Volunteer
Volunteer With Public Trust Now
Public Trust Now (PTN) is working to help Santa Clara become a City of Trust — a City where residents and government work together to strengthen public trust, improve civic life, address difficult issues honestly, and create a healthier future for the entire community.
We do that through careful research, documented evidence, constructive public dialogue, civic engagement, and a growing community of residents who believe ethical leadership, accountability, transparency, and public trust deserve a stronger voice in Santa Clara — and who want to help develop that voice.
Whether you have professional expertise, technical skills, civic experience, communications abilities, research interests, or simply a desire to contribute, there are many ways to help.
You do not need to be a political insider or subject-matter expert. You simply need to care about Santa Clara, be willing to learn alongside others, and want to contribute your skills, experience, ideas, and time in constructive ways.
Some volunteers may contribute occasionally. Others may become deeply involved in specific projects or initiatives. Both kinds of participation are valuable — and welcome.
What Used to Work
For many years, civic participation in Santa Clara followed a familiar pattern: residents became engaged during elections, voted for candidates they trusted or whose names they recognized, and then returned to their own lives while City government carried out its responsibilities.
That model depended on shared values, strong ethical norms, trustworthy leadership, and confidence that important public decisions were being made for the good of the community rather than to advance personal, private, or special interests.
Residents also expected local government to demonstrate deep regard for what the public thought, conduct honorable political campaigns, provide excellent City services at reasonable cost, and work continuously to improve Santa Clara’s quality of life.
The Decline of Public Trust
The City of Santa Clara worked hard to earn and maintain public trust from roughly 1998 through 2014. During much of the past decade, however, many residents believe the City Council and senior leadership have moved in a different direction — weakening ethical safeguards, dismissing criticism, ignoring public input, and treating public trust as an afterthought rather than a foundational civic responsibility.
At the same time, local government decisions continue to shape nearly every aspect of life in Santa Clara — including development, housing, public services, neighborhood conditions, ethics, public trust, and how billions of public dollars are spent over time.
Local Government's Responsibilities
Residents may not always realize the scale of authority they delegate to local elected officials. A City Council member elected to two four-year terms may help decide how roughly $12 billion of public money is spent over eight years.
Santa Clara’s transition to district elections creates new opportunities for civic participation and accountability. Residents now have a Council representative who lives in their district, who should understand local concerns more directly, who can be approached more personally as both a public official and a neighbor, and who should be an effective advocate for the district's needs while also caring for the City as a whole.
But with that greater proximity and influence also comes a greater need for ethical leadership, transparency, accountability, and public trust.
Public officials are not simply elected to exercise power. They are entrusted to act as fiduciaries for the community — stewards of public resources, public authority, and the long-term well-being of the City.
That is why Council members take an oath of office and why ethics, accountability, and public trust matter so deeply in democratic self-government.
Democratic Trust and Public Confidence
In the end, democratic authority depends on the consent and confidence of the governed. People are far less willing to place their trust in leaders, institutions, or public decisions when ethical standards are weak, accountability is inconsistent or nonexistent, public input is disregarded, and public trust is treated as an afterthought.
Three Civil Grand Jury investigations in three years have documented serious governance and ethics failures in Santa Clara, including findings that:
- Council members supported by more than $10 million in PAC spending associated with the 49ers “can and do vote in a manner favorable to the team;”
- Irreconcilable differences on the City Council contributed to dysfunction and requires additional training in parliamentary procedure, ethical decision-making, and conflict resolution; and
- City leaders agreed to contracts and settlements that significantly favored the 49ers organization.
The City’s response has largely been to dispute or minimize these concerns while continuing in the same general direction. Many residents (60% in a 2024 survey) believe that direction is wrong and are increasingly concerned about the City’s future.
Rebuilding Public Trust
Public Trust Now was created in part because rebuilding public trust now requires a more informed, engaged, and participatory civic culture — one where residents and government work together more openly, constructively, ethically, and accountably to shape the future of the City.
We believe Santa Clara can become a City of Trust, where:
- ethical leadership matters,
- public trust is treated as essential,
- accountability is expected,
- residents believe their concerns are heard,
- difficult issues are addressed honestly and constructively,
- and residents and government work together to build stronger solutions and a healthier civic future.
In a City of Trust
In a City of Trust, there is no place for backroom deals, ignoring apparent conflicts of interest, treating public criticism as an attack, insulting colleagues or residents from the dais, or behaving as though public input does not matter.
There is no place for moving major public decisions forward before residents have meaningful opportunities to learn about proposals, ask questions, express concerns, and participate in discussions while decisions are still being shaped — rather than after outcomes have already been privately decided or politically locked into place.
Public trust is damaged — and can ultimately be destroyed — when elected officials appear more responsive to major donors, organized interests, political allies, or powerful institutions than to the broader public they were elected to serve.
Residents are far more likely to trust government when public officials involve the community early, consult residents throughout the decision-making process, disclose competing interests honestly, welcome criticism respectfully, and demonstrate that public input can genuinely influence outcomes.
A City of Trust depends not only on legal compliance, but on public confidence that government is acting transparently, ethically, thoughtfully, and with genuine regard for the people it serves.
More Than City Services
Healthy cities are not sustained by public services alone — by budgets, roads, permits, development projects, utilities, or public programs, important as those things are.
Communities also depend on qualities that are harder to measure but equally important: trust, mutual respect, civic participation, accountability, shared purpose, and confidence that people and institutions are working toward the good of the community as a whole.
These qualities shape how people experience life together as neighbors, residents, public servants, business owners, and members of a shared community.
They influence whether people feel welcomed, heard, respected, and connected to the City around them. They influence whether talented employees want to work here, whether residents want to stay here, and whether people believe Santa Clara is becoming the kind of community they are proud of.
Santa Clara should aspire to be more than the home of the San Francisco 49ers, major Silicon Valley companies, Santa Clara University, the George F. Hanes International Swim Center, or lower utility rates. It should also aspire to be a community where people trust one another more, participate constructively in civic life, solve problems creatively, and work together to build a stronger future.
When trust and ethical leadership grow stronger, solidarity among residents often grows stronger as well.
This is the vision we are working to turn into reality.