The Moment for Restoration of Trust
The forthcoming revision of Santa Clara’s City Charter offers a real opportunity to restore public trust in local governance. But there is one glaring omission: the Santa Clara Stadium Authority. When I asked whether the Authority would be included in the Charter review sub-committees, the City Attorney responded that it was excluded simply because it was formed by a Joint Powers Agreement (JPA). That reasoning is legally arguable but governance-wise indefensible.
An Unjustified Exclusion
The Council, the City Manager, the City Attorney and the Finance Director all serve on the Authority; they meet alongside the Council. The stadium drains time, attention and taxpayer resources for all of us—yet the Authority operates with no independent ethics code or robust charter oversight. Excluding it from the Charter review treats one of the largest governance structures in our city as if it were outside the governance framework we’re asking taxpayers to approve.
Why the JPA Argument Falls Short
Yes, JPAs are legally distinct entities created under California’s Government Code §6500 et seq. Wikipedia+1 But the existence of a JPA does not insulate the City from oversight when the JPA affects the City’s finances, decision-making, budget risks, and public trust. The Authority’s decisions on stadium contracts, vendor deals, and public-private arrangements significantly affect the City’s governance—yet the Charter review is being framed as if those decisions are irrelevant. Leaving the Authority out signals: “We will reform governance—except where it matters most.”
A Central Role, Not a Side Issue
The SCSA owns and operates Levi’s Stadium and its financial, contractual, and political impact on the city is profound. If the Charter reviews ethics, transparency, conflicts of interest, board structure or public meetings—but excludes the Stadium Authority—then the review is incomplete by design. Choosing to leave out the Stadium Authority means voters will be asked to approve a governance document that ignores a key decision-making body.
What the Charter Review Must Include
The committee and the public must insist upon:
- An explicit section or addendum: The Charter must either include the Authority directly, or adopt a formal addendum linking the Authority to the City’s governance structure, ethical standards, conflicts-of-interest safeguards, and oversight.
- Cross-Reference Integration: Charter articles on Council, the City Manager, boards/commissions, city finances or public meetings must reference how the Authority fits into or interacts with those systems.
- Minimum Oversight Standards: Though the Authority is a JPA, the Charter should require that the City’s membership in it meet the same ethics, transparency and disclosure standards as the rest of the City—at minimum as a condition of City participation.
- Transparency & Accountability Mechanisms: The Charter should build in audit requirements, public disclosures of contracts, vendor relationships, stadium revenue-share deals and governance minutes, treated as part of the City’s framework—not as a “special case.”
- Continuity & Institutionalisation: The ethics and oversight regime must be anchored in the Charter, not reliant on any one champion or Council majority. If the Authority’s role is excluded, future oversight becomes discretionary, not required.
A Test for Voters
- If the final Charter revision arrives without mention of the Stadium Authority’s role, structure, and oversight, then voters are being asked to approve governance that fails to reflect the full reality of municipal decision-making. Given the scale of the stadium enterprise, the money involved, the politics around it, and the ethics questions that have arisen—this is simply unacceptable.
The Charter Is the Foundation of Public Trust
When we build municipal trust, we cannot leave the biggest resource and the biggest risk off the table. If ethics, oversight, and public trust must underpin governance, then the Charter review must account for every major governance entity—including the Stadium Authority.