The City of Santa Clara reports that it has no records of labor or performance “problems” that were hinted at by Mayor Lisa Gillmor, Council Member Debi Davis and South Bay Labor Council Executive Ben Field against Landmark Event Staffing Services during weeks of public argument over the company’s contract renewal.
That was the answer to the Weekly’s public records request for reports, logs, meetings, minutes, emails, text messages and any other kind of documentation referencing or concerning the stadium security services provider’s performance.
The City’s response that there were “no conforming records” means that no records were found. Public agencies have to report the existence of relevant records protected by exclusions to California’s public meetings law, even if the records are being withheld.
The insinuations against Landmark were made by Gillmor, Davis and Field during April Council discussions of Landmark’s contract with the 49ers’ stadium management company (ManCo). (Although the contract isn’t with the City, because the amount is so high, the City Council/Santa Clara Stadium Authority must approve it.)
“I heard there were events where people didn’t show up,” Debi Davis told 49ers VP of Stadium Operations Jim Mercurio at the April 4 Council meeting. Mercurio explained that the employees in question worked for another company that had been engaged in the past to supplement stadium security services.
Vague allegations about stadium subcontractors were aired at the April 11 meeting, without any clarification about who or what was being discussed. “We’ve had issues in the last three years. We don’t have performance standards,” Gillmor said. “It’s come to my attention that one of the contractors wasn’t paying their employees and we just found that out.”
“It seems to me like a deja vu thing,” said Davis, saying that she was bothered “that some people were contracted out and weren’t even paid.”
Field claimed in a blog post in early April that stadium security operations were “substandard” and told the Weekly in an interview that this was attested to by “multiple” YouTube videos, although he was unable to provide links to any specific videos.
The contract dispute was over whether or not the Santa Clara City Council can make the contract conditional on Landmark’s holding union negotiations.