Police showed up \u2014 only to tell Becker that he was within his First Amendment rights to question and film Watanabe in a public place.<\/p>\n
Becker said his husband and a friend recorded the interaction<\/a> because they have previously been accused of harassment and he wanted a record of the conversation.<\/p>\n \u201cWe did this for a reason: to show voters these are the people who are running for office in the city of Santa Clara. And this is what you should see,\u201d Becker told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Watanabe described the interaction differently and said Becker continued to harass her and a friend for about 15 to 20 minutes and created a disruptive situation around nearby festival booths.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s harassment,\u201d Watanabe told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cAnd because there were other people around, there were other booths and they didn\u2019t know what was going on. (Becker) was creating all of this drama and trying to intimidate my friend that was there with me in the booth. It really was not necessary.\u201d<\/p>\n Lt. Eric Lagergren said police officers responded to the festival, spoke with both parties and determined no crime had occurred. No police report was generated, though the dispatch record shows the call came in at 11:23 a.m. and officers arrived about eight minutes later, according to police records.<\/p>\n \u201cSCPD was present to ensure members of the public are entitled to exercise their First Amendment free speech rights in traditional public forums,\u201d Lagergren told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n The clash is the latest between city officials and Becker<\/a>, who in December 2024 was convicted of perjury<\/a> and failing to uphold his duties as a public official, after leaking a confidential 2022 Civil Grand Jury report to a 49ers executive and lying about it<\/a> during the investigation. He was sentenced in April 2025<\/a> to 40 days in the Santa Clara County Sheriff\u2019s Work Program and has appealed the conviction.<\/p>\n With the Nov. 3 election just weeks away, Becker has started a YouTube channel<\/a> to cover the mayoral race<\/a>. He said he wants to give candidates more time to answer questions than they typically receive at debates or public events.<\/p>\n He said he approached Watanabe at the festival because he wanted to ask her questions about her deleted video and other issues in the mayoral race. Becker said he had planned to ask other candidates similar questions, and that he was documenting the encounter as part of his work.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve been a documentary film journalist for over 10 years,\u201d Becker said. \u201cI have a degree in film, radio and television production.\u201d<\/p>\n Regarding the video deleted from Watanabe\u2019s campaign Facebook page, Becker said he interpreted it as a criticism toward\u00a0 unions and corporations influencing who gets elected in Santa Clara. He questions how that fits in with the support she has received from labor groups like the Santa Clara Police Officers\u2019 Association, which has endorsed her run for mayor.<\/p>\n But Watanabe said her video was prompted by a Sept. 15 San Francisco Chronicle article<\/a> about the 49ers\u2019 political spending in Santa Clara. The article shows the NFL team contributed $980,000 to independent expenditure campaigns in August, including $645,000 to support mayoral candidate Gary Ferraris and $335,000 to support City Council candidate<\/a> Kimberley Williams. City officials have had a strained relationship<\/a>\u00a0with the team, which plays at Levi\u2019s Stadium in Santa Clara.<\/p>\n Watanabe said she removed the video because she wanted to provide more context and clarity about what she was trying to say. She said it had nothing to do with her endorsement from the police union.<\/p>\n \u201cI know what I meant, but I also know that when you have a political page and you have people that are watching, they may not understand what I was trying to say,\u201d Watanabe said.<\/p>\n Watanabe said she plans to redo the video with additional context.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s my political page, so I can actually post or delete whatever I want to do,\u201d Watanabe\u00a0said. \u201cI didn\u2019t want my words to be misconstrued.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/KathyWathertable-1024x666.jpg\")
Former Santa Clara Councilmember Kathy Watanabe (right), who is running for mayor, said Becker harassed her and her friend while tabling at the festival. Screenshot from a Citizen Santa Clara YouTube video.<\/p>\n![\"In-line](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/1790195531_495_interactive-321838904008.png\")
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