City Council and Authorities Concurrent

Costumed 'Batman' Activist Demands ICE Protections in Profanity-Laden Speech to Santa Clara Council

A community activist dressed as Batman delivered a profanity-laden demand for action Tuesday night, calling Santa Clara City Council members "cowards" and "traitors" for failing to adopt immigration protections ahead of the Super Bowl on February 8.

"What the fuck are we doing here? Seriously, you have had months to prepare for this upcoming event," Batman told the council during a charged public comment period that drew more than 25 speakers. "I'm not begging you. I'm fucking demanding that you act with some semblance of a fucking spine. Do something."

The speech set the tone for an emotional evening that ended with the council voting 6-0 to schedule a special meeting on February 3 — five days before the Super Bowl at Levi's Stadium — to consider comprehensive policies protecting immigrant communities from federal immigration enforcement.

Speakers Demand Urgent Action

Lucy Ortiz, Deputy Director of Working Partnerships USA, followed Batman to the podium. "It's kind of hard to follow Batman," she said, before calling the council's approach of "not poking the bear" both "offensive and cowardly."

Speaker after speaker urged the council to act before the Super Bowl brings heightened federal law enforcement presence to the city. Kim, a SIREN community organizer, called for a special meeting. Arizi Torres, also with SIREN, described children being taught how to survive encounters with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. Carmen, with Organizing Latinos, delivered a direct electoral threat: "If you don't act upon this and things do go off when immigration enforcement comes into this city, you are the ones to blame for it and we'll make sure that you are not elected again."

Elisa, a Santa Clara resident, noted the meeting fell on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. "It's impossible not to remember when we see the strategies and attitudes of the Nazis being overtly duplicated by the Trump administration," she said.

Council Responds With Shame, Action

Councilmember Kelly Cox made the motion to schedule the special meeting after expressing frustration with the council's inaction. "Shame on us," Cox said. "We saw how easy it is to regulate hot dog sales. We created a safe zone for selling hot dogs."

Councilmember Kevin Park, who initiated the agenda request, referenced Oscar Schindler, saying the industrialist "didn't think about everything he'd done, but the people he couldn't save." Councilmember Raj Chahal, who seconded the motion, spoke of his experience as an immigrant from India. Councilmember Karen Hardy defended the council's existing behind-the-scenes work, citing policies restricting first responder communication systems from federal access.

The council directed staff to research policies adopted by San Jose and Santa Clara County and return with options for the February 3 meeting. Mayor Lisa M. Gillmor was absent.

Stadium Finances, Utility Rates Also on Agenda

In other business, the council accepted a financial report showing Levi's Stadium debt has dropped from $650 million in 2014 to $210 million. Councilmember Suds Jain estimated roughly $9 million could flow to the city's general fund by the fourth quarter. Public safety costs per game have risen sharply to $612,000, up from $111,000 the prior year.

Silicon Valley Power Director Nico Prokos reported the city-owned utility faces significant load growth from data centers, calling Santa Clara "the poster child in California" for demand increases. A $120 million transformer order from South Korea faces tariff uncertainty. Councilmember Park challenged the utility on rate affordability, saying "it's not enough being the lowest price if the rates are still going up faster than people can keep up with them."

The council also approved a 3% salary increase for City Manager Jovan Grogan, raising his annual pay to $430,767. Councilmember Cox raised transparency concerns, warning the process could appear to be "a sneaky way to give our top-appointed staff members unfair raises."

The council continued a hearing on terminating Mills Act historic preservation contracts at 1711 Main Street and 906 Monroe Street to March 10 for a final round of outreach to the property owners.