Santa Clara candidate for mayor says he's getting violent threats and homophobic taunts

SANTA CLARA, Calif. - A candidate for mayor in Santa Clara says he’s getting threats of violence and homophobic slurs on a local blog, and he’s concerned for his safety. Anthony Becker is the first openly gay candidate for mayor in the city’s history.  

Becker says Santa Clara News Online is allowing people to make comments that he thinks are dangerous. He says he’s also reached out to the police dept. but so far, they haven't responded. 

As a current City Council member representing Santa Clara’s 6th District, Becker says since he declared his candidacy, he and his partner have been subjected to homophobic slurs and confronted on the street.  

"People will approach you and try to start an argument with you. They will also be very aggressive and be in your face. Frankly, I’m afraid. Hearing the things that I’m seeing online as well as the threats against my boyfriend or the comments about my partner, that right there is just crossing the line," Becker said.  

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Becker is particularly concerned about Santa Clara Online News, a local blog operated by Robert Haugh. He says Haugh allows comments like these, referring to Becker as the Monkey Pox candidate or using gun-related language to talk about a recall for Becker.  

"Actually, he’s been on record many times, even on his blog, stating that he is the moderator. He is the only one that makes the comments approved and makes the decision for them," Becker said.  

Robert Haugh, publisher of Santa Clara Online News, sent KTVU a statement, saying he does not allow threats to be made on his site.

"I am unaware of threats of any kind made on SCNO. Under no circumstance is any type of threat acceptable. Anyone making any sort of threat via my site will be immediately reported to the Police, and they will be banned from making further comments," a part of the statement said. 

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Becker says he’s also contacted Santa Clara’s chief of police about the blog but has yet to see any action taken. 

"Let’s talk about the real issues. Let’s not talk about personal attacks because frankly, this is 2022. We shouldn’t be having these kinds of slurs, or these kinds of attacks being spread throughout the community," Becker said.   

Haugh admits in his blog post that he supports Becker’s opponent, current Mayor Lisa Gillmor. We also reached out to Santa Clara Police about this but didn’t hear back from them in time for this report.