The Santa Clara-based San Francisco 49ers have completed their draft pick in the San Jose mayoral election. The selection of second-time mayoral hopeful Cindy Chavez, the Santa Clara County supervisor who is currently leading in the polls, comes with a $300,000 independent expenditure.
The 49ers and Chavez developed a relationship during the county’s Covid-19 mass vaccination program at Levi’s Stadium in the first half of 2021. More than 350,000 vaccinations were administered at the stadium.
The previous year, the football team’s owners spent more than $3 million to elect four city council candidates for Santa Clara City Council—Suds Jain, Harbir Bhatia, Kevin Park and Anthony Becker—and oppose candidates aligned with Santa Clara mayor and persistent 49ers adversary Lisa Gillmor. The independent expenditures went to a committee established by former congressman Mike Honda, a Chavez supporter and longtime ally.
In December, executives Jed York and Al Guido announced that they were supporting Chavez’s bid to become mayor of the city next door. In a statement released to San Jose Inside, San Francisco 49ers EVP for Communications & Public Affairs Rahul Chandhok said, “We are proud to support Cindy Chavez’s campaign to become the first Latina Mayor of San Jose. Supervisor Chavez demonstrated exemplary leadership during the pandemic and was instrumental in launching California’s largest vaccination site at Levi’s Stadium last year. As an organization with roots that extend to San Jose and beyond, we’re supporting Supervisor Chavez because we’re confident she will take action on the South Bay’s most pressing issues such as housing affordability and public safety.”
Three current members of the San Jose City Council also seek to ascend to the mayor’s office: Dev Davis, Matt Mahan and Raul Peralez. District 10 representative Matt Mahan has led in early fundraising lead, with 894 donors contributing $504,169 as of the end of December.
“The status quo are running scared,” Mahan said when he learned of the independent expenditure. “They understand that people are looking around and asking themselves who is responsible for growing homelessness, untreated mental illness and addiction and rising crime, and that Cindy Chavez has been in power for nearly 30 years. She can’t run on her record, so she’s running on her connections.”
From the article, “…She can’t run on her record, so she’s running on her connections.”
And you, Mr. Mahan are also running on your ‘connections’.
No matter who the ‘Voters’ choose…San Jose is doomed.
David S. Wall
San Jose has no good choice. There is the lady who has been around for decades with really no accomplishments outside of saying things that sound good to people who believe she will follow through. She doesn’t. Then, your guy, Mahan, who thinks 2-year old children wearing masks is somehow a reasonable approach. This is just the G-league of politics here in San Jose – and the streets reflect the growing incompetence via recycled poor leadership.
San Jose, do not let the 49ers do to your city what they have done to Santa Clara.
The 49ers spent $3 million on getting *their* candidates elected in the city of Santa Clara for City council. The Santa Clara City Council, aside from 2 members, vote in lockstep with the 49ers wishes as they have demonstrated over and over again. The candidates that the 49ers bought are all over their heads. They are inept and feckless. At the 49ers bidding, the “49er 5” have left the city without a City Manager AND City Attorney as nobody qualified for those positions wants to work for the city due to the reputation of the city council.
San Jose, for the future of your city do not vote anybody into office who is endorsed and paid for by the 49ers. Just take a look at the dysfunctional and sleazy organization that is the 49ers and Jed York. If ever a murky, and possibly criminal situation, called for a grand jury investigation, the history between the City of Santa Clara council members, who make up the “49er 5” and the 49ers, deserves the DA’s consideration.
San Jose Inside, please put your best investigative journalists on the incestuous relationship between the 49ers political donations and those who they endorse, the meetings between the 49er 5 and the 49ers, some of which were off the record and not documented as required by law, and the back room dealings that have gone on. Please keep the heat on.
David S. Wall,
Have you met Matt Mahan in person? Is he your councilmember? Have you gone to a meet and greet to ask him your toughest question in person? Are you familiar at all with his character? Do you vote based on who you think a candidates “connections” are? Interesting. My bar is higher than that.
I’m voting for Matt Mahan for Mayor because he has represented me extremely well as my council member. He is well versed on almost any subject thrown at him at a moments notice and without preparation. He does not think San Jose is doomed but instead is going to raise his family here and wants to see them thrive and so is putting his incredible talents to great use to improve what he sees as a city with problems but also with incredible potential. I’ll take that against your doomed any day.
You should run David Wall. You are an extremely smart man. But you are not on the ballot and Matt is. We are not doomed unless you and those like you just give up. I’m a proud Matt Mahan supporter and will talk to anyone, anytime about why.
Chavez is not Leading any polls.
The little game her and Raul are playing is as hysterical as the nonsense her and Gonzo pulled. She’s a con artist. Cricket fields and pro football. I mean seriously, little chubby Cindy, turning into a fat cat. out stuffing her face with garbage and ripping every
one in San Jose off.
It’s a pretty bad sign when you’re endorsed by the most corrupt corporate lobbyist (Carl Guardino) and the most corrupt corporation (Santa Clara 49ers) in the area, as Cindy Chavez is. Alarming and a bit of a surprise that both Guardino and the 49ers have even more trust in Chavez to do their bidding than they have in Matt Mahan or Dev Davis.
Vote for the candidate who has done far more in the interests of the community and is not endorsed by any prominent corrupt politicians, lobbyists, or corporations: Raul Peralez.