Suggested First Action for Public Trust Partners

Write Mayor & Council

Launch:  Jan.1, 2026



LETTER TO CITY OFFICIALS - PUBLIC TRUST PARTNERS

Dear Mayor Gillmor, Vice Mayor Cox, Council Members Chahal, Gonzales, Hardy, Jain, and Park, City Manager Grogan, and City Attorney Googins:

I am very concerned about public trust and ethics in Santa Clara city government and the Stadium Authority.

According to official City surveys, in 2006, 91% of residents said the city was going in the right direction. By 2024, only 40% agreed on the City's current direction.  Three Civil Grand Jury reports have documented governance and ethics failures, faulty decision-making, and the many problems public officials and staff have with public trust


. Public trust has been seriously damaged—and I don't see a serious plan to rebuild it.

Three projects underway right now could change that trajectory:

  • Charter Review
  • Ethics Code revision
  • Ethics Commission formation

Done correctly, these projects could:

  • Commit the city and Stadium Authority to ethical governance
  • Create a sustainable public trust program anchored in the Charter
  • Build upon the award-winning 2001 Code of Ethics and Values and 2008 Behavioral Standards
  • Establish an independent Ethics Commission with real authority and resources for training, advice, investigation, and enforcement

Done the way they appear to be going, we will get:

  • A Charter that doesn't mention public trust or ethics and excludes the Stadium Authority
  • An ethics code that replaces our award-winning consensus Code of Ethics & Values and Behavioral Standards for all government officials and staff with a weaker "follow-the-law" compliance code for City Council only
  • Either no Ethics Commission or one designed to fail

If that happens, you will have squandered the best opportunity in a generation to restore public trust. You will have not heard us. And the message to residents will be clear: public trust and ethical leadership don't matter here.

Without public trust and ethics, how do we rebuild our political culture, attract good people to run for office, get a fair return on our investment in Levi's Stadium, and become a government truly of, by, and for the people?

That is not the City I want.

Respectfully,

[Name]
Santa Clara Resident

P.S. I'll be following these issues at PublicTrustNow.com. I encourage you to use it too.