The City of Santa Clara’s Vice Mayor Anthony Becker on Thursday was found guilty of felony perjury by a county Superior Court jury.

One day later, he resigned from the Santa Clara City Council, 11 days before his term ends. Becker lost his re-election bid in November.

The jury returned its verdict early Thursday afternoon at the South County Morgan Hill Courthouse, after deliberating for about three hours between Wednesday evening and Thursday morning. The trial had begun Nov. 6, the day after Becker lost a bid for re-election to his Santa Clara city council seat.

Superior Court Judge Javier Alcala set sentencing for Jan. 31.

Becker had steadfastly maintained his innocence since his indictment in April 2023.  Reporters in the courtroom said he sat quietly while the verdict was read by the court clerk. He and his legal team declined to comment to reporters after the verdict was announced.
The jury began deliberations Wednesday evening after Alcala rejected a final bid from Becker’s lawyers to dismiss the case.

He was found guilty of leaking a 2022 civil grand jury report to a reporter, and then lying about it under oath.

After the  verdict, District Attorney Jeff Rosen released this statement: “Some may have grown used to public officials lying. Committing perjury to the civil grand jury is not a white lie, an exaggeration, or politics. It is a crime and a serious abuse of the public trust.”

The confidential grand jury report, “Unsportsmanlike Conduct,” had criticized Becker and other council members for questionable ethics in their close relationships with the San Francisco 49ers. The National Football League team leases the city-owned Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, and has had a contentious relationship with city officials.

The Santa Clara County District Attorney’s Office charged Becker in April 2023 with a misdemeanor for violating his duty, as an elected official, to keep the document confidential until its public release and with a felony count of perjury for lying to a civil grand jury about his actions.

Prosecutors claim Becker leaked the report to Rahul Chandhok, who was at the time the team’s communications officer, and to the Silicon Valley Voice.

Becker was elected to the Santa Clara City Council in 2020, and among a slate of candidates who received millions of dollars of campaign support from the 49ers. Becker was defeated in a bid for mayor  in 2022 by incumbent Mayor Lisa Gillmor, who has consistently accused the 49ers organization of violating its contract with the city to manage Levi’s Stadium.