Once upon a time, the City of Santa Clara enjoyed the fruits of its investment in a convention center, run by a fairy tale team, the Santa Clara Convention and Visitors Bureau.

Santa Clara leaders and residents were proud of their convention center. It was a beautiful venue for hundreds of companies, clubs and our community events. Vendors came from everywhere to display their products and services. It was a showcase for Silicon Valley’s emerging technologies.

Important for Santa Clara, the team operating the CVB was the Santa Clara Chamber of Commerce, an organization that has played an active role in the city’s economic development from farm town to Silicon Valley hub. Under the Chamber’s stewardship, the convention center paid for itself and delivered solid revenue to the general fund every year.

The Chamber prospered, the City prospered and CVB events were pumping millions into Santa Clara’s economy.

However, as with many fairy tales, there is a wicked witch. In this case, it would be Mayor Lisa Gillmor, whose vendetta against the Chamber goes back to the 1990s, during her first two terms on the city council. Back then, she didn’t command the votes to fire the Chamber. But in 2016, after her appointment as mayor during her fourth council term, a campaign of unprecedented viciousness gave her a council of devoted minions. 

In one night, the new city council voted to terminate the city’s contract with the Chamber of Commerce, and the city took over the convention center business. The mayor and her new council ignored the age-old adage, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

As you know, most fairy tales have a happy ending. This story has no happy ending in sight. Santa Clara’s convention center has become dated and in desperate need of updates and repairs. Operation and oversight have been delegated to a consortium of hotels that use it only when it benefits them. Regular financial reports are a thing of the past, and those we do get show lackluster revenue for the city.

Events that should be coming to Santa Clara are not coming. They are choosing hotels and other venues, like the San Jose Convention Center. While the Super Bowl was held at Levi’s Stadium, press conferences were held in San José. It was a coup for San José and — yet another! — blunder for Santa Clara.

The World Cup is coming to Santa Clara. Where is the publicity, promotion, parades and planning? Will these events also take place in neighboring cities? That’s what it looks like. The Bay Area Host Committee has planned FIFA fanzones in downtown San José, Santana Row and Cityline Sunnyvale. Why is there nothing in Santa Clara?

While Santa Clara has the venues and enthusiasm, the leadership is lacking.

Gillmor has been on the Santa Clara council for 28 of the last 32 years. Her tenacles of control extend through every layer of the city, and make no mistake, Gillmor’s reach is long.  She is the queen of politics. Just because she has termed out as mayor, don’t discount her ability to run for another 8 years on council.

It will be you, the voter, who decides if the convention center story has a fairy tale ending or turns out to be a nightmare.

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