Santa Clara council votes to fire Metropolis Manager Deanna Santana cites ‘lack of confidence’ in her
SANTA CLARA — Santa Clara’s elected leaders have made the decision to fireplace Town Supervisor Deanna Santana, whose massive wage and community disputes with the 49ers around the procedure of Levi’s Stadium have created her five-yr operate at the city’s helm a controversial one particular.
The Town Council designed the announcement Thursday night just after emerging from a shut-doorway session referred to as a day previously by council customers Anthony Becker, Karen Hardy, Kevin Park and Raj Chahal.
Citing a “lack of confidence” in her, Becker, Hardy, Park and Chahal voted to hearth Santana. Mayor Lisa Gillmor and council member Kathy Watanabe dissented and Vice Mayor Suds Jain was absent.
Gillmor criticized the council bulk for placing the metropolis in a “precarious problem.”
“I have been in public office for numerous many years,” she said. “No town council has ever gutted city corridor and place our citizens in jeopardy with no management at city corridor. No town council has so naturally set a personal curiosity above the general public fascination and I think this is a seriously seriously unfortunate day in Santa Clara historical past.”
Santana’s dismissal arrives just about six months soon after the council fired former town attorney Brian Doyle. Equally Santana and Doyle, along with Gillmor, ended up remarkably vital of the San Francisco 49ers football team and the way it managed Levi’s Stadium.
With Doyle’s replacement nevertheless to be named, Santa Clara is without having its top rated two directors or anyone serving in the interim. The council options to fulfill in a week to appoint an interim acting metropolis supervisor.
According to Santa Clara’s city charter, a the greater part of council associates have to approve a resolution stating the reason for the metropolis manager’s removing 30 days ahead of it goes into result. Santana will now have the prospect to respond in creating or request a general public hearing in the following 15 to 30 days.
Just after the 30 times move, the council can formally vote to oust her. In the meantime, Santana has been suspended with pay.
Santana has been a controversial determine given that she was employed by the city in 2017 and presented an annual salary of $372,886 and a slew of gains which include a $550 month to month automobile allowance and a $3,750 regular monthly housing allowance.
Her compensation deal to run the city of 130,000 has considering the fact that increased, and in 2020 it topped out at $765,152. That built her the second-optimum compensated city manager in California driving only the town supervisor of Fontana.
Santana has defended her salary above the several years by citing her practical experience in taking care of the towns of Oakland, Sunnyvale and San Jose.
Just after a around $20,000 price tag of dwelling adjustment in December elevated her annual base spend to $468,674.97, Suds Jain, Becker and Chahal expressed curiosity in renegotiating Santana’s wage.
The shortly-to-be former city supervisor, who has often long gone head-to-head with the 49ers above the team’s administration of Levi’s Stadium, far more than $5 million in unpaid hire to use the stadium and early nightime curfews for concerts and other events, has been the matter of various recent meetings among council members and the group.
On Jan. 10, 24 and 31, Becker, Park and Jain together achieved with users of the 49ers’ entrance place of work staff members to explore topics which includes “Santana moral considerations,” “Santana CEO title considerations,” “Santana e-mail snooping fears,” “Deanna’s luxurious home” and “Deanna’s wage,” in accordance to the council members’ community calendars.
Through the 2020 election, 49ers CEO Jed York contributed $3 million to a political action committee that backed Becker, Jain and Park.
Becker advised this news corporation these conversations were portion of frequent meetings the a few have with the group, but included he did not disclose any data to them about Santana’s standing or salary.
“We do not negotiate with any entity about any personnel in the town of Santa Clara,” he reported. “All we do is just listen. They have a correct to their impression.”
Just before Santana was employed by Santa Clara, she served 3 1/3 several years as Sunnyvale’s town supervisor and three years as Oakland’s metropolis administrator.
Her time in Oakland also was contentious as she clashed with politicians and unions. She was ousted from the city in 2014 soon after eyeing town manager work in Dallas and Phoenix.
