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A Santa Clara County civil grand jury failed to interview a majority of the Santa Clara council members it indicted for alleged misconduct in a controversial new report.
Three of the five council members warned in the report — Kevin Park, Raj Chahal and Anthony Becker — told the San José Spotlight they were never contacted by the jurors. They are accused of unethical ties to the San Francisco 49ers and putting the interests of the team above the city.
“It’s surprising considering I’m one of the people who had allegations against me,” Park said. “To not even talk to me when you make such specific accusations seems irresponsible. There is no way people can consider this report unbiased if they haven’t even spoken to one of the parties.
Others named in the report are Council members Karen Hardy and Sudds Jane, both of whom were interviewed. Both told the San José Spotlight that the questions were adversarial and accusatory.
“It looks like all the documents they’ve seen are biased,” Jane said.
The final report, released late Monday, revealed that two jurors recused themselves due to conflicts of interest. It was not disclosed which jurors or why they could not participate in the investigation. Last week, 49ers officials expressed concern that several jurors have close business and personal ties to Mayor Lisa Gilmore, a staunch opponent of the team.
Officials with the Santa Clara County Superior Court and the district attorney’s office — which serves as the grand jury attorney — declined to respond to the allegations. They confirmed that the jurors who were sequestered did not participate in the investigation.
Time raises eyebrows
The report’s release on Monday, less than a month before Election Day, also raised eyebrows. Sources who spoke to San José Spotlight anonymously said the jury’s goal was to affect change, and that may be why it was published before an election. Becker is challenging Gilmore for mayor, and Hardy and Chahal are facing re-election.
The grand jury began investigating Santa Clara in June and interviewed only 10 people before completing its report, even though its mandate began in January. Last year’s report on the county’s technology services, by comparison, had 45 interviews. A report on the previous year’s conservatorship contains 29 interviews.
A former juror, who requested anonymity because of privacy concerns, said not talking to three of the accused council members was a legitimate reason to be suspicious.
“I think we have reason to suspect that it might be biased,” the juror said. “(Based on) the limited number of interviews. The failure of interviewing people who were mentioned.’
Chahal said he was shocked to see the county judiciary, an institution meant to deliver justice, manipulated into “spreading politically motivated lies”.
“Assumptions, lies and misrepresentations are the hallmarks of the (civil grand jury) report,” he said. “Any investigation that is focused on making fair and true findings will seek to listen and hear perspectives from all parties and interested parties – however (the civil grand jury) never once contacted me to express my perspective points forward in your report. “
Becker said the report raises questions about how much contact Gilmore had with jurors before it was released.
“In this nation, you’re innocent until proven guilty, but their verdict is guilty even without an actual investigation,” Becker said. “Even more troubling is that there are lawyers on this grand jury, and I’m sure they would never have gone to trial with the case they presented here.”
Gilmore did not respond to a request for comment.
“kangaroo court”
Among other findings, the report said the five council members met frequently with lobbyists from the 49ers — possibly in violation of the Brown Act — before council meetings, succumbed to influence from the team, failed to hold them accountable team leaders about missing financial records and accused Hardy and Chahal of potentially violating the city’s gift policy.
Santa Clara Police Chief Pat Nicolai, a supporter of Gilmore, urged the district attorney on Monday to investigate the allegations.
The 49ers, who also were not interviewed by jurors, spent millions to defeat Gilmore and re-elect the board members named in the report. As of September 1, the team has spent at least $1.5 million in support of Becker, Hardy and Chahal, with approximately $704,500 going to Becker. The team put at least $1.9 million into PACs to support the three council members.
Peter Hurtan, a former juror and president of the California Grand Jury Association, said he has faith in the grand jury’s role as an impartial public watchdog — despite any missteps.
“I can’t speak for the grand jury and why they make decisions about who to interview,” Hurtan told the San José Spotlight. “But you would hope that as much information as possible has been gathered so that you are as informed as possible.”
However, 49ers officials called the jury a “kangaroo court.” They said the jury refused to correct errors in the report even after being presented with evidence.
“This is a political stunt with no legal or factual basis,” team spokesman Rahul Chandhok told the San José Spotlight. “At least two members of the ‘jury’ have already been removed due to conflicts of interest. When presented with hundreds of pages of evidence correcting their report, they said they had no responsibility to review information that contradicted their biases. This corruption of the judiciary is outrageous.
Jain said he has made a request to bring the report to the Santa Clara City Council for public comment. The city has 90 days to respond.
Contact Ramona Givargis at [email protected] or follow @RamonaGiwargis on Twitter.
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