A jury on Thursday convicted gay Santa Clara City Councilmember Anthony Becker of perjury over his lying about leaking a report detailing the dealings between the South Bay city's leaders and the San Francisco 49ers football team. Becker, who lost his bid for reelection in the November 5 election, opted not to testify on his own behalf during the trial.
Late Friday, Becker resigned early from his council seat effective immediately. In his resignation letter, he took no responsibility for the leaked report nor mentioned it, the court trial, or his guilty verdict.
He noted his serving as a councilmember and a city planning commissioner over the last six years "was the greatest honor, joy and privilege" and would miss serving "the people of this wonderful city."
"It was always a dream of mine to be a part of the government process, creating our city's policies, enhancing development, and shaping the City's direction. I'm deeply grateful for the experience, knowledge gained, and relationships built with the exceptional city staff and residents over the past ten years," wrote Becker.
In spring 2023, the Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury revealed that it had indicted Becker after he lied to it about his disclosing in October 2022 the grand jury's report "Unsportsmanlike Conduct: Santa Clara City Council" to Rahul Chandhok, who was at the time the professional sports team's chief communications and public affairs officer. The grand jury had determined that several City Council members, including Becker, had engaged in an unethical relationship with the San Francisco 49ers, which relocated to Santa Clara over a decade ago after it built a new stadium there.
According to the five-page indictment released last year by the office of Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen, Becker provided a copy of the confidential document to Chandhok several days before it was to be publicly released on October 10. It also said the grand jury had found evidence showing Becker had also leaked the report to the local news website Silicon Valley Voice, which reported on it three days before it was to be published.
Another local news outlet, San Jose Spotlight, also wrote about the report prior to its being officially released. It also uploaded the entire 61-page document to its website.
The jury also convicted Becker, 39, of a misdemeanor for violating his duty to keep the draft report confidential. He now faces a maximum sentence of four years in county jail.
As KQED reported, "Becker stayed seated and mostly still while the verdict was read out by the court clerk, closing his eyes at times for a few seconds. He and his legal team declined to comment after the verdicts were read."
Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge Javier Alcala scheduled Becker's sentencing hearing for January 31 at the South County Courthouse in Morgan Hill.
"Some may have grown used to public officials lying. Committing perjury to the civil grand jury is not a white lie, an exaggeration, or politics. It is a crime and a serious abuse of the public trust," stated Rosen in a December 5 news release following the jury's decision.
Becker had maintained his innocence of the charges and has long denied accusations that he has taken actions as a council member favorable to the 49ers despite team owner Jed York pumping millions of dollars into the 2020 council races to help elect Becker and several other council candidates that November. In 2022, Becker lost his bid to oust from office team critic Mayor Lisa Gillmor, whom he had also lost against in the city's 2018 mayoral election.
In both races Becker and Gillmor had clashed over the deal the city made more than a decade ago with the NFL team that led to it leaving San Francisco for a bayside new stadium in Santa Clara. The football team has repeatedly fought with city leaders and staff about the facility, from how it is managed to what the city is owed in stadium rent, leading to legal disputes.
"The 49ers have bankrolled Becker's political career in recent years," Rosen's office noted in its release. "In total, the 49ers provided over $3.2 million through independent expenditure committees to benefit Becker's 2020 successful city council campaign and his failed 2022 mayoral bid."
It also noted, "Becker was not reelected last month."
Since joining the council Becker had an open door for team officials, arguing it is better for city leadership to engage with them in order to address the myriad issues with the stadium. He had denounced the grand jury's report about the council members' handling of the matter as a politically motivated hit piece aimed at derailing his second mayoral bid.
"This goes back 10 years when we brought the 49ers here. The mayor and City Council got a deal that is not the best for Santa Clara," Becker had told the B.A.R. at the time.
UPDATED 12/9/24 with Becker's early resignation from his council seat.
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