In a unanimous decision by the City Council, Gilroy has rejoined the Cities Association of Santa Clara County — a move that comes two years after it was the sole member to leave the organization amid the group’s legal troubles.
Now, the association has made reforms that make membership more attractive to the city, according to the council.
“I’m excited that Gilroy decided to finally rejoin,” said Larry Klein, President of the Cities Association of Santa Clara County and Mayor of Sunnyvale. “Together the cities have a stronger voice.”
Since its founding in 1990, the Cities Association of Santa Clara County has served as a platform for city leaders throughout the county to collaborate on regional issues and advocate together for state and county policy that might benefit the group.
However, in 2022 the organization encountered legal trouble when the former executive director of the organization, Andrea Jordan, threatened to sue all 15 cities in the association, accusing them of creating a hostile work environment.
The legal ambiguity of the association and the uncertainty over whether cities could be held accountable for actions of the organization led to significant concern from city officials, recalled Gilroy City Attorney Andy Faber. “The city attorneys were all tearing their hair out.”
The association decided to settle with Jordan for $180,000, but Gilroy opted not to join in paying the settlement and soon became the sole city to pull out of the association.
“The council said ‘why are we paying money out to somebody we have no responsibility over,’” recalled Gilroy City Administrator Jimmy Forbis. “Until the cities association addressed their governance, (the city council) wasn’t comfortable being members.”
In 2024, the organization restructured to create its own legal entity, called a joint powers agency, that would help protect the cities from direct lawsuits and offer insurance and clarification on the legal status of cities in the group.
Both city staff and council agreed that the reforms were enough to make rejoining beneficial.
Councilmember Zach Hilton noted that the organization had a one-city, one vote policy that allowed for fair representation. He also asserted that whether they currently agree or disagree with decisions of the association “we’re not able to show that. We‘re not able to have a say… Having a seat at the table is the biggest part that we’re missing out on.”
Councilmember Kelly Ramirez agreed. “A lot of the issues that we’re dealing with locally are being dealt with regionally,” she said. “I think looking at how we can address these issues regionally rather than independently – it’s a huge benefit.”
Following the unanimous decision to rejoin, Gilroy will need to sign on to the joint powers agreement and pay some $14,609 in dues before it officially rejoins the group.