Santa Clara's efforts to encourage political candidates to use the City's Code of Ethics and Values as guidelines for their campaigns were honored with a prestigious award from the League of California Cities.

The project, "Infusing Political Campaigns with Community Ethics and Values," won a 2002 Helen Putnam Award for Excellence in the category of Public Trust and Ethics. Only 16 cities received awards in all categories out of 125 nominations submitted.

The Helen Putnam Award recognizes outstanding achievement and innovation by cities whose contributions to community residents and businesses have resulted in lower costs, more effective delivery of services, or have provided new, unique programs that can be utilized by other jurisdictions. The nomination for Santa Clara's project described how the City conducted special workshops to teach individuals, including candidates for elected office and their supporters, how to conduct their campaigns in a way that reflects the community's principles for ethical behavior. The City of Santa Clara's current Code of Ethics and Values was adopted in 2000 with the goal of instilling the Code's core values into the operating culture of City Hall.

Established in 1898, the League of California Cities is a member organization that represents California's incorporated cities. It offers professional development programs and information resources, conducts educational conferences and research, and publishes Western City magazine.