Santa Clara City Desk
By Carolyn Schuk

New Santa Clara City Attorney Begins Work October 17, Council Member McLeod Voices Reservations

Six City Council members had clearly resolved in closed session any questions about Richard E. Nosky's suitability for the position of Santa Clara City Attorney - evidenced by the absence of discussion about it at Tuesday night's meeting.

Nosky was most recently City Attorney for the City of Stockton, where he served from 2004 until he resigned in mid-2010. Previously he served as Salinas' city attorney from 2002 to 2004, and prior to that as chief assistant counsel for Monterey County.

Nosky's experience includes the development of a baseball stadium and arena in Stockton, as well as experience in California environmental and water law. In 2003, the San Jose Mercury described Monterey County as a "hive" for voting rights cases, and experience with California Voting Rights Act litigation may have been a factor in the Council's decision to hire Nosky.

For one council member, clouded recent history outweighed the expertise Nosky brought to the table.

"I'm voting against this appointment...because I believe there are other qualified candidates who would not bring the associated risk and negative baggage," said Council Member Jamie McLeod, the sole dissenter against the appointment.

"My concern is based on two lawsuits...brought by former direct reports to the candidate when he was City Attorney in Stockton. One alleges defamation [brought] by an assistant city attorney and the other alleges sexual harassment [brought] by a deputy city attorney. The first lawsuit cost...Stockton...$439,000 to settle.

"While it is true anyone can file a lawsuit," continued McLeod, "and it might not reflect fairly on the individual involved, Stockton spent almost half a million dollars to settle the case out of court and avoid taking the case to trial. This is simply a matter of potential risk for our city.

"We faced a somewhat similar issue a few years ago when we hired a previous city attorney [Helene Leichter] who had a history of lawsuits with her former employer [Morgan Hill]. * After just a couple of years, a mutual agreement to end her employment cost our city $243,000," McLeod concluded. "There are other highly qualified candidates that would be a better fit for our city."

"Interesting," remarked Mayor Jamie Matthews, in what turned out to be the conclusion of public discussion about the appointment. "Votes on the motion?"

When the vote came up 4-3 (with Matthews, Gillmor and McLeod against), the Mayor registered some confusion. "Oops, let's vote again to make sure it's real clear," he said. The re-vote was 6-1, with only McLeod against. "That passes with one 'no' vote in open session," Matthews summed up. To some listeners this suggested there might have been other votes with other results in closed session.

Nosky's work for the city begins October 17, 2011. The attorney's salary was set at $228,000 and comes with a $23,000 moving and housing allowance, four weeks of paid vacation, mobile phone and auto allowances, and severance pay up to half his annual salary ($114,000).

*In 2004 Leichter was accused of having an affair with Morgan Hill City Manager Ed Tewes, and, as a result, being improperly influenced by him. Both Tewes and Leichter "strongly and repeatedly" denied the charges, the Gilroy Dispatch reported on September 30, 2004. Leichter resigned and Morgan Hill paid her $233,000 in severance pay.

Techmart Maintenance Assessment Dispute Closer to Resolution

The city has agreed to consider engaging a third party property manager for the Santa Clara Convention Center Complex Maintenance District. This was requested by one of the tenants, Techmart. It's hoped that this will resolve an ongoing disagreement between Techmart and the City about the amount the City assesses the property for maintenance.

"We are ready to assist with that [RFP for professional property management]," Techmart Attorney Miles Imwalle, told the Council. "We will see some savings and all three parties [Techmart, Convention Center, Hyatt] will operate better."

Kevin Moore excused himself from the discussion because, he said, he had done work for a business in that complex.

Other City Council News

Council Member Will Kennedy proposed a change to the City's annual budget brochure, further breaking down expenditures by salary, pension and benefits. "I think a lot of folks in Santa Clara would be interested in seeing those numbers," Kennedy observed. The motion passed unanimously, but the change won't take place until the 2012-2013 budget year.

Expenditures for the fiscal year 2010-2011 came in about $900,000 over budget, reported City Manager Jennifer Sparacino, results of increased higher-than-expected separation payouts, lower-than-expected employee furlough participation, and not being permitted to refinance Santa Clara's pension liability.

Otherwise, "all the city departments were able to stay within budget," noted Sparacino. The good news is that "we do have additional revenues that came in...that will cover that amount and more."

In closed session, the City has evidently been discussing a possible California Voting Rights Act lawsuit against Santa Clara, threatened by a June 2, 2011 letter from Robert Rubin of Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights of the San Francisco Bay Area regarding the City's at-large election system.

Carolyn Schuk can be reached at cschuk@earthlink.net.