Just days after the San Francisco 49ers kicked off football season at Levi’s Stadium, the NFL team began gearing up for election season, infusing nearly $1 million into political action committees supporting and opposing candidates for Santa Clara City Council.
The 49ers have long been a major political player in the Silicon Valley enclave of roughly 126,000 residents. A recent Bay Area News Group analysis found that the team and its owners have spent $13.1 million in Santa Clara elections between 2009 and 2023, with more than half of that expended in 2020 and 2022.
The 49ers appear poised to spend big again ahead of the Nov. 5 election as the team this week set up and contributed more than $930,000 to four different PACs — between $224,500 and $248,500 to each — campaign finance records show.
“Our organization is proud to continue to support a diverse slate of candidates running for City Council this year,” Ellie Caple, the 49ers’ vice president of corporate communications and public affairs, said in a statement. “We are glad to see that the current Council has effectively managed the City’s finances, reduced the City deficit and continue to serve our community.”
The 49ers are renewing their support of two candidates they have thrown their weight behind in the past: Councilmember Kevin Park in District 4 and Councilmember Suds Jain in District 5. The team is also opposing Park and Jain’s opponents — businessman David Kertes and former Councilmember Teresa O’Neill.
Kertes, who is a first-time candidate in Santa Clara, said he wasn’t surprised when he found out about it on Wednesday evening and that “it just comes with the territory” of running for office.
“I just look at that as an extra spark to me that I am visiting all 4,600 houses in my district,” he said of his campaign strategy.
Park, Jain and O’Neill could not be reached for comment.
In the District 1 race, which is an open seat currently held by soon-to-be-termed-out Councilmember Kathy Watanabe, the 49ers are supporting Santa Clara Unified School District Trustee Albert Gonzalez and opposing former Charter Review Committee member Satish Chandra. Four years ago, the 49ers backed District 1 candidate Harbir Bhatia, the CEO of the Silicon Valley Central Chamber of Commerce, who is running once again.
Chandra expressed concern about the PAC and said he was scared that the 49ers are going to intimidate him or even physically assault him or his family.
“I’m a person who loves and is passionate to serve the community and these people are trying to put me down, harass me and slander me,” Chandra said, referring to a survey that recently circulated in the community.
When asked about Chadra’s claims and worries, Capel said that they “don’t feel the need to comment on that absurd delusion.”
Gonzalez could not be reached for comment.
In District 6, the 49ers are opposing Santa Clara University Assistant Dean Kelly Cox and have yet to say whether they will support a candidate in the race. Cox is running against Councilmember Anthony Becker, who was indicted last year for allegedly leaking a confidential civil grand jury report to the 49ers and lying about it, and former Parks and Recreation Commissioner George Guerra.
The 49ers supported Becker’s initial run for council in 2020 as well as his failed mayoral bid in 2022 against Mayor Lisa Gillmor. Becker’s trial is expected to start in the coming weeks and court documents show that his attorneys have been building a case that others leaked the report in question.
In an email, Cox called the PAC opposing her “textbook behavior” from the 49ers and expressed concern that they would “silence” her and “discredit” her campaign.
“I am not a person to the 49ers — just an obstacle in a machine built for the wealthy and powerful,” Cox said. “To them, I am someone to deface without concern. They don’t care about my kids, my professional reputation or my community. To them, I am simply a small problem that might cause them to make a few less dollars on the billions they are already guaranteed. “
So far, the only other PAC that is backing council candidates that has registered with the city of Santa Clara is sponsored by the developers of the Related Santa Clara project — a massive mixed-use development expected to sprout up next to Levi’s Stadium. The PAC says it will support Chandra, O’Neill, Kertes and Cox and currently has no contributions.
The Santa Clara Police Officers’ Association also has typically spent large sums of money in Santa Clara elections, but has yet to create a PAC, according to election filings.