Dear Mayor and Council,
After the council meeting on Tues 11/1, I feel it necessary to set the record straight on something council members seem to be focused on. I am not a self-appointed assistant or self-appointed advisor to the Mayor, nor have I ever been. This assertion about me is false and continues to be repeated. I thought it was funny at first, but I now realize this continued accusation may be used to delegitimize my standing in the community.
Not only do some council members repeat this attack on my character when I make a public comment, but even local reporters and publications are parroting the condescending and aggressive intent of this slur. Here is the fact: I was appointed by Mayor Lisa Gillmor in February 2020 (almost a year before the council members making these statements were elected) as “Special Advisor to the Mayor” on small business and worker-owned cooperative initiatives.
Attached is an article from the Silicon Valley Voice/Santa Clara Weekly discussing our co-op and referencing this information (https://www.svvoice.com/worker-co-op-model-gaining-traction-in-santa-clara). The continued snide remarks about being “self-appointed” is dishonest and bullying in nature, especially when it is coming from the dais at an official council meeting. I hope in the future the council members will stop focusing on my titles and instead focus on the issues at hand.
I trust this will put this issue to rest.
Kind regards,
Kirk Vartan
GM/Founder, A Slice of New York – a Santa Clara business