Deanna Santana — the ex-Santa Clara city manager who was ousted in 2022 following a controversial five-year tenure — is suing her former employer, accusing officials of trying to claw back some of her owed benefits and alleging she was retaliated against and the subject of a harassment campaign by the San Francisco 49ers and several City Council members.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court last week, follows her initial claim back in late 2023. Santana was hired as the interim city manager of Milpitas in April with a base annual salary of $379,000.
“The circumstances of what happened to Ms. Santana are disturbing and, yet all too familiar — a competent and celebrated city manager was retaliated and discriminated against, harassed, threatened and ultimately relieved of her duties for upholding the law,” the lawsuit said.
City spokesperson Janine De la Vega said in a statement that “since Ms. Santana filed a claim against the city in 2023, the city has been engaged in ongoing settlement negotiations with her and her attorneys. As of today, the City has have not been served with any lawsuit. Because this matter involves a pending claim against the City we have no further comment at this time.”
Santana, a longtime city bureaucrat who was once the second-highest paid city manager in the state, was hired in 2017. According to the lawsuit, her first three years at the city’s helm was marked by “exemplary performance evaluations” and pay raises.
But, “the position took a professional toll” on Santana when she “implemented council directives that increased oversight of the Santa Clara Stadium Authority, which placed her at odds with the professional sports team that served as the primary tenant of Levi’s Stadium: the San Francisco 49ers.”
At a Feb. 22, 2022 council meeting, the lawsuit said that Santana “issued her two most prescient warnings” about contracts for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, raising concerns about potential conflicts of interest and the city’s ability to protect the general fund. It was revealed the following year that the 49ers, who manage non-NFL events at the stadium, made commitments to FIFA on the city’s behalf without its knowledge.
On Feb. 24, 2022, two days after Santana said that she acted as a whistleblower, the council voted to fire her, citing a “lack of confidence” in her ability to do her job. The council had fired Brian Doyle from his post as city attorney just five months prior.
Santana was owed a years-worth of salary and benefits as severance per her contract. In 2021, she made $743,109 in wages and other benefits, according to a database from the California State Controller’s Office.
Santana was still considered a city employee until March 31, 2023 because of the terms of contract, though she served the final year on paid leave, the lawsuit said.
But Santa Clara allegedly breached the severance agreement and didn’t pay her the full amount, Santana claims. The lawsuit alleges that the city withheld a portion of her salary between March 14 and March 31, 2023, withheld her deferred compensation, made changes to her CalPERS account without her authorization and demanded she return $60,000 she was paid the year prior.
Attorneys for Santana did not respond to a request for comment.
While the 49ers are not named as a party in the lawsuit, Santana alleges that the team attempted “to obtain a more favorable political environment with less oversight” as a result of her actions. The NFL team has spent heavily in Santa Clara elections since it moved to town more than a decade ago. A recent Bay Area News Group analysis found that between 2009 and 2023, the 49ers and its owners shelled out $15.5 million in political contributions nationwide, with 85.2% — or $13.1 million — of that flowing directly into Santa Clara elections.
“While pushing for its own candidates, the franchise also sought revenge against Ms. Santana for having the audacity to do her job by pointing out several state code violations, violations of public procurement and contract laws, and questionable administration practices,” the lawsuit said, “resulting in the villainizing of Ms. Santana through several campaign mailers and local blogs during the November 2020 election, and making her compensation a key issue with regards to political strategy and message.”
A spokesperson for the 49ers declined to comment.
The ordeal also left Santana “fearful for her own safety and that of her family.” By early 2022, the former city manager was experiencing high stress that caused extremely high blood pressure, anxiety and insomnia, according to the lawsuit. Her doctor placed her on medications to control her blood pressure and prevent a heart attack or stroke and treat her anxiety.
In the final year when Santana was still employed by the city but on paid leave, the lawsuit claims that certain unnamed members of the council “continued to press for retaliatory action” that included “directing city employees and/or agents of the city to delay and ultimately fail to perform the city’s contractual obligations owed to Ms. Santana and to unlawfully withhold earned wages and benefits.”
Originally Published: August 18, 2025 at 12:00 PM PDT