Four years ago, Anthony Becker looked at the disappointing decisions draining resident funds from the Santa Clara budget. He was just a resident with no ax to grind, no political backing, or major organization support. He just looked at the millions being wasted by Mayor Lisa Gillmor and her incumbent council members and said, “This waste has to stop!”
Known by few, and with minimal name recognition, he pulled papers and registered to run against Gillmor. Without political backing, funds for mailers or glossy brochures and with limited political experience, he ran for mayor. It was bold to run for office without money, without a support base, inexperienced; and more so to run against the most recognized politician in the city.
With his limited spending and only a teacup of dollars, he received 25% of the vote.
Becker did not feel defeated. Instead, he became super-charged with the idea of dedicating himself to local politics. Two years later, he went head-to-head with Mayor Gillmor’s chosen candidate Bob Mezzetti, and won, earning a seat on City Council.
While Becker had served as a city planning commissioner, this race was his first experience in public office. He didn’t wait long until he proposed some critical and overdue changes.
First on his list was to terminate Gillmor’s chosen city attorney, Brian Doyle, who single-handedly made such decisions that cost Santa Clara millions. With the new council majority’s support, Doyle was soon in the rearview mirror.
Within months, Becker then led the council coalition to terminate the controversial and grossly overpaid city manager, Deanna Santana. Santana was another of Mayor Gillmor’s appointments, who created such upheaval, she changed the culture of Santa Clara. Her compensation package, which was pushing $800,000 annually, was the highest in California. Thank you, Anthony Becker, and the council members who terminated her tenure.
Becker was also instrumental in bringing back Rajeev Batra as interim City Manager. Batra has been diligent in his service to the City, providing calmness following Santana’s costly and contentious time of turmoil.
Just an observation: it is apparent there are the same 10 or 12 people who write disgusting comments about Becker on the internet that are as fake as the pseudonyms they use. To paraphrase the words of a great historic leader, “The idiots you have with you always!”
Santa Clara is fortunate to have such a capable candidate to stand up for residents and restore the budget. One who is not grasping for political influence, political power or ego gratification. Council Member Anthony Becker deserves your vote to take on the job as mayor, restore the budget, root out the waste, and represent you, me, and every person living in Santa Clara.
View Comments (4)
It is a joke to try to claim that Becker is running "without money" when we all know that the Forty Niners are spending several hundred thousand dollars trying to get him elected mayor.
You make your publication appear completely partisan with this.
You have a nasty habit of misreading and mixing up your facts. The phase “without money” was referenced in the article during Becker’s initial run for mayor. And that is not “a joke”, and that is a true statement. It is really your remarks that are “completely partisan”.
In 2020, Anthony Becker did not go "head-to-head with Mayor Gillmor’s chosen candidate Bob Mezzetti" and win. There were three candidates in the race, and the third candidate got over twenty percent of the vote, far more than the margin between Becker and Mezzetti.
I am a resident of District 6 and I did vote for Becker. My primary reason was that he strongly supported the six District Elections. An interesting fact is that although he only received 40% of the vote, due to the fact that District 6 is the most populated District, he actually received more votes than Kathy Watanabe (Winner in District 1).