Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Ram Sharma
[email protected]
1674 Hollenbeck ave #39
Sunnyvale, California 94087
From: Namita Sripathi
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Monday, March 6, 2023 8:51:59 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Namita Sripathi
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Kirtana Sripathi
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Monday, March 6, 2023 8:51:25 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Kirtana Sripathi
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Arun Swami
To: City Council
Subject: Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang Date: Monday, March 6, 2023 8:48:34 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Arun Swami
[email protected]
23016 Voss Ave
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Praveen Mohanan
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Monday, March 6, 2023 8:23:32 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Praveen Mohanan
[email protected]
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Kiran Rao
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Monday, March 6, 2023 7:20:36 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Kiran Rao
[email protected]
cupertino, California 95014
From: Terry Griffin
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Monday, March 6, 2023 12:42:45 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Terry Griffin
[email protected]
10727 Randy Ln.
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Renuka Vanukuri
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 10:45:31 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Renuka Vanukuri
[email protected]
10255 Nile Dr
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Luke Lang
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 10:29:36 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." I have read the staff report on this item. Under "Reasons for Recommendation," none was given. It simply says that the City Council has the right to do so. Well, that's not good enough.
Back in 2018, former City Attorney Randolph Hom was dismissed by the then-City Council without justification. This led to a lawsuit and cost the City lots of money. Don't make the same mistake again.
If you don't remember the incident, please read:
https://www.sanjoseinside.com/the-fly/cupertino-criticized-for-lack-of-transparency-over-cityattorney-randolph-homs-departure/ https://www.cpmlegal.com/news-Former-City-Attorney-Randolph-Hom-Begins-Process-forMultimillion-Dollar-Lawsuit-Against-City-of-Cupertino https://www.mercurynews.com/2018/10/24/cupertino-councilman-says-he-pushed-for-citysattorneys-ouster-over-vallco-flap/ The last article highlights the City Council and Barry Chang's mistake. When it comes to legal issues, it's not majority rule. The ignorant must accept the advice of legal experts. Therefore, I demand that the City Attorney provide a legal justification for removing Ray Wang.
I have also read the San Jose Spotlight article: https://sanjosespotlight.com/cupertino-officialfaces-calls-to-quit/ The only evidence provided is an email from Ray Wang to the City Manager. Is there anything wrong with that? The recent civil grand jury reports said that communication about city staff must go through the City Manager. Isn't this what Ray Wang did? Furthermore, if Ray Wang's disapproval of reports during official Planning Commission meetings is inappropriate, why is the disapproval of Ray Wang by J. R. Fruen, Connie Cunningham, and Neil Park-McClintick in public appropriate? Why isn't there any discussion about the merit of Ray Wang's disapproval of reports?
Back in 2018, the City Council wanted to remove Mr. Hom. They knew that they didn't have any justification and the City would lose a wrongful termination lawsuit. But they didn't care because they wouldn't be personally held responsible and it's just the City's money. The same scenario is being played out here. Don't make the same mistake again.
Thanks,
Luke Lang
Cupertino resident
Luke Lang
[email protected]
21365 Rumford Dr
CUPERTINO, California 95014
From: Jean Pommier
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 9:47:18 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Jean Pommier
[email protected]
20025 De Palma Lane
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Melissa Chan
To: City Clerk
Subject: In Support of Removal of Planning Commissioner Ray “R” Wang Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 9:46:31 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
City Clerk Kirsten Squarcia,
I am not a Cupertino community member. As an outsider I am offended by what your community is reflecting to others. I understand that you are still recovering from prior leadership that has greatly damaged your reputation, including the past actions of Planning Commissioner R. Wang. That is why I am here today to voice my strong support for the removal of Planning Commissioner R. Wang.
While a sitting Planning Commissioner City official, he urged fellow residents to call the employers of pro-housing activists to try to get them fired from their jobs. He has disrespected, insulted, and alleged conspiracy theories against core community partners like Cupertino Rotary and the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce. He continually harassed a City Councilmember in Redwood City (was a planning commissioner), signing her up for porn.
Instead of admitting the truth, he lied that developer interests hacked his computer.
Commissioner Wang even acts on misinformation to propel his political agenda, instead of listening to legal advice, putting the city at risk of being sued. For example, when the City sought to fix a density bonus ordinance to comply with state law, he compared this to free and fair democratic elections in the Soviet Union.”
I believe in Cupertino and its future–that’s why I am here speaking for democracy and for ethical leadership. It’s past time for the Council to hold Commissioner Wang accountable.
Please honor the lived experiences of those who have been personally harmed by Mr. Wang and do the right thing. Please honor the intelligence and character of our good residents, who deserve to have genuine trust in their officials.
Thank you for your time. It’s time to bring dignity back to Cupertino.
Melissa Chan
[email protected]
389 Caribe Way
San Jose, California 95133
From: Shuchi Maheshwari
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 9:38:13 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Shuchi Maheshwari
[email protected]
10221 PARK CIR W APT 3
CUPERTINO, California 95014
From: Harish Gupta
To: City Clerk
Subject: Do NOT Remove Planning Commissioner Ray Wang - Censure JR Fruen instead for being divisivem uncivil, and unbecmoing of a Council Member
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 9:27:46 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
City Clerk Kirsten Squarcia,
I am a Cupertino community member. This community means a lot to me, and I believe we are home to some of the brightest and most compassionate minds in California.
Here's what the public are saying in response to the hit piece on Wang in that Pro-Housing Activist news (is it news) org - San Jose Insider
Carl Thomas Mar 04, 2023 at 10:19AM
I’ve known Ray for 20+ years. Whether or not you agree with him, he cares deeply about Cupertino and its residents, and has a lot of support. And the “scathing civil grand jury report” included no names, so I think assigning all the blame to a single person is unfair.
Reply
Michael Lee Mar 04, 2023 at 12:25PM
Basically, Fruen’s progressive buddies want to control the Planning Commission and see Wang as easy target. Fruen and McClintick both run Cupertino for All to support Fruen get highschoolers to do their bidding and do political deals like this to abolish local control and make developers richer. Fruen regularly contacts HCD to put the city staff in hot water. Piece of work, isn't he?
Frank Yu Mar 04, 2023 at 12:31PM
Here’s a video with R Wang and one of the residents asking why he’s on the agenda.
A lot of good information about how corrupt Cupertino has become in the past 3 months since JR Fruen came to the scene and Hung Wei became mayor.
You can also see why R Wang is so upset with the staff and how they have been incompetent.
I can see why R Wang gets so excited about the incompetence.
The best part is when he says any average high schooler could do a better job then the consultant the city hired and paid hundreds of thousands of dollars for. This is well worth the watch
https://youtu.be/eTK4HfZRcc8
Keep Ray Wang Mar 05, 2023 at 6:24AM
This hit piece and others have omitted a key fact: Wang has been elected by his peers on the Planning Commission as Chair twice and as vice-Chair once in his 3 years of service to to Cupertino community.
Bemused Mar 05, 2023 at 9:16AM
This controversy seems like it’s a bunch of privileged children behaving badly in the sandbox. I don’t know what the facts are, and this article certainly doesn’t come close to enlightening anyone outside of Cupertino what’s really going on. Long on opinion, short on evidence. But watching the ‘love fest’ interview, I am struck most by how well Mr. Wang puts snarky and smarmy together. Just sayin’.
Cynthia Chiang, resident 44 years Mar 04, 2023 at 12:40PM Ha! That City letter from Wang was spot on! That assistant got fired from a couple of cities and didn’t show up to work in person for a couple of years here during the pandemic, then when it was time to show up she retires. Cupertino Country Club is what City Hall has been called.
Complain and staff cries foul and gets the new Council majority to vote as a divisive bloc.
I believe in Cupertino and its future–that’s why I am here speaking for democracy and for ethical leadership. It’s past time for the Council to hold JR Fruen responsible for a divisive and unnecessarily political Cupertino.
Commissioner Wang should remain. Please honor the lived experiences of those who have been personally harmed by JR Fruen Cupertino For All and do the right thing.
Please honor the intelligence and character of our good residents, who deserve to have genuine trust in their officials.
Thank you for your time. It’s time to bring dignity back to Cupertino.
Keep Ray Wang on the Planning Commission
Harish Gupta
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Victor Yin
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 8:31:51 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." It is important to have voices from different perspectives.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Victor Yin
Victor Yin
[email protected]
21731 Santa Bella Place
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Parth Redkar
To: City Clerk
Subject: In Support of Removal of Planning Commissioner Ray “R” Wang Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 6:10:24 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
City Clerk Kirsten Squarcia,
I am a Cupertino community member. This community means a lot to me, and I believe we are home to some of the brightest and most compassionate minds in California. Unfortunately, we are still recovering from prior leadership that has greatly damaged our reputation, including the past actions of Planning Commissioner R. Wang. That is why I am here today to voice my strong support for the removal of Planning Commissioner R. Wang.
While a sitting Planning Commissioner City official, he urged fellow residents to call the employers of pro-housing activists to try to get them fired from their jobs. He has disrespected, insulted, and alleged conspiracy theories against core community partners like Cupertino Rotary and the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce. He continually harassed a City Councilmember in Redwood City (was a planning commissioner), signing her up for porn.
Instead of admitting the truth, he lied that developer interests hacked his computer.
Commissioner Wang even acts on misinformation to propel his political agenda, instead of listening to legal advice, putting the city at risk of being sued. For example, when the City sought to fix a density bonus ordinance to comply with state law, he compared this to free and fair democratic elections in the Soviet Union.”
I believe in Cupertino and its future–that’s why I am here speaking for democracy and for ethical leadership. It’s past time for the Council to hold Commissioner Wang accountable.
Please honor the lived experiences of those who have been personally harmed by Mr. Wang and do the right thing. Please honor the intelligence and character of our good residents, who deserve to have genuine trust in their officials.
Thank you for your time. It’s time to bring dignity back to Cupertino.
Parth Redkar
[email protected]
10093 Stern Ave
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Suyash Ganu
To: City Clerk
Subject: In Support of Removal of Planning Commissioner Ray “R” Wang Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 6:07:38 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
City Clerk Kirsten Squarcia,
I am a Cupertino community member. This community means a lot to me, and I believe we are home to some of the brightest and most compassionate minds in California. Unfortunately, we are still recovering from prior leadership that has greatly damaged our reputation, including the past actions of Planning Commissioner R. Wang. That is why I am here today to voice my strong support for the removal of Planning Commissioner R. Wang.
While a sitting Planning Commissioner City official, he urged fellow residents to call the employers of pro-housing activists to try to get them fired from their jobs. He has disrespected, insulted, and alleged conspiracy theories against core community partners like Cupertino Rotary and the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce. He continually harassed a City Councilmember in Redwood City (was a planning commissioner), signing her up for porn.
Instead of admitting the truth, he lied that developer interests hacked his computer.
Commissioner Wang even acts on misinformation to propel his political agenda, instead of listening to legal advice, putting the city at risk of being sued. For example, when the City sought to fix a density bonus ordinance to comply with state law, he compared this to free and fair democratic elections in the Soviet Union.”
I believe in Cupertino and its future–that’s why I am here speaking for democracy and for ethical leadership. It’s past time for the Council to hold Commissioner Wang accountable.
Please honor the lived experiences of those who have been personally harmed by Mr. Wang and do the right thing. Please honor the intelligence and character of our good residents, who deserve to have genuine trust in their officials.
Thank you for your time. It’s time to bring dignity back to Cupertino.
Suyash Ganu
[email protected]
857 Raintree Dr
San Jose, California 95129
From: Vinita Reddy
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 4:27:06 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Vinita Reddy
[email protected]
Cupertino , California 95014
From: David Zhao
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 4:11:19 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
David Zhao
[email protected]
Cupertino, CA
From: Jun-Xiong Hughes
To: City Clerk
Subject: Support for the Removal of Planning Commissioner Ray “R” Wang Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 3:59:07 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
City Clerk Kirsten Squarcia,
I am writing to support the removal of Planning Commissioner Ray "R" Wang for troubling actions in the past, and an ongoing pattern of inappropriate behavior for an appointed government representative.
I do not agree with much of Commissioner Wang's politics or policy decisions, but my support for his removal is focused on a pattern of behavior that frustrates the type of dialogue key to the responsibilities of the planning commission, as well as troubling incidents for any government representative. Despite any predisposed bias you may have, I respectfully ask you to honestly and objectively reflect on his actions listed below, and ask: Is this truly someone fit to represent our City?
- When a sitting Planning Commissioner, he urged "doxxing" of fellow residents, asking people to call the employers of pro-housing activists with the intent to get them fired from their jobs. (Mercury News Article: https://www.mercurynews.com/2019/06/25/yimby-neo-liberal-fascistscomment-perceived-threats-spark-backlash-against-local-planning-commissioner/) - In both personal and professional spheres, Wang leads with extremist language, insults, and conspiracy theories over constructive dialogue. Nextdoor posts frequently use salacious language and in a recent post from last month, he labels housing laws as "Soviet-Style" and supports resistance to the "collusion" of an "unholy alliance" (https://nextdoor.com/p/-92G87mnbsTQ?view=detail). Older Nextdoor posts frame residents who disagree with him as "anarchists" and "fascists" (Shortened Link to Twitter for screenshots of the deleted post: bit.ly/3SNv7Pr). Often, and likely to be heard by supporters on Tuesday, Commissioner Wang frames his actions as "resident-focused", negatively framing residents who disagree with him. Commissioner Wang is entitled to his freedom of speech just like any other individual, but I ask you to consider if this behavior is really beneficial to the function and decision-making capabilities of Cupertino's Planning Commission.
Planning Commission meetings are not absent from this language or behavior. Recent meetings have seen direct violations of Paragraphs C, D, and F of the then-active 2021 Commissioner's Handbook, as he both dominates the conversation, goes off-topic, directs and supervise City staff with instructions like asking them to "do their homework". (2021 instance: https://youtu.be/DRXY2hvx3rw?t=9442
2022 instance: https://youtu.be/AC4wMTqW7lA?t=2147)
This continued and ongoing behavior is frustrating the Commission's core functions, and its essential relationships with City staff.
- While fighting against a common and important water conservation policy in Redwood City, he continually harassed a local City Councilmember. This behavior lead to a no-contest legal finding for an "annoying call" charge, as well as two negotiated plea deals regarding harassment. There has been no apology, only a claim by Commissioner Wang without any public or verifiable evidence to support his defense. Putting aside the fact that a negotiated plea deal is not a "not guilty" finding, even if one assumes a presumption of innocence, is an individual who cannot even apologize for behavior that resulted in two separate court cases really one we want representing Cupertino?
Recent grand jury findings and past audits have long highlighted the need for accountability for the poor working environment and governance practices in Cupertino. It is long past time for the Council to address these conditions, and unfortunately, it seems that Commissioner Wang's behaviors clearly represent a part of these conditions. We deserve to have trust in their officials, and his ongoing behavior makes it difficult to do so. I do not state support for this action lightly, as I value the debate and diversity of thought that are important to governing and finding the best solutions for our community. As such, I hope you, and the Council as a whole, carefully considers Commissioner Wang's removal.
While I anticipate deliberations will become more politically-focused, pitting resident against resident, I hope and thank you for your honest consideration. While the removal of Commissioner Wang alone will not completely solve Cupertino's governance challenges, his removal is a response that actually considers the full record of his past actions and ongoing behavior, and represents a significant step towards creating functioning commissions and the types of constructive dialogues we should aspire to in our government.
Jun-Xiong Hughes
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Jon Willey
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 1:33:06 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Jon Willey
[email protected]
18870 Tilson Ave
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Phyllis Dickstein
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 12:04:31 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Phyllis Dickstein
[email protected]
19999 stevens creek blvd, 103
Cupertino, California 95014-2352
From: Michelle Esau
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 11:38:04 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Michelle Esau
[email protected]
18315 Capistrano way
Morgan Hill, California 95037
From: R Wang
To: John Zhao; Connie Cunningham; Jennifer Shearin
Cc: City Clerk; Kirsten Squarcia; City Council
Subject: With regards to the facts
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 10:12:28 AM
Attachments: 20230302_KLB_Cupertino_City_Council.pdf
I thought I'd share with you some facts from my lawyer. I wanted to make sure you have the latest information that the city councili has before you continue to speak in public or write to the council, or even become quoted in the press.
I wouldn't want you to be accused of violating any provisions of our new ethics handbook with regards to attacking another member or public without the facts.
Please feel free to ask me any questions.
R Wang
Planning Commissioner
[email protected]
177 Post Street, Suite 700
San Francisco, CA 94108
Krista L. Baughman
Phone: 415.433.1700
[email protected]
A CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION WITH OFFICES IN
SAN FRANCISCO | NEWPORT BEACH | WASHINGTON, D.C.-ALEXANDRIA | NEWARK-NEW YORK | WEST PALM BEACH March 2, 2023
Via Email
Mayor Hung Wei
Vice Mayor Sheila Mohan
Cupertino City Council
10300 Torre Avenue
Cupertino, CA 95014
[email protected]
[email protected]
Re: False and Misleading Allegations Against Ray Wang
Dear Mayor Wei and Vice Mayor Mohan:
This firm represents Mr. R. “Ray” Wang in connection with false and misleading allegations that have been circulated about him in anticipation of the City Council meeting scheduled for Tuesday, March 7, 2023. We write to provide you with an accurate account of the events that are the subject of the allegations, such that the Council has before it the full context as opposed to politically motivated accusations that are cherry-picked to paint a false and demeaning narrative of Mr. Wang.
The true facts are as follows: twenty years ago, Mr. Wang was charged with three violations of the California Penal Code in an action involving then Redwood City Planning Commissioner Rosanne Foust.
1 As clear from the court docket, Mr. Wang pled “No Contest” to the single misdemeanor charge of Annoying Telephone Call to Place of Work (PC 653m(b)). He pled Not Guilty to the remaining two charges. The docket further reflects, without ambiguity, that on January 13, 2004, Mr. Wang entered a plea of no contest to the misdemeanor count, and that all remaining counts were dismissed, without any finding of guilt.
Mr. Wang’s political opponents intentionally misinterpret these events from over a decade ago to smear Mr. Wang, arguing that he has engaged in “revenge porn” or that he engaged in “sexual harassment.” Patently, an “annoying telephone call” is not the same thing. See, e.g., Cal. Penal Code §647(j)(4) (California’s “revenge porn” statute, criminalizing “[a] person who intentionally distributes the image of the intimate body part or parts of another identifiable person, or an image of the person 1 See The People of the State of California vs. Ray Kuang Wang, San Mateo Superior Court, Case No.
SM328047A. The docket for this case can be accessed via the San Mateo Superior Court’s website http://www.sanmateocourt.org/online_services/odyssey_portals.php. [Addressee]
Cupertino City Council
March 2, 2023
A CALIFORNIA PROFESSIONAL CORPORATION WITH OFFICES IN
SAN FRANCISCO | NEWPORT BEACH | WASHINGTON, D.C.-ALEXANDRIA | NEWARK-NEW YORK | WEST PALM BEACH depicted engaged in an act of sexual intercourse, sodomy, oral copulation, sexual penetration, or an image of masturbation by the person depicted or in which the person depicted participates, under circumstances in which the persons agree or understand that the image shall remain private….”).
The blatant mischaracterization of the actual series of events is apparent even from the 2019 news article Mr. Wang’s opponents are fond of citing, which confirms that Mr. Wang “pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor charge of ‘making annoying telephone calls to a place of work.’” The article also notes that Mr. Wang vigorously opposed allegations that Ms. Foust made against him in a civil lawsuit, and that the lawsuit ultimately settled with no adjudication of guilt. See https://sanjosespotlight.com/cupertino-policymaker-in-hot-water-for-past-sexual-harassment-lawsuit/.
Simply put, the recent attacks on Mr. Wang are false, misleading, and constitute a transparent attempt by those who support his political opponents to smear him in advance of a heated election. This is all the more obvious given that the allegations concern events that transpired two decades ago. We urge the City Council, in its good judgment, to view the events in their proper context in conducting the meeting on March 7, 2023, and any future business.
Regards,
Krista L. Baughman
Cc:
Councilmember Kitty Moore [email protected]
Councilmember Liang Chao [email protected]
Councilmember JR Fruen [email protected]
City Manager Pamela Wu [email protected]
City Attorney Chris Jensen [email protected]
City Clerk Kirsten Squarcia [email protected]
From: Ranjita Pawar
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 9:46:26 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Ranjita Pawar
[email protected]
19649 auburn dr
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Rashmi Bharadwaj
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 9:44:19 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Rashmi Bharadwaj
[email protected]
7547 De Foe Drive
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Mark Lee
To: City Council
Subject: Keep Ray Wang Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 9:26:05 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Do not remove him!
Mark Lee
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Joan Winters
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 9:23:21 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Joan Winters
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Equity Furall
To: City Council
Subject: Stop Asian Hate - Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 9:20:24 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Division in our city- Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The discussion of this item will create more polarization in our community.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Commissioner Wang from the Planning Commission.
If such action is taken, I will actively participate on a recall committee. We need to take a stand and stop these hateful actions against Asians.
Thank you for taking the time to read my letter.
Sincerely,
Equity
Equity Furall
[email protected]
Equityfurall@gmail.,com
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Junyao Guo
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 9:12:39 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Junyao Guo
[email protected]
Saratoga , California 95070
From: Paul Greenberg
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 7:05:46 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang
Why would I say that? I'm neither a resident nor do I agree with Planning Commissioner Wang politically on a number of things. However, what I DO know and AGREE with is that he both cares about the people of Cupertino and the district as a whole AND he has taken actions that show he cares and have been effective in both preventing and solving problems. Ray Wang represents the kind of public official that does what a public official is elected or appointed to do - help benefit the people of the area they represent. Local efforts in public service are the heart of the politics of the country and the practical actions taken can transcend the ideologies that are prevalent. I'm a left Democrat - will always be - and politically couldn't differ more than I do with Ray. But I know where his heart is and most of his actions have been effective because they are the right things to do for the constituencies he represents. We need more public officials like this. So, to me, as someone who s ees what is in the national and local interests, you should retain Commissioner Ray Wang.
Sincerely
Paul Greenberg
Paul Greenberg
[email protected]
9504 Tudor Oaks Dr
Manassas, Virginia 20110
From: Judy Tomasello
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Sunday, March 5, 2023 6:13:40 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Judy Tomasello
[email protected]
20657 Celeste Circle
Cupertino, California 95014
From: San Rao
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 10:11:35 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." I appeal to the city council members humbly. Please do not remove planning commissioner Ray Wang.
You are losing the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative, inclusive and to bring the community together.
The need of the hour is unity. We all love this great city of Cupertino. Let us assume good intent on each others part. Let us assume we all love Cupertino. Cupertino is made up of a diverse set of residents. Please do not take actions that divide the community. Instead we look to you to come together as a city council, to seek consensus, to build relationships, to establish trust with each other and across the entire community and work to better Cupertino.
You have a chance in these 4 years to leave a legacy for yourselves. Let it be a legacy of betterment of Cupertino, not it’s division.
Mayor Wei, can we put our trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner appointed by a prior council that included you? Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not?
Council member Mohan, you are the last hope of Cupertino. You are wise in your years, well versed in your knowledge of civic government and mature in your demeanor. You are our last hope for Cupertino. Please vote with wisdom and maturity. Please vote by issue as an individual representing your decades as a Cupertino resident. Please vote in the interests of all including the immigrant origin Cupertino residents. Most importantly please vote with your heart and intuition for what will keep us unified as a city. Retaliatory firings are not going to unite us as a community. You have the power to be a change agent. Please join Liang and Kitty in voting against the removal of Commissioner Ray. Please vote for unity of our community.
Sometimes, it takes one small step to make a giant leap. Let your one small step towards unity be the harbinger of the best ahead for this city council. Please vote with Liang and Kitty to oppose the removal of planning commissioner Ray Wang.
To each and all of you. Please reconsider the council’s agenda item to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Please do not remove Commissioner Ray Wang.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
San Rao
San Rao
[email protected]
10511 San Felipe Rd
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Saanj R
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 10:03:00 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Stop The Divisiveness - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the newly elected City Council member J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expect of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not?
Council member Mohan, you are the last hope of Cupertino. You are wise in your years, well versed in your knowledge of civic government and mature in your demeanor. You are the last hope of Cupertino. Please vote with wisdom and maturity. Please vote by issue as an individual representing the decades of Cupertino as a resident. Please vote in the interests of immigrant origin Cupertino residents. Most importantly please vote with your heart and intuition for what will keep us unified as a city. Retaliatory firings are not going to unite us as a community. You have the power. Please join Liang and Kitty in voting against the removal of Commissioner Ray. Please vote for unity of our ciommunity.
City council, can we trust all of you to do full due diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those like council member JR Fruen who are politically motivated to remove their opponents?
Please reconsider the council’s agenda item to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Please do not remove Commissioner Ray Wang.
Saanj R
[email protected]
10511 San Felipe Rd
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Shankar Garikapati
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 9:56:46 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Shankar Garikapati
[email protected]
20713 Celeste Cir
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Ranjani Manjunath
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 9:31:00 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Stop The Divisiveness - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the newly elected City Council member J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expect of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not?
Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Please do not not remove Ray Wang from the planning commission.
Ranjani Manjunath
[email protected]
10511 San Felipe Rd
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Hang Sin
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 8:53:06 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Hang Sin
[email protected]
21182 gardena dr
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Anne Ezzat
To: City Council; [email protected]
Subject: Item #11 on Agenda for March 7, 2023 City Council Meeting-Commissioner Ray Wang Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 6:28:01 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Mayor Wei, Vice Mayor Mohan, Council Member Chao, Council Member Moore, and Council Member Fruen,
I am writing regarding item #11 on the agenda for the March 7, 2023 council meeting re: Planning Commissioner Wang. Please do not embarrass yourselves by removing Commissioner Wang.
Residents will assume it is being done out of a fit of pique or political gamesmanship. Commissioners should be appointed and retained based on their competence, not their compliance with the wishes or political leanings of the council. Do you want to hear from a variety of voices, or only those that sing your song? Removing Commissioner Wang will make this council an anomaly and not in a good way. Previous city councils have allowed commission members to term out and have then replaced them.
Some recent history. The City of Cupertino had a commission member that was on the now defunct Public Safety Commission. This commissioner had been charged with domestic assault, and when the council became aware of this, they did not remove the commissioner. Why not? Former Mayor Barry Chang was excoriated by County Executive Jeff Smith for his behavior, and he was not censored by other council members. Why not?
One can only conclude that councils do not care to remove or censure those who sing their tune, only those who do not. If you believe that the removal of Commissioner Wang will silence dissent, you are mistaken. It will only galvanize the opposition since they will have a martyr to rally around.
Thank you for your time and attention to this matter.
Regards,
Brooke Ezzat
From: Jane Shoh
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 5:55:13 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Jane Shoh
[email protected]
10446 Colby ave
Cupertino , CA 95014
From: Maria Oh
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 5:22:23 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Maria Oh
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Stanley Wong
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 4:52:54 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Stanley Wong
[email protected]
1133 EMERSON ST
PALO ALTO, California 94301
From: Amy Law
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 4:41:43 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Amy Law
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Jenny Griffin
To: City Council
Cc: [email protected]
Subject: City Council Agenda Issues
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 3:37:02 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear City Council:
The Cupertino City Council Agenda for March 7, 2023 is unprofessional and confusing.
The item (now 11) attempting to remove Mr. Wang from his Planning Commission seat is extremely unprofessional in every sense of the word. This is bordering on a creating a circus scandal in the City Council Chambers. This item should be removed from the agenda.
Why is Number 4 on the Consent Calendar again? This item is attempting to dissolve the ERC, the DRC , The LRC and the Audit Committee. No one from the public can pull the item to discuss it So why is it back on the Consent Calendar? To just show the public they can't speak on anything Anymore and every commission t hat we had in the city has been dissolved? Again, why is Item 10 under the Consent Calendar? No one from the public can talk about the Housing Element or the Consultants? So the public spent a great deal of their time and effort Participating in the supposed public meetings from the Housing Elements. We did our time. We Did our duty. We sat through through meeting after meeting as dictated by the Housing Element agenda. We apparently wasted our time as we are apparently not going to be allowed To speak on the Housing Element now. This item needs to be pulled to allow the public to Speak or I guess we wasted our entire spring, summer and fall and winter of 2022 attending to The tirades of the RHNA and the never ending rules from HCD over the Housing Element.
The Housing Element apparently tells the public when they get to say anything about what happens In their city.
Also, why is Item 15 under an Informational item? Doesn't the public get to ask questions on Things pertaining to such things as the Chamber of Commerce or as was listed in the last City Council Agenda under informational The request to increase restaurant space at Main Street? What ever happened to that item?
Please put the City Council Agenda back to the sensible order that it used to have and please Remove the highly embarrassing and unprofessional item (Now Number 11) accusing Mr.
Wang of all manner of outrageous things and trying to remove him from his Planning Commission seat. This item is highly irregular, unorthodox and deeply disturbing to be Appearing in a City Council Agenda. Indeed, it is highly shocking.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Griffin
From: David Fang
To: City Clerk
Subject: AGENDA ITEM 11 - In Support of Keeping Planning Commissioner Ray “R” Wang - PLEASE AGENDIZE RECALLING JR FRUEN
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 3:03:54 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
City Clerk Kirsten Squarcia,
I am a Cupertino resident. I have been in this city since 1979. This community means a lot to me, and I believe we are home to some of the brightest and most compassionate minds in California.
This is why I am here today to voice my strong support for keeping Planning Commissioner R.
Wang. He has defended the residents and unlike his accusers JR Fruen and Sheila Mohan, he believes in bringing people of all types together. His inclusiveness and leadership has been proven over two decades in this city.
The divisive politics by the Cupertino For All people continue. JR Fruen and his compatriots do not like strong straight Asian Males. We should stop this Asian Hate now! This is racist, discriminatory, and moreover so political. His vindictive behaviour does not meet the 2023 ethical standards he espoused. This type of politics belongs in a banana republic and not in my beloved Cupertino
I believe in Cupertino and its future–that’s why I am here speaking for democracy and for ethical leadership. It’s past time for the Council to hold Council person Fruen accountable for creating so much divisiveness in this community. We should ask for JR Fruen's recall! .
Please honor the intelligence and character of our good residents, who deserve to have genuine trust in their officials.
Thank you for your time. It’s time to bring dignity back to Cupertino. Keep R Wang. Recall JR Fruen!
David Fang
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95015
From: Anando Sen
To: David Stillman; Chad Mosley; City Council
Cc: Nabanita Sen
Subject: Requesting addition of more pedestrian crossings at Foothill from I-280 to San Juan Rd Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 2:52:30 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Honorable Mayor Wei, Vice-Mayor Mohan, City Council,
I am writing to request the city council to kindly consider and prioritize the addition of more pedestrian crossings at Foothill from I-280 to San Juan Rd.
School kids and families that live near the area need to cross Foothill while walking across to Steven’s Creek Elementary or Kennedy Middle, Monta Vista High. Pedestrians enjoy taking a walk along McClellan, to BlackBerry Farm, or to Rancho San Antonio. Bicyclists need to cross Foothill. Foothill needs more pedestrian crossings at Santa Paula, San Juan, Santa Lucia, Rancho Ventura, Cupertino Rd, Salem, Alpine Dr.
Please also implement more traffic calming activities on Foothill. The posted speed limits are 40 mph north of Stevens Creek and 30mph south of Stevens Creek. Autos and trucks are found driving at 50 - 60 mph on this stretch.
This is a highly dangerous area with a number of speeding vehicles and quarry trucks. It is unsafe for school kids, pedestrians, families and bicyclists to cross Foothill.
Any new pedestrian crossings must also have pedestrian activated beacon lights for safety.
Thank you for prioritizing the safety of school kids, families, walkers, bicyclists that have to cross Foothill.
Thank you for your service to the city of Cupertino.
Regards,
Anando / Nabanita Sen
(household of 4, 2 parents, 2 school going kids)
22701 San Juan Rd,
Cupertino
650.308.4916
From: Roy Liu
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 1:43:12 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Roy Liu
[email protected]
10562 Esquire Place
Cupertino, California 95014
From: carol He
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 1:30:56 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
carol He
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Chetan Valia
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 12:27:59 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Chetan Valia
[email protected]
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Larry Lien
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 12:12:09 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Larry Lien
[email protected]
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Janey Lien
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 12:10:01 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Janey Lien
[email protected]
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Ken Liang
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 12:01:41 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Ken Liang
[email protected]
2021x Patric Ct
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Sid Weber
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 11:29:36 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Sid Weber
[email protected]
10293 Judy Ave
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Larry Giffords
To: City Clerk
Subject: Agenda 11 Support Planning Commissioner Ray “R” Wang Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 10:57:50 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
City Clerk Kirsten Squarcia,
I am a Cupertino community member and have lived here for 36 years. This community means a lot to me, and I believe we are home to some of the brightest and most compassionate minds and some of the nastiest, greediest developers and their supporters in the world. That is why I am here today to voice my strong support for Planning Commissioner R. Wang and ask JR Fruen to do the right thing and resign.
Cupertino for All, directed by JR Fruen, spreads and even acts on misinformation to propel their political agenda. This childish, politically motivated, divisive activity has to stop.
I believe in Cupertino and its future–that’s why I am here speaking for democracy and for ethical leadership. I urge Cupertino for All Councilmember Fruen to step down. It’s past time for the Council to hold Fruen accountable. Please honor the lived experiences of those who have been personally harmed by Fruen’s attack squad of Sand Hill Vallco henchmen and do the right thing. Please honor the intelligence and character of our good residents, who deserve to have genuine trust in their officials.
Thank you for your time. It’s time to bring dignity back to Cupertino. JR Fruen must resign immediately. Support Ray Wang and good governance!
Larry Giffords
[email protected]
Alves Dr.
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Xiaopeng Xu
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 10:48:22 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Please do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
Below are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Sincerely yours,
Xiaopeng Xu
Cupertino resident
Xiaopeng Xu
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Chloe Chem
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 10:42:33 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Chloe Chem
[email protected]
Houston , Texas 77056
From: Ying Zhu
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 10:40:49 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Ying Zhu
[email protected]
cupertino, California 95014
From: Y Li
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 10:26:17 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Y Li
[email protected]
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Dong Li
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 10:23:01 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Dong Li
[email protected]
7466 kingsbury pl
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Bin Fang
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 9:28:39 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Bin Fang
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Seema Swamy
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 9:15:59 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Seema Swamy
[email protected]
19056 Tilson Ave
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Sonali Padgaonkar
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/8/2023, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 9:14:10 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust.
Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Sonali Padgaonkar
[email protected]
7553 Rainbow Drive, Cupertino, CA 95014, Cupertino, CA 95014, Cupertino, CA 95014 Cupertino, California 95014
From: Sue Kawl
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 9:00:52 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one percent of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3-person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months. They are causing massive levels of mistrust.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission? Are you this shameless?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority :
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings in the "name of efficient meetings" You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that your one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you, yet you were so eager to agendize this item without a proper inquiry.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation. Why have you not done so?
The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner.
The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives (follow the money and the donations in the last election). We have the campaign disclosure forms.
Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Anything less would appear to demonstrate that the WMF Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth nor cares about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations by a vindictive council member in Sunnyvale and one in Cupertino?
Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence? Vice Mayor Mohan and council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ Continued perseverance, hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests. + Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term and continue his oversight of the cities planning activities.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Do not remove him!
Sue Kawl
[email protected]
22720 medina lane
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Joe Yellow
To: Kirsten Squarcia
Subject: RECALL HUNG WEI AND JR FRUEN. - Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 8:02:01 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
City Clerk Kirsten Squarcia,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Mayor Hung Wei and JR Fruen should be Recalled for attempting to do this. In less than one week, they are eligible for a recall.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term. You should be ashamed of yourselves for your bad behavior and your collusion with the Rotary Club and Chamber of Commerce Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission or we will start the recall process on March 11th.
Joe Yellow
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Vipin Gupta
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 6:57:16 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Vipin Gupta
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Aron Dutta
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 6:22:46 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Aron Dutta
[email protected]
Towaco, New Jersey 07082
From: Sophia Badillo
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 6:12:26 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Sophia Badillo
[email protected]
18720 TILSON AVE
CUPERTINO, California 95014
From: May Chen
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Saturday, March 4, 2023 12:57:59 AM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
May Chen
[email protected]
Los Altos, California 94024
From: Peggy Griffin
To: City Council
Cc: City Clerk
Subject: 2023-03-07 City Council Mtg - Oral Communications-Kylie Clark is censured in Los Gatos Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 11:45:12 PM
Attachments: 2023-02-24 Los Gatos grapples with _attack on whiteness_ controversy-Kylie Clark.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Please include this email and the attached PDF as part of the 3-7-2023 City Council Meeting Written Communications for ORAL COMMUNICATIONS.
Dear City Council,
I would like to bring to your attention that Kylie Clark, a Los Gatos Planning Commissioner was recently censored by the Los Gatos Town Council for racist language. Please note:
This was done after an investigation and proof was collected and reviewed.
This Kylie Clark was involved with West Valley Community Services and our Housing Element! Did she also send HCD derogatory emails regarding Cupertino while getting paid to help Cupertino with their Housing Element?
https://www.sfgate.com/politics/article/los-gatos-grapples-with-attack-on-whiteness-17796970.php Sincerely,
Peggy Griffin
From: John Dundas
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 11:29:44 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
John Dundas
[email protected]
PO box 648
Truro , Massachusetts 02666
From: Robert McKibbin
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 10:58:16 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Robert McKibbin
[email protected]
20101 Las Ondas Ct
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Maneesh Saxena
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 9:55:43 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Maneesh Saxena
[email protected]
11087 Linda Vista Dr
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Naidu Bollineni
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 9:44:18 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Naidu Bollineni
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Peggy Sawyer
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 9:26:53 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Peggy Sawyer
[email protected]
18 Warpas Rd.
Madison, Connecticut 06443
From: William Hershey
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 8:18:44 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
William Hershey
[email protected]
19698 Wheaton dr
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Pamela Hershey
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 8:16:49 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Pamela Hershey
[email protected]
19698 Wheaton Dr
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Jaime Cacheiro
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 7:54:02 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Council member Sheila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Council member’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Council member Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Jaime Cacheiro
[email protected]
1371 Ribbon street
Foster City, California 94404
From: Kenny Lauer
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 7:46:58 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not rDear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk
Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Councimemberl Shila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Councilmember’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Councilmember Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Kenny Lauer
[email protected]
6828 Estates Drive
Oakland, California 94611
From: Fang Hu
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 7:43:10 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not rDear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk
Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Councimemberl Shila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Councilmember’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Councilmember Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Fang Hu
[email protected]
20697 garden gate drive
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Vikram Saxena
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 7:27:06 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not rDear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk
Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Councimemberl Shila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Councilmember’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Councilmember Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Vikram Saxena
[email protected]
11126 Linda Vista Drive
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Andy Juang
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 7:20:25 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang.
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Councimemberl Shila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Councilmember’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Councilmember Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Andy Juang
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Kitty Moore
To: City Clerk
Subject: Public Information Item 11 Communications
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 7:18:44 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe. https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?
url=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FeTK4HfZRcc8&data=05%7C01%7CLaurenS%40cupertino.org%7Cb112a99c012941bcafd308db1c5f2767%7C19e13f83dce947c3ae6712c6a63e2ed6%7C0%7C0%7C638134967237747087%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C3000%7C%7C%7C&sdata=Z%2BtTFO6cGaI4ZFvctQ8l3zn154xSWy5HaTJoNpXBST0%3D&reserved=0 Best regards,
Kitty Moore
Representing myself only
From: Nancy Coad
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 6:35:27 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not rDear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk
Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Councimemberl Shila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Councilmember’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Councilmember Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Nancy Coad
[email protected]
10292 Judy Ave
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Tracy K
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 5:52:00 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not rDear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk
Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the two newly elected City Councimemberl Shila Mohan and J.R. Fruen, who was elected by a thin margin of less one person of votes casted. But under the leadership of Mayor Hung Wei, this 3- person WMF (Wei, Mohan, Fruen) Council Majority has taken swift actions to change longstanding city practices in less than 3 months.
Your actions are divisive for Cupertino residents and in total disregard to the few thousand residents who voted for your opponents, We are your constituents too. Will you do everything in your power to gain majority control, not only in the City Council, but also in every commission?
The 2023 WMF Council Majority
-have removed the resident-focused council members from key committees. -have adopted procedures to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail. -have adopted procedures to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and - commission meetings.
You have lost the community's trust and faith by breaking your campaign promises to be collaborative and be inclusive and to bring the community together. Instead, every action you have taken so far seems to show that you are unwilling to compromise and work with the other side, which still represents almost 50% of Cupertino residents.
I urge you to do due diligence to investigate any allegations made against a city official so that one-sided perception, often taken out of context, and often politically motivated won’t become the grounds for your decision to remove a beloved Planning Commissioner.
I urge you to give any city official a warning with findings and recommendations based on solid evidence before you take any formal action for removing anyone from their appointed position.
This is the basic decency that Cupertino voters expected of you.
As the City Attorney has confirmed that in the “A House Divided” report, the Civil Grand Jury’s accusation of a Councilmember’s action to direct staff was mistaken. Many of the other claims made in the Civil Grand Jury’s report about the City of Cupertino were false too since they rely on one-sided interviews without any cross examination. The Civil Grand Jury is limited in what they could do, but Cupertino City Council has the ability to conduct an investigation, The City of Los Gatos has formed a subcommittee to investigate an accusation on their Planning Commissioner, even when the accusation is based on an email with written evidence.
Eventually the Los Gatos City Council decided to censure the Commissioner. The accusations you have received on Planning Commissioner R. Wang have been anecdotal and made by people with clear political motives. Wouldn’t it be much more necessary for Cupertino to form a subcommittee with balanced members to investigate the accusations made before the Council take any formal action? Any less would seem to mean that the Cupertino City Council is politically motivated to remove a commissioner for political gain and that the Cupertino City Council does not care about the truth or th does not care about hurting the reputation of one of their own citizens based on potentially false accusations? Mayor Wei, can we put our renewed trust in you to do the right thing and not remove a Planning Commissioner without an investigation to establish evidence.
Councilmember Mohan and Councilmember Fruen, can we put our trust in you that you will serve ALL Cupertino residents whether they support your political views or not? Can we trust all of you to do the diligence before taking drastic actions, in response to those who are politically motivated to remove their opponents? Here are all the contributions of Commissioner Wang, which you should take into consideration before taking any action:
+ I appreciate Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
+ Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
- Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. - Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
- Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. - Completed their duty in housing element site selection. + Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable. + Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The community has been frustrated with the lack of action by the city.
+ Wang asks tough questions that both the residents and the decision makers need in order to have sufficient information. Wang pushes to get more information and to speed up the site selection for Housing Element, while providing ample time for the residents to comment. + His care for public concerns are well appreciated by many who spend time attending these meetings.
+ We need officials like Wang who keep the consultants and staff accountable in order to provide excellent services to the city residents.
+ We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission. emove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang."
Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Tracy K
[email protected]
Cupertino , California 95014
From: Carrie O"Leary
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 5:10:31 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Carrie O'Leary
[email protected]
19161 Loree Ave
Cupertino , California 95014
From: louise saadati
To: City Council
Subject: Remove Ray Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 5:04:46 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
I'm writing to ask our city council members to remove Ray Wang from the Planning Commission. His inappropriate behavior has been well documented on social media, on Planning Commission Meetings, on his emails, etc. His criminal record is also not becoming to a Cupertino representative.
Please remove Ray Wang from the Planning Commission ASAP.
Thank you,
Louise Saadati
Sent from my iPhone
From: Xiangying Yang
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 4:04:35 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Xiangying Yang
[email protected]
10744 Brookwwll DR
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Madhukar Krishnarao
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 3:53:02 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Madhukar Krishnarao
[email protected]
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Rajesh Narayanan
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 3:08:13 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Rajesh Narayanan
[email protected]
21123 Christensen Drive,
Cupertino, California 95014
From: Arun Swami
To: City Council
Subject: Written communication, Council Meeting, 3/7/2023, Agenda Item 11, in support of Planning Commissioner R "Ray" Wang
Date: Friday, March 3, 2023 3:01:48 PM
CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
All Cupertino City Council,
Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk Please include my letter as written communication for the 3/7/2023 City Council meeting, Agenda Item 11, RETAIN, do not remove, Planning Commissioner Ray Wang." Stop The Divisiveness And Dirty Politics - Do Not Remove Planning Commissioner Wang Dear Cupertino City Council, City Attorney, City Manager, and City Clerk I am writing to you today in regard to the agenda item that considers the removal of Commissioner Wang from the Cupertino Planning Commission..
The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is unjust and politically motivated by the new, three-member City Council majority that has lost the community's trust and faith.
The new majority have worked hard to remove the resident-focused council members from key committees.
The new majority have sought to shut down commissions where their views do not prevail.
The new majority seek to silence public commentary on agenda items at council and commission meetings, which limits are codified in a new process manual.
The residents see the attack on Commissioner Wang as part of a larger strategy to remove resident-focused Planning commissioners and replace them with a "rubber stamp" commission that will not question the aggressive growth agenda. Your recent actions and the City’s recent history suggest that the following agenda is likely:
- Approving an unnecessary, expensive new city hall.
- Jeopardizing future housing site selections by including an excessively large buffer in the current housing cycle.
-Appeasing developers who seek to circumvent prudent processes.
Consider how the 2018 city council and staff let the Vallco developer test his own site for toxins. The Vallco owner found no significant levels of toxins. The project was set to move forward until alert residents pressed for further investigation, which revealed significant levels of toxins. Now the County manages the site cleanup and the city is saved from a possibly large public safety liability.
Just a few weeks ago, this city council and city staff attempted to write into the city code a way to remove former two-time Mayor and current two-time Chair of the Planning Commission, Steven Scharf. This action was politically motivated and as the City Attorney determined, it was also unlawful.
The latest endeavor by the new council majority to gain control of the Planning Commission is to remove former two-time Chair and one-time Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, R "Ray" Wang, on trumped-up charges of treating staff and consultants poorly. The malicious attempts by the three-member majority to defame him cast a shameful pall over the City Council.
I support Commissioner Wang’s hard work and determination to represent the resident's interests.
Wang and the current planning commissioners Steven Scharf and Muni Madhdhipatla have worked hard for sensible growth:
-Approved the Westport Project, which provides a large contingent of the housing that is mandated by the State of California. The project is sensible because it does not jeopardize future housing elements by adding excessive office space. -Approved the new hotel at Cupertino Village, which provides a plentiful tax revenue stream to Cupertino.
-Approved the Bateh Brothers site for new mixed-use housing. The developer followed appropriate processes and did not insist on overbuilding. -Completed their duty in housing element site selection.
Commissioner Wang has a long history of defending his community from developers and business interests who seek to take advantage of residents and their rights. Wang has been a strong advocate for resident-focused causes and keeping the city staff accountable.
Wang questioned why staff have taken no action to create 5G tower architectural standards to protect our neighborhoods. The lack of a response from staff has been unacceptable.
Wang also criticized a very inept housing element consultant at EMC who failed to complete the required project and cost the city 100's of thousands of dollars. The staff failed to take responsibility and be accountable for hiring a bad consultant but Wang was told that he was not respectful for criticizing the city staff and the consultant.
We need more residents like Wang who represent the interests of residents. We feel Wang has represented us well and should continue to serve as our voice on the Planning Commission.
It is not right that the current council majority has opportunistically attempted to use Commissioner Wang’s focus on resident safety and staff accountability against him. Previous city councils have not capriciously dismissed commissioners in this fashion nor should they in the future. The attempted removal of Commissioner Wang is politically expedient for the new council majority but it is unjust and unprecedented.
Commissioner Wang should serve out his term.
Please reconsider the council’s actions to remove Wang from the Planning Commission.
Arun Swami
[email protected]
23016 Voss Ave
Cupertino, California 95014
1 Kirsten Squarcia
From: Ian < >
Sent: Monday, February 27, 2023 9:10 PM
To: City Council
Cc: City Clerk
Subject: Removal of R (Ray) Wang from the Planning Commission Attachments: 20191112_DLG_Greensides_wExhibits_Redacted.pdf; Wang-Foust Pleadings.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Do not click links or open attachments unless you recognize the sender and know the content is safe.
Dear Council Members,
I am a business owner in the City of Cupertino and former resident and I am writing to ask you to remove R (Ray) Wang from the city’s Planning Commission.
As outlined, in the following news article, Mr. Wang had previously been involved in an incident in San Mateo County, in which Rosanne Foust accused him of signing her up for pornographic emails to retaliate for disagreeing with him on public policy issues. https://sanjosespotlight.com/cupertino‐policymaker‐in‐hot‐water‐for‐past‐sexual‐harassment‐ lawsuit/
This came to light after Mr. Wang had apparently threatened Richard Mehlinger’s employment, in retaliation for disagreeing with him on social media posts related to public policy issues in Cupertino (Please see the following article regarding this issue: https://cupertinotoday.com/2019/06/26/cupertino‐planning‐commissioner‐under‐fire‐for‐doxing‐ member‐of‐public/).
When I raised concerns on social media and wrote to the city council about Mr. Wang’s interactions, he had an attorney send me a letter threatening to sue me, in attempt to silence me. (Please see the following article, which outlines this threat: https://sanjosespotlight.com/cupertino‐commissioner‐threatens‐lawsuit‐for‐nextdoor‐posts/).
Attached is a copy of the letter that his attorney sent to me. Also attached is the copy of filings from a San Mateo County Superior Court case involving Ms. Foust and Mr. Wang.
Mr. Wang sets a bad example for our community, he has a history of threatening those who disagree with him on policy issues, and I ask that he be removed from the planning commission.
I ask that this letter and attachments be included in the public record, when the issue of Mr. Wang’s removal from the Planning Commission is on the agenda for the upcoming City Council meeting on March 7, 2023. If this agenda item is moved to a different city council meeting, I ask that this email and attachments be included in the public record for that council meeting.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Ian R. Greensides
Krista L. Baughman
[email protected]
177 POST STREET, SUITE 700 | SAN FRANCISCO, CA 94108 | 415.433.1700 | 415.520.6593 (F) November 12, 2019
VIA EMAIL AND U.S. MAIL
Mr. Ian R. Greensides
Cupertino, CA 95014-2384
Re: R Wang v. Ian Greensides
Cease and Desist Concerning Defamation Per Se
Dear Mr. Greensides:
This firm represents Mr. R. “Ray” Wang in connection with his legal claims against you, arising from your defamation of his character. The purpose of this letter is to inform you of the facts and evidence supporting our client’s claims, demand that you immediately cease and desist from further illegal conduct toward Mr. Wang, and explore whether a settlement can be reached before we initiate litigation. Please direct all communication regarding this matter to our office.
Factual Background
On August 26, 2019, you published several provably false statements of fact about Mr.
Wang, both on the social networking system NextDoor.com, and in emails you sent to Cupertino City Council members and Planning Commissioners. Among these statements, you claimed that Mr. Wang sent “revenge porn to a City Council candidate in Redwood City; that Mr. Wang was criminally charged with sending “revenge porn” and did not contest the charge; and that these “facts” were confirmed by San Mateo County court records and news publications. Not only are each of these statements provably false, but the evidence confirms that you made them with a reckless disregard for their falsity, and out of actual malice for Mr. Wang.
The true facts are as follows: over 15 years ago, Mr. Wang was charged with three violations of the California Penal Code in an action captioned The People of the State of California vs. Ray Kuang Wang, San Mateo Superior Court, Case No. SM328047A. See Exhibit Mr. Ian Greensides
November 12, 2019