Brass knuckles will be provided.
(Mercury News) — If you thought that the fighting and politicking was long over regarding a new 49ers stadium that Santa Clara voters approved in 2010, you’d be wrong.
As anti-stadium activists plan to fan out Saturday to try to persuade city leaders to revoke a vote to take out a massive construction loan for the project, an electrical union is offering money to people who will “intercept” the critics.
At issue is Santa Clara Plays Fair members’ effort to force the Santa Clara stadium authority — composed of the seven City Council members — to take back a Dec. 13 vote when it approved taking out an $850 million loan to start building a new 49ers football stadium.
The city attorney is busy researching whether the matter can legally be the subject of a “referendum” item to force such a vote. But if it is, and the critics gather enough signatures, the stadium authority would then be legally required to reconsider its vote. And if it doesn’t, the matter must be put to vote in a citywide election.
A call to “save the 49ers stadium” has appeared on the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 332 website, www.ibew332.org.
“We have been asked by the 49ers to generate between 10-20 individuals to act as ‘interceptors’ in an effort to derail a ballot referendum,” the IBEW site says.