San Francisco 49ers spending big on Santa Clara mayoral race

Special interest groups are pouring money into Santa Clara’s mayoral race, with the San Francisco 49ers funding a political action committee that’s backing one candidate and opposing two others.

Recent campaign finance filings show the PAC — Affordable Santa Clara Supporting Ferraris and Opposing Watanabe and Kertes for Mayor 2026, Sponsored by Forty Niners Football Company LLC —  has received more than $1.2 million in cash contributions and $10,412 in in-kind services as of Sept. 25. That money is being used to back candidate Gary Ferraris, a former city maintenance worker, and against former Councilmember Kathy Watanabe and David Kertes, a senior director of sales for North America at Novanta, who are also seeking the mayor’s seat on Nov. 3.

The outside money is being used for campaign communications such as advertising and mailers. Ferraris said the PAC spending is helping get his message out, but affecting him negatively in other ways.

“I feel like it’s definitely helping on getting the message out, but it’s definitely hindering me as far as fundraising,” Ferraris told San José Spotlight.

A 49ers spokesperson said the team’s support is focused on candidates who will address issues that include affordability and city finances.

“We are proud to once again support a diverse slate of candidates running for city leadership — consensus builders who will tackle the affordability crisis and manage the city’s finances responsibly while investing in the city’s future,” the team spokesperson told San José Spotlight.

Political action committees are separate from contributions made directly to campaigns. Ferraris’ campaign reported $8,006 in contributions, of which $3,000 was a personal loan, as of Sept. 25.

The other five Santa Clara mayoral candidates have received varying levels of campaign donations.

Kertes reported $41,896 in total contributions, of which $39,492 was through personal loans, while Watanabe reported $19,496 in contributions, including $7,500 in personal loans. Tech entrepreneurMike Wiltberger has self-funded his campaign with $15,775 in personal loans, while Councilmember Karen Hardy reported $11,142, including a $5,000 loan. Councilmember Kevin Park reported $5,501 in total contributions, including a $2,100 loan.

Kertes said he is not concerned about the 49ers spending against him. He said the team spent about $1 million opposing him during his 2024 City Council race and he expects the same kind of spending this year.

“Let them spend their money,” Kertes told San José Spotlight. “It doesn’t really matter. I’m not concerned because I’m doing the work and getting out there.”

Kertes said he has knocked on thousands of doors during the campaign and plans to continue working with the 49ers if elected.

Watanabe isn’t surprised the 49ers-backed PAC is opposing her. She said she recently spoke with a team representative after learning about the committee and asked the team to stay out of city politics.

Watanabe said representative told her the 49ers planned to move forward with the spending because the team wanted to protect its interests and because of Watanabe’s past positions on the stadium’s curfew and budgets. She said her past disagreements with the 49ers were based on her concerns about protecting residents and having enough time to review the stadium’s budget proposals before the city council approved them.

“I’m not surprised because I’m their biggest threat and because they know I’ve been on the council,” Watanabe told San José Spotlight.

Contact Maryanne Casas-Perez at [email protected] or @CasasPerezRed on X.