As the 2022 election season enters its final quarter, the San Francisco 49ers – whose money boosted prior campaigns in both San Jose this spring and Santa Clara in 2020 – may be staying on the sidelines.

Former Mayor Pat Mahan is asking a state watchdog agency to investigate whether the city put taxpayer money to political use.

Dominic Caserta has resigned from elected office and pulled out of the county supervisor race amid mounting allegations of sexual misconduct.

Santa Clara got swept up in the NFL’s domestic violence controversy after city leaders were called out for watering down a resolution that would have taken a shot at their new business partners—the 49ers.