A year after his defeat, the candidate for Santa Clara’s District 5 city council seat is attempting to oust the council member voters elected.
Last year, according to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters (RoV), 6,049 voters cast ballots for District 5 candidates, incumbent Council Member Suds Jain and challenger David Kertes. Jain edged out Kertes by a little more than 500 votes.
But although the voters spoke, the results left a bad taste in Kertes’ mouth. He said many who voted for Jain have approached him at the farmer’s market, telling him they don’t want to slog through the remainder of Jain’s term with him helming the district, he said.
“I had a lot of people who voted for Suds tell me that they want the recall,” Kertes said. “Nothing is getting done. People are saying, ‘I voted for the wrong person.’”
Kertes said he has been hearing from residents that many issues are going unaddressed.
He cited a lack of movement on the city’s downtown, the elimination of city baseball fields, paid city parking, noise issues at Santa Clara University and the relocation of Santa Clara Unified School District’s Wilson Adult Education campus.
These issues hurt residents’ quality of life, Kertes alleged.
Additionally, he laid the blame for the city’s salary spending at Jain’s feet.
“I just said enough is enough … I am not going to wait another three years,” Kertes said.
The city needs someone with proven leadership, Kertes said, someone who will listen to residents’ concerns and meet with them regularly. In addition to being a youth baseball coach, Kertes sits on the city’s salary setting commission, which determines how much the city pays the mayor and council members.
Although the city will be on the hook for the cost for potentially two special elections, Kertes said that money is a drop in the bucket.
“If I look at the waste we are doing with the city, we are talking millions. If I am able to prevent millions of wasteful spending, that is a good ROI,” Kertes said.
For the District 5 office, according to the elections code, Kertes needed to gather 60 signatures favoring the recall. He gathered 90 signatures.
In order to recall Jain, 2,050 voters must favor the recall. The recall election must be held between 88 and 125 days from the time the recall is initiated. Unless a regular election takes place during that time, the recall would be a special election.
It’s not just what Kertes is calling unaddressed issues, either. He said Jain has lowered ethical standards, demonstrated by his protection of former Santa Clara Vice Mayor Anthony Becker, who a jury convicted of perjury last year. Kertes said that unwillingness to turn in Becker makes Jain ill-suited to lead the city.
“Any other city council would have been censured. We should be held as council members to a higher standard,” he said. ”My values and ethics should be stronger than anyone’s. If it were me, I would have said something right away.”
However, the Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office has not charged Jain with any crime.
Kertes is no stranger to allegations. Last year, he bore the brunt of allegations that claimed he colluded to bamboozle his former employer. The case was later settled, clearing him of any wrongdoing.
As a result of the negative attention focused on him for those allegations, Kertes took umbrage with The Weekly’s publication of the lawsuit. He hand-waved comparisons to allegations against Jain and those against him, saying they are “different.”
But Jain said Kertes is just grumbling because he lost, claiming Kertes just wants a do-over.
“My contention is that the people knew all this, and they voted for me,” Jain said. “This is basically all he has against me. He is saying I am unethical … He can make these vague statements and create doubt in people’s minds.”
Jain challenged Kertes’ assessment that city salaries are bloated, pointing to the disparity between City Manager Jovan Grogan and fired City Manager Deanna Santana.
In 2024, Grogan’s total pay and benefits were $536,152, according to Transparent California. In 2022, her last year working for the city, Santana’s total pay and benefits were $785,295.
Adjusted for inflation, Santana’s salary and benefits would have been worth more than $841,000 in 2024, according to the U.S. Inflation Calculator.
Not to mention, Jain added, while overall salaries may be higher, the city’s budget has also grown substantially.
In 2019-2020, the city’s budget was $955 million, according to city budgets. The most recent budget shows the city’s budget is now $1.2 billion.
As for the downtown, Jain said he cannot force a developer to propose development.
Jain scoffed at the notion that his policies are hurting the quality of life.
“My neighbors absolutely love me,” Jain said. “To allege that I have degraded the quality of life is total crap.”
Cost estimates for — potentially two — special elections were unavailable from the RoV. Although the Santa Clara County website doesn’t list how it calculates costs for elections, neighboring Alameda County does.
Alameda County, according to its website, estimates that special elections cost between $23 and $25 per registered voter for a stand-alone special election. One that coincides with a countywide primary election costs between $8 and $10 per registered voter. One that coincides with a general election costs between $5 and $7 per voter.
District 5 has 9,971 registered voters, according to Ballot Box.
So, if Alameda County’s estimates are in the same ballpark as Santa Clara County’s, each election would cost between $229,333 and $249,275 for a special election, between $79,768 and $99,710 for a primary and between $49,855 and $69,797 for a general election.
Contact David Alexander at d.todd.alexander@gmail.com
Valley Fair Mall had to be evacuated the day after Thanksgiving. Gunshots. Injuries. Fear.
Why no mention of a real danger in the community? Where is the article? Need another week?
Why focus AGAIN on petty rivalries between local politicians?
Are you a silly propaganda rag or is important news your business?
Choose. You are embarrassing yourself, Santa Clara Weekly, in the meantime.
Visitors to Santa Clara would never know what is happening here is they only read the Weekly.
Residents in Santa Clara deserve better.
To be fair, the section the shooting occurred in was not the Santa Clara side. Last time I checked this syndication covers Santa Clara and Sunnyvale. So I am fine with SVV not covering the issue. While the Mall is partly in Santa Clara even our mayor pointed out it was the SJ side. If you want SJ news there are plenty other syndications that cover that.
I find a lot of things on SVV relevant vs gossip columns elsewhere
Never heard a peep from Cox who represents the area where valley fair is / in fact I’m surprised we did not hear from the special advisor to the Mayor
This is not only a bitter vendetta by David Kertes himself but it is also a Mayor Gillmor vendetta against Suds Jain. Suds Jain is facing this because of the effects of the Becker trial and his conviction, but for the really dumbest reasons. The Gillmor Mafia’s Suds Jain Recall effort is driven from their interpretation of the laws not what is actually charged. These are mafia minions who make accusations consistently over items that are not provable. Kertes states he will save money when he clearly does not understand how the city works nor understands how government works. Kertes is the perfect useful idiot that Gillmor needs to do this effort. Kertes bully mentality fits with the Gillmor Mafia and at any moment they could cut him loose if things go south for Kertes. It’s ironic thought that Kertes talks about ethical standards being lowered in the city. The only person that has done that is the person he is working for, Mayor Gillmor. If Kertes is about ethics they he would support the charges against the Mayor and former Councilmember Kathy Watanabe and a slew of others. Yet he only selectively applies ethics like Tom Shanks the ethic expert the same with Mayor Gillmor herself. This recall effort is driven by hate, hate from a sore loser and hate from a out of control Mayor who cannot let go of power. For more goodies about ethics and those that Kertes is saying Mayor Gillmor and his side has more than Suds Jain, read my letters to the editor. https://www.svvoice.com/letters/letter-to-the-editor-we-dont-need-no-stinking-ethics/, https://www.svvoice.com/letters/letter-to-the-editor-hey-jude-are-you-listening/, https://www.svvoice.com/letters/letters-to-the-editor-demand-accountability-and-truth/, https://www.svvoice.com/letters/letter-to-the-editor-the-unmasking-of-the-gillmor-empire/.
Also, Kertes is all about spending more money on a recall all while no one knows how much he is spending to do all these recall efforts. He is willing to put the city is a difficult situation rather than just wait to run in 2028 all because Mayor Gillmor is unhappy. You know for sure with these moves Gillmor is sticking around past her term ending. Notice how the same narratives Kertes spews is the same that Gillmor has talked about for decades. https://www.svvoice.com/letters/letter-to-the-editor-from-roger-re-oct-21-council-meeting/. Also notice how racially driven this is, the same supporters of this recall are the same that said when Suds Jain was elected in 2020 there were too many Indians on the city council. That there makes you cringe about who Kertes supporters are.
In the months leading up to the November 2024 election, reporting about ex-Councilmember Becker was relentless across multiple media outlets, including Silicon Valley Voice, San Jose Spotlight, San Jose Inside, San Jose Mercury News, San Francisco Chronicle, NBC Bay Area, and KRON. And, none of it was positive. After reviewing allegations, transcripts, and interviewing witnesses, it was clear that Becker revealed his activity only after the District Attorney’s office subpoenaed Councilmember Jain, and the various media outlets noted that.
Santa Clara’s educated voters heard the allegations against Becker and weighed whether there were other conspirators. After analysis, District 5 constituents decided Suds Jain would be the best person to represent them on the City Council.
Kertes isn’t a good businessman. What “millions of wasteful spending” is Kertes talking about? Jovan Grogan’s compensation isn’t what’s breaking the taxpayer bank. It’s the overbloated salaries, pensions, and benefits doled out to city employees that have Santa Clara in a financial mess. The moment Kertes decides to speak out about that is the moment he loses his precious employee union endorsement. In fact, right now would be a good time for Kertes to test that theory, as employee unions are engaged in closed-session negotiations to secure double-digit, year-after-year salary and pension increases. For many years, Suds Jain has been one of the very few Council members to speak out about the topic.
Throwing good money after bad is what Kertes is asking District 5 residents to do, and there is no ROI in that. Residents shouldn’t sign the recall petition; this is a complete and embarrassing waste of resources.
I’m not sure what those of you want in regard to the shooting at Vally Fair. What do you expect from Vice Mayor Cox and Kirk Vartan? They alone will not solve the problem of a lack of holding juveniles accountable for gun crimes. This takes all of us contacting our state representatives and demanding that they change the laws thru legislation. I addition, the shooting took place on the San Jose side of Valley Fair. Personally, I think SJPD did a good job of quickly identifying the suspect and making arrests of the suspect and accomplices.
To ask “where they are” is just stupid.
So Fake Roger is at again. Suds spent nearly 600 million on an attempted charter amendment to change to an appointed police chief (that we know was what Jed wanted) that had no chance of passing (a simple reading of the room would have revealed that). That would Be throwing our money as residents after a lost cause. He had unethical communications with Jeff Houston while he chaired the charter review committee.
The Becker issue is another story, to say he did not know about Beckers actions prior to being subpoenaed is suspicious. Becker has made comments to the contrary. To say that the voters “weighed whether there were other conspirators” based on the information is not accurate as they did not have the full scope of
Information. I’m also certain that many people vote based on media and direct mail recommendations and don’t do any due diligence before voting. The loudest voice in the room (or the one with the most money from the 49ers) gets the votes.
Mayor Gilmor continues to live rent free in Fake Rogers head. It’s quite entertaining to see the delerium in his posts. He seems to think that if he peddles the continual”Gilmor Mafia” comment that he can brainwash Santa Clarans into believing it’s a real thing.
He has supported a city management staff that in salary far exceeds the salary of Deanna Santana yet he only refers to Manager Grogan when salaries are brought up.
So Roger can go on claiming to be places he wasn’t (because he does not exist) and hear things he didn’t. He’s a fake, a phony and a sad keyboard warrior who won’t reveal who he actually is. He has the nerve to say that the recall is racially motivated. That’s a weak and baseless comment made by someone who has no other argument.
See it for what it is, a desperate attempt by a bot to dissuade you from recalling someone who cares only about himself.
I do not care if Roger uses an alias. He is not fake. He might keep his identity private for reasons a lot of us understand, especially when people go after anyone who speaks out about the queen of coverups.
Anyone who actually reads what Roger puts out can see the strength in his analysis, his data, and his information.
Roger is a hero, not a villain. He is no Matt Damon, but he also is not calling your boss to whisper behind your back, digging through your trash, watching you from doorways, writing gossip columns, sending threatening letters to seniors who care about this city, or burning time and money on recalls just because he cannot handle losing. He is the new Santa Clara hero, and I like how he drops easter eggs for people like Jude and Lisa. Maybe he is Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds. Either way, he has my vote. Keep going, Roger the Dodger. Roger for Mayor
No, Fake Roger is good at cut and paste and using ChatGPT. People like him eventually go away (or get recalled)
No, Fake Roger is good at cut and paste and using ChatGPT. People like him eventually go away (or get recalled)
There we are the person who publicly says keyboard warrior on a consistent basis is none other than David Kertes so there is no Scooby Doo mystery there. Additionally it was be Gillmor and Kertes math to say 600 million dollars when it was really half a million ballot measure. A far cry from the millions upon millions Gillmor mafia has cost and wasted of taxpayer money. Again they can’t even get the facts right. The same goes for city management, Gillmor started the trend of high salaries like making Deanna Santana the highest paid city manager which then triggered other salary raises for her friends. So if Kertes is about cracking down on high salaries he should be pointing that criticism to his boss Mayor Gillmor. If anything Suds Jain inherited the salary issues. Also in court records Suds Jain testified a week after the conversation and day after being subpoenaed. Again the facts are really important however Kertes and Gillmor ignore them. Lastly it is a real fact that the Gillmor Mafia is real because the fact that you are here to defend Gillmor and deny its existence is proof of the knee jerk. Lastly the greatest trick Gillmor has ever pulled is to convince the people she is not corrupt and does not control the city. Case and point.
David, it seems like the people who disappear are usually those LG no longer prioritizes once they have fulfilled their role or fallen short of expectations. There have even appear to have been instances where staff were shown the door or the blogger turned on them.
Santa Clara Resident and Santa Clara Voter aka David Kertes posted the same comment. What a coincidence.
Well Fake Roger, you are 100% wrong with your guess on who it is. David uses his name when he posts. Maybe it was a Half a million but you reference that as if it’s nothing and then blame the Mayor for wasting money. Kind of two faced on your part. Suds wasted a HALF A MILLION OF THE TAXPAYERS MONEY ON A STUPID ATTEMPT TO ELIMINATE OUR ELECTED POLICE CHIEF AND CITY CLERK! A measure that had ZERO chance to pass. That same goes for your comment about the Mayor starting the high salary issue. But Suds has supported the current salaries after Jed had him fire Deanna Santana. Again, your two faced viewpoints are showing.
The double post was an accident as the first one said it errored and to repost it.
Man, what a sore loser. On brand with the Gilmor cabal. Bunch of entitled whiners.
As for the “settlement” with his former employer, we all know how these work. The employer probably figured it was cheaper to settle than to deal with this guy. If he’s so confident he did nothing wrong then let him get a release from the company and publish the terms of the settlement.
Fred, Do you have some insight into the settlement since “we all know how these work”?
Well, I’m guessing you have no idea about this one. You are just throwing _hit at the wall.
He says there was no there there. Then let him release the settlement agreement.
I have been involved in Santa Clara, specifically the downtown and District 5 issues for over a decade. I led the effort with The Old Quad Residence Association to negotiate a land swap with Prometheus to return Franklin and Washington St. to the City, helped develop the Precise Plan and Form Based code that will guide development in the downtown and create a community gathering place, worked to improve recent developments (by increasing Park Land dedications, increasing affordable unit counts, improved the architecture, etc.).
Suds has been accessible responsive and collaborative at any point during that time to help Santa Clara get the BEST it could from each effort. I have NEVER seen, discussed, or received any help from David Kertes during this time. He never reached out to get involved, he didn’t attend DCTF meetings to provide input, I don’t recall seeming him at any of the development meetings over the years that MANY community members attended until the early morning hours. He is now “Johnny Come Lately” to District 5 and thinks its better to fight then collaborate with the people already working on the issues.
The politics don’t matter, the EFFORT DOES and I have not seen Mr. Kertes put forth the effort on the issues I know concern District 5 or the City.
He is always welcome to get involved, educate himself on the issues and people, and earn his way to lead District 5 in the future.