Milpitas City Councilmember Evelyn Chua is under scrutiny after allegedly violating the City’s Code of Conduct and municipal procedures.
The conduct in question has led to the resignation of current Interim City Manager Deanna Santana, who wrote in a letter to the Milpitas City Council that a few recent, tense interactions with Councilmember Chua made it difficult for her to continue in the role.
Here’s what we know: In August 2025, Councilmember Chua directed an office specialist by the name of Michelle Rodriguez to schedule a special closed-session Council meeting to interview a candidate for the position of city attorney. A City report states that Chua instructed the staff member to handle the meeting confidentially and without including key City staff members, potentially bypassing the usual procedures for organizing a closed session meeting under The Brown Act, California’s open meeting law.
The Brown Act requires that local government meetings post an agenda for special meetings at least 24 hours in advance. Intentional violations of the Brown Act are classified as misdemeanors, carrying potential fines of up to $1,000 and jail time, and could even lead to removal from office in cases of willful misconduct.
When it comes to closed session meetings, it’s outlined in the Council Handbook that councilmembers must direct requests through the City Attorney, and also request agendizing the meeting through the City Manager. Chua did neither.
Fortunately, before a Brown Act violation occurred, Assistant City Manager Matt Cano found out about Chua’s requests, when Rodriguez happened to casually mention them to him.
The office specialist was directed to stop following Chua’s instructions, and the matter was escalated to the City Manager. The interview was later scheduled in compliance with proper procedure.
“An individual Councilmember working through the Office Specialist does not have authority to schedule, notice, and agendize a Council meeting, let alone a ‘confidential’ meeting ‘with no staff involvement,’” stated a City report on the matter.
In a text exchange with Rodriguez, Councilmember Chua wrote: “…if everyone is available on Monday, a holiday. We can do it at City Hall when there are no employees around. Something to think about. Thanks”
Later in the text exchange, Rodriguez asked if Chua could check with the City Manager to get direction from her in setting up the meeting.
But Councilmember Chua wrote: “This only [sic] for elected officials and no staff involved”
Last week, in a letter to the Milpitas City Council, Rodriguez wrote about this interaction with Councilmember Chua, stating that she felt something wasn’t right about what she was being asked to do. She stated that the situation made her feel stressed, that she went through a “rollercoaster of emotions,” and that she even worried that her job might be at risk.
“I was placed in a situation where I could have been blamed if something went wrong. This made me feel somewhat manipulated by being asked to do something that I had never done and did not know how to do but was asked to keep all of this confidential from my bosses,” she wrote.
The City of Milpitas has had an ongoing problem with holding on to city managers. In the past seven years, there have been a total of four permanent city managers in the position.
Ned Thomas, who served as Milpitas’ last City Manager, said he wasn’t surprised by the news of Chua’s alleged violations. He told The Beat, “During my tenure as City Manager, she routinely disparaged staff and overstepped her bounds as a Councilmember in seeking to impose her opinions over the professional advice and recommendations of staff.”
He added: “If they dared speak out, most City staff would tell you that Evelyn Chua is the primary instigator of all the drama that has plagued the City Manager’s Office in Milpitas in recent years. How many hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees and wasted administration time has her inappropriate meddling cost the City, in addition to the serious toll it has taken on staff morale and productivity?”
Santana, the current interim city manager, wrote her resignation letter to the Milpitas City Council on August 29, stating her intention to resign and giving two month’s notice.
“Over the past two weeks, I feel that Councilmember Chua has engaged in some poor practices between the Councilmember-Manager relationship and I have felt tension toward me from her,” wrote Santana. “I have tried to respond in the best way possible to support the City Council, but I feel that the tension toward me does not allow for me to fulfill my duties.”
After learning of Chua’s misstep, Santana got on the phone with her. She explained to Chua that “a Special Meeting was required to convene the full council for an interview.” But Chua disagreed with her.
“I stated that I was only trying to make sure the meeting was properly noticed and in compliance with state law,” Santana wrote.
The conversation between the two grew sour. Santana told Chua that if she wasn’t happy with the work she was doing, she would resign.
“I came to Milpitas to help fix the organization, not to fight or be disrespected,” wrote Santana. “Unfortunately, over the last two weeks, both have happened with Councilmember Chua.”
Santana also stated that there were two other recent examples in which the tension between her and Chua came to a head, though she did not give any specifics. Her last day as interim city manager will be October 31.
“Kudos to Interim City Manager Deanna Santana for taking a firm stand and shining a public light on Evelyn Chua’s true behavior,” said Thomas.
Although a Brown Act violation was averted this time, Chua’s alleged policy and procedural violations could potentially get her censured at tomorrow night’s City Council meeting, when the issue comes under formal discussion.
Note: Councilmember Chua was reached for comment on this article, but is unable to provide any comments until after the council discussion.
