Of political football
49ers’ York spending big on Santa Clara elections
This week’s decision by Santa Clara County not to allow fans at 49ers games, despite getting the OK for limited ticket sales from California’s health department, is the latest blow in a strained relationship between the football team and its handselected locale.
Whatever the 49ers’ current feelings are about the county, they can’t be nearly as toxic as the team’s relationship with the city of Santa Clara. The marriage that originally was promised to be ideal has been contentious almost from the outset.
But it’s at an entirely different level now. Team owner Jed York has poured an astounding and unprecedented $ 3 million into the upcoming citycouncil election, backing four candiGame
dates and opposing four other candidates — including two female incumbents who have stood up to the 49ers on several issues. It’s a mindblowing amount of money to infuse into a local race in a city of 130,000 people, and has some worrying that the 49ers are trying to turn the city into “Yorkville.”
“It’s shocking and obnoxious,” said Mayor Lisa Gillmor, who is the target of much of the 49ers’ ire. “He’s unhappy with the way Santa Clara is holding him accountable and he seems to figure it’s cheaper to buy the citycouncil seats. Money seems to be no object.”
It is true that money is no object for the 49ers, who were valued at $ 990 million around the time Measure J passed, clearing the way for Levi’s Stadium to be built in Santa Clara. ( York spent a mere $ 4 million on that election effort a decade ago). Now, according to Forbes, the 49ers are valued at $ 3.8 billion, fifth among NFL teams.
But money can’t buy happiness ... or public health rulings. The 49ers are not happy with the county’s decision to continue to prohibit fans. Head coach Kyle Shanahan made that clear when he called it “disappointing.” The team resides in a county that values science and takes pride at being in front of the coronavirus pandemic — Santa Clara County was one of six Bay Area counties that implemented the country’s first shelterinplace mandate.
The county’s ruling adds another layer of tension to an already unhappy marriage between the team and the place it chose to make its home 14 years ago, in 2006 after acrimonious stadium discussions with San Francisco broke down.
The issues with Santa Clara started almost immediately after the 49ers moved into the cityowned stadium, which was built after taxpayers agreed to borrow $ 850 million for the stadium, with the stipulation that no taxpayer funds could be used to maintain and operate it. A dispute over adjacent youth soccer fields led to a breach of trust that has only escalated over the years. There have been fights over rent, over the city curfew on concerts, over the withholding of documents, over the control of the stadium authority.
“They are acting as if this is not a public facility,” said Gillmor, a former supporter of the stadium. “They wanted the benefits of partnering with a public agency, but they don’t want to pay for it.”
Gillmor was appointed mayor when teamfriendly mayor Jamie Matthews abruptly resigned in 2016 after Super Bowl 50, which was held at Levi’s. Born and raised in Santa Clara, Gillmor was elected in 2018 and is in the middle of her first term.
Her elevation marked a shift in a body that once had been overly 49ers friendly; Gillmor and the council, which is majority female ( four council members) want to maintain oversight over the stadium. York’s influx of campaign funds, both for and against candidates of his choosing and which dwarfs the backing of any other funds coming into the race, appears to be an effort to change the dynamic.
The 49ers want to make the race an argument about diversity and describe York’s preferred candidates as an effort toward better representing the makeup of the city ( 40% of Santa Clara residents identify as white). Three of York’s preferred candidates are Asian American.
Rahul Chandhok, the 49ers’ vice president of public affairs and strategic communications, said in an email that York’s support was a “swift, open and transparent” response to seeing Gillmor “orchestrate her developer allies to funnel money through the Police Union PAC” and to “the outcry from civic institutions like the NAACP and the Asian Law Alliance.” Chandhok charges that Gillmor is “supporting a slate of all white candidates” and has worked to “upend voting rights to dilute minority representation.”
Gillmor called those charges “a complete lie.”
“I am supporting candidates that will stand up for Santa Clara and not an NFL ownerslashbillionaire,” she said.
The city and the team have been fighting each other in court. The 49ers recently sued the city to prevent a move to end the team’s oversight of stadium management; the city wants an independent stadium authority. That’s one of what Gillmor says is “seven or eight” legal actions pending.
In recent months, the 49ers submitted a bill to Santa Clara for $ 2.7 million to cover losses related to cancellations because of the pandemic. As with other disputes, the city said it is not receiving financial documents to validate the 49ers’ claims. The city responded by saying that the team owed Santa Clara $ 1.1 million in unpaid public safety costs.
Gillmor worries about the financial health of her city if York’s efforts are successful. If the city council flips to a proteam majority, Gillmor says it likely would cost the city “hundreds of millions” in revenue, resulting in drastic cuts to city services.
It’s an ugly relationship that just keeps getting worse. And now the county health administrators aren’t giving the 49ers what they want.
Probably a good thing for Dr. Sara Cody, Santa Clara County’s top medical expert, that her position is appointed and not elected.