The San Francisco 49ers have once again opened up their checkbook ahead of Election Day, spending over $2.3 million on Santa Clara City Council races — more than 17 times the second biggest spender in the city.
Four seats are up for grab on the council and the NFL team is backing Santa Clara Unified School District Trustee Albert Gonzalez in District 1, Councilmember Kevin Park in District 4, Councilmember Suds Jain in District 5 and former Parks and Recreation Commissioner George Guerra in District 6. The 49ers have spent on average roughly $302,000 supporting each of the candidates through the end of October.
The team is also running opposition campaigns against some of their chosen candidates’ challengers. The 49ers have shelled out $247,694 opposing former Charter Review Committee member Satish Chandra in District 1, $233,879 opposing former Councilmember Teresa O’Neill in District 4, $230,039 against businessman David Kertes and $391,059 against Santa Clara University Assistant Dean Kelly Cox in District 6 — the most the team has spent on any seat this election cycle.
The 49ers are not supporting or opposing indicted Vice Mayor Anthony Becker in District 6, who is set to go to trial immediately after the election for allegedly leaking a confidential civil grand jury report to the NFL team and then lying about it. The team spent heavily on Becker’s failed mayoral bid two years ago.
In District 1, they also are not spending any money on Harbir Bhatia, the CEO and president of the Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce, who the team backed four years ago.
“Our organization is proud to continue to support a diverse slate of candidates running for City Council this year,” 49ers spokesperson Ellie Caple said of the team’s spending. “We are glad to see that the current Council has effectively managed the City’s finances, reduced the City deficit and continues to serve the Santa Clara community.”
The infusion of more than $2.3 million into this years election by the 49ers adds to the growing total that the team has spent in politics in the last decade-and-a-half. Between 2009 and 2023, the 49ers and its team owners spent $15.5 million in political contributions nationwide, with 85.2%, or $13.1 million, of that spent directly in Santa Clara, according to a Bay Area News Group analysis conducted earlier this year.
David McCuan, a political science professor at Sonoma State University, said that “the threshold to compete” in local elections has gone up in recent years. But money isn’t everything and at some point, he said, it can hit a “tipping point” where voters’ views on massive amounts of political spending outweigh the benefits.
“As you shower the district or the area with a deluge of dollars, as the tsunami of spending occurs, there’s a backlash effect that can happen,” he said. “The art is getting right up to that point without tipping over.”
McCuan said that the “tipping point” is often much higher for NFL teams compared to other big spenders like Big Pharma or Big Oil. When candidates without as much money behind them win, he said it’s usually because they have other resources or endorsements that have more of an impact on voters’ decisions.
Three other groups are also trying to get their message — and candidates — out to voters among the onslaught of NFL dollars.
The Santa Clara Police Officers’ Association PAC has spent $135,860 through October supporting Chandra, O’Neill, Kertes and Cox and opposing Gonzalez, Bhatia, Park, Jain, Becker and Guerra. The POA has spent another $30,600 backing their choice for police chief: Cory Morgan, a current Santa Clara police officer.
“We are supporting candidates that represent change for the better because three grand jury reports and a felony indictment are plaguing city hall,” POA President Jeremy Schmidt said in a statement.
When asked about the 49ers’ spending, he said he “will leave it to the residents to look at the spending and decide who has their best interests in mind.”
The city’s firefighters union — Firefighters Local 1171 — is also spending money on the council race — $29,166 through October. In addition, the union has spent $15,812 to support Measure I — a $400 million infrastructure bond that will in part support building new fire stations.
The final group that has pumped money into Santa Clara council races is the developers of Related Santa Clara — a massive mixed-use development that is planned for the lot across the street from Levi’s Stadium.
The PAC has spent $115,217 backing Chandra, O’Neill, Kertes and Cox. Related Santa Clara’s developer is the Related Companies, whose chairman is Stephen Ross — the owner of the Miami Dolphins.
Related Santa Clara’s recent campaign filings pose several problems with line item expenses not adding up to the total expenditures they are reporting. The group has also reported spending more money than it has raised. A spokesperson for Related Santa Clara did not respond to a request for comment.