After he was forced into a last-minute recusal from a San Jose City Council vote in February, Vice Mayor Chappie Jones liquidated most of his stock holdings. But he’s holding onto a handful of lucrative stocks, including a controversial one.
Jones told San José Spotlight that of the 40 stocks listed on his public disclosure forms, he now only has holdings left in three companies: Tesla Inc., Snowflake Inc. and Palantir Technologies.
Chappie Jones
“I didn’t anticipate any conflict (with them),” Jones said.
Palantir, a data-mining company developed by billionaire Peter Thiel, has been a lightning rod for public outrage.
In 2018, protesters marched outside the company’s Palo Alto headquarters to protest Palantir’s work for U.S. Immigration Customs and Enforcement. Palantir received tens of millions of dollars from the federal government to maintain a system that gave immigration officials a wealth of data on potential deportation targets, including information on their education, relationships, biometric traits and home address.
Privacy advocates have also raised concerns about Palantir’s business relationship with Santa Clara County. In 2015, the county announced that the company would provide software and related services for Project Welcome Home, a six-year program led by Abode Services to provide homeless housing and clinical services.
Palantir offered similar services to Partners in Wellness, a Santa Clara County program that identifies severely mentally ill people and assists them with more effective treatment. Palantir’s contracts for both programs are set to expire at the end of December 2022.
“I’m not sure how much Jones knows about Palantir’s products, business model or customer base,” said Ethan Gregory Dodge, founder of the Citizens Privacy Coalition of Santa Clara County who writes a monthly column on surveillance and tech for San José Spotlight. “Regardless, I feel that San Jose residents should be concerned that the vice mayor is increasing his wealth by investing in a company with a track record of human rights violations that have aided in the deportation of who knows how many innocent immigrants.”
CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics. This article was originally published in San Jose Spotlight. CalMatters.org is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media venture explaining California policies and politics. Visit CalMatters on Facebook or on Twitter @CalMatters.
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