after Watanabe’s comments, The Weekly emailed the city and Watanabe, asking the council member to set the record straight at the next council meeting. We also asked for an email reply.
So far, we haven’t heard anything.
The truth is that this is exactly what the old guard propaganda machine wants. Watanabe was never searching for the truth; her purpose was much more malicious and dangerous than that.
She was searching for a sound bite.
And she got it.
Her comments about The Weekly were repeated on her favorite blog first thing the next morning. The purported “news site” also didn’t contact The Weekly for clarification or comment.
Her hand-picked council candidate, Satish Chandra then amplified the message. He didn’t talk to us either. Instead, he jumped on social media to spread the rumor. Not only did he comment on the initial post by that so-called “news site,” but he also made sure to spread that rumor on NextDoor and several Santa Clara Facebook community groups.
When our publisher, via Chandra’s NextDoor post, offered the truth and asked Chandra to stop spreading the rumors, Chandra deflected.
Chandra blocked comments on his Facebook posts, so we couldn’t set the record straight there.
And this has always been the danger of Santa Clara politics. A whispered rumor that spreads like wildfire with a little flame-fanning from the old guard.
Back to Watanabe, who apparently has no qualms about making false statements if it furthers her political agenda.
It is hard to believe this was a slip of the tongue. It’s more likely it was a blatant misrepresentation designed to discredit a publication that has been critical of her in the past and is currently critical of her hand-picked council replacement.
Remember, this is the same council member who will not cordially greet her council colleagues.
This is the same council member who whined to the media that a fellow council member threatened her in a closed session. Never mind the Brown Act. She was also mum when a third-party investigator found her to be the aggressor.
Still, she continues to spread that rumor. Just last month, in a court document no less, she again said that the council member “verbally attacked” her, and she left the meeting because she was concerned for her “safety.”
We wonder if a judge will compare the two stories.
Rumors are the currency of Watanabe and the rest of the old guard. They sow seeds and then spread those seeds until people can’t distinguish truth from fiction. Under the guise of “Reclaiming Santa Clara,” they foment chaos.
Do you remember what Santa Clara was like when they were in control?
Do you remember the millions of dollars spent fighting the California Voting Rights Act lawsuit?
The Weekly remembers. We were highly critical of the council’s continued opposition to the CVRA.
Watanabe remembers too. She voted in favor of that court battle.
Watanabe and “Reclaiming Santa Clara” are all about reclaiming that power. And apparently, they are not above trying to discredit an independent news organization to do it.