The 49ers have poured $1.1M into the Santa Clara City Council election after years of battling the council over "numerous issues involving city-owned Levi’s Stadium," according to Jody Meacham of the SILICON VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL. It is the "latest salvo in what's become one of the biggest battles in Silicon Valley." The $1.1M is a "staggering sum of nearly $20 for each of the 57,302 registered voters in the city of 130,000 people." The 49ers said that their spending is about "protecting Santa Clara’s new district election format," a "system that threatens" Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor's council majority. The political committee formed by 49ers CEO Jed York uses a name that "implies that racial justice is a key goal: Citizens for Efficient Government and Full Voting Rights." Gillmor in a statement sent via text wrote, “Instead of paying his bills and following state laws against wage theft and self-dealing, Jed York would rather control the Santa Clara City Council. That truly is what this election is about” (BIZJOURNALS.com, 10/6).
