Jed York could forge a new relationship with the Santa Clara City Council if election results hold
The 49ers "found the right playbook for the game of politics" by helping three "relatively unknown candidates likely pull off a stunning upset" in the Santa Clara City Council race Tuesday night, according to Joseph Geha of the San Jose MERCURY NEWS. If the election results hold, the 49ers "will have dealt a major blow" to Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor by "possibly breaking up the council majority she has long wielded against" the team. And it "could signal the beginning of a new relationship" between 49ers CEO Jed York and the council, who have "battled each ever since Levi’s Stadium was built several years ago and the 49ers tried to buy out adjacent soccer fields for parking." Whether that will change how the stadium is managed "remains to be seen," though interviews with two of the candidates "suggest a thaw is definitely on the horizon." Gillmor has "publicly blasted the team for trying to buy council seats to loosen restrictions on stadium curfew hours and possibly decrease rent owed to the city." Santa Clara City Planning Commissioner Suds Jain, one of the candidates supported by York’s PAC, said that if a promoter wanted to put on a three-day concert at the stadium, the city "should consider loosening the 10 p.m. curfew to earn itself more money" (San Jose MERCURY NEWS, 11/5).
