Santa Clara Mayor Lisa Gillmor is calling on Councilmember Anthony Becker to resign after he was indicted last week for allegedly leaking a civil grand jury report and lying about it, according to the Silicon Valley Business Journal.
At a "Future of Santa Clara" event held by the publication on Thursday, Gillmor was asked whether Becker, who faces a misdemeanor charge for leaking the confidential document and a felony perjury charge for lying about it, should resign. She reportedly responded, "Yes, I do."
Gillmor and Becker could not immediately be reached for comment.
Becker made his first court appearance on Monday and deferred entering into a plea until he could obtain an attorney. His next court date is scheduled for May 3.
The Santa Clara County civil grand jury report, titled "Unsportsmanlike Conduct," that's at the heart of the controversy accused several Santa Clara councilmembers — Becker included — of having too cozy of a relationship with the 49ers.
According to the indictment, Becker leaked the report days before its public release on Oct. 10 to former 49ers spokesperson Rahul Chandhok and to a local news outlet, the Silicon Valley Voice.
Gillmor's comments come two days after a Santa Clara City Council meeting where several members of the public asked the councilmember to resign.
Lifelong Santa Clara resident Debbie Tryoforos called the indictment an "embarrassment to our city and the people who live in his district."
"He's no longer worthy of a city council seat and needs to resign immediately," she said."
Councilmember Suds Jain told the Mercury News that he was going to "wait and see what the courts figure out" before commenting on whether Becker should resign. He also criticized the grand jury report and called it "incredibly flawed" and disputed that he, along with Vice Mayor Kevin Park and Councilmembers Raj Chahal, Karen Hardy and Becker did not put the NFL team's interests over the city.
Park agreed with his colleague's sentiments.
"We should let the process play out whether it results in something good or bad," he said. "I think the important thing is to not make judgments until we see the findings."
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