One big part of the disinformation network run by the Builder-Politician complex is to stifle voices which provide an alternative perspective. They achieve that by removing content or banning users who disagree with their narrative on Nextdoor, a social media network for neighbors..
In the lead-up to the election, the following people have had their content removed or their accounts suspended.
1. Steven Scharf: Former Mayor of Cupertino
2. Muni Madhdhipatla: Planning Commissioner & former Vice Chair
3. Vikram Saxena: Former Vice Chair of Planning Commission
4. Rhoda Fry: 2022 Crest Award Winner for Public Safety
5. Seema Swamy: Parks & Recreation Commissioner
6. San R: Safe Route to Schools.
7. James Murasighe: Nextdoor Lead for Inspiration Heights
All of the people whose voices were stifled, support resident focused candidates, Ray Wang and Kitty Moore for the City Council, and Long Jiao for CUSD.
We include some of the posts which were deleted; these posts attempt to reproduce the deleted post since the authors can not access them any more. These posts reflect the authors personal opinions and not as of any city official
| Ray Wang and Kitty Moore: Will take Vallco Forward |
Rod Sinks is highlighting his negotiating skills and saying he will make Vallco happen.
What he does not realize is that most residents in the neighborhoods around Vallco, do not trust Rod Sinks at all. This is the result of the favors he has granted to Sandhill over the past 12 years. In fact, any agreement with his fingerprints, will automatically be suspect for a large section of the population in Cupertino.
For those who are truly interested in the redevelopment of Vallco, Ray Wang & Kitty Moore offer a fresh start. They do not bring in the baggage of the past decade which Rod Sinks, Gilbert Wong and Barry Chang bring with them; plus their resident focus approach will help create more trust in the agreement.
| History of Builders’ Bullying in Cupertino |
Builders Cupertino bullying is at a different level: they bully the entire city
• Using the City Manager to pressure Sears to sell to Peter Pau of Sandhill (2014)
• Amend City’s General Plan to add 2M office space since Peter Pau asked for it (2014)
• Removing all height limits at Vallco (2014)
• Putting residents at risk of cancer by not revealing the toxic contamination and Cortese List listing of the Sears site (2016)
• Not putting back height limits at Vallco when SB35 was about to become law (2017)
• Forcing the City Attorney out when he did not agree to SB35 approval (2018)
• Closing three schools in the middle of a 100 year pandemic when CUSD was projecting its highest ever surplus (2021)
• Harassing city councilors and commissioners who were not aligned with their agenda (eg: Grand Jury which was tossed out by the DA) (2023)
• Fighting City’s lobbying registration requirements with a lawsuit, and after losing it amending them to not have builder’s lobbyists to register (2022-2023)
• Trying to upzone 1600 single family R1 lots to R3-condos to enable 5-story buildings towering over our single family homes. (2023)
• Sending each household a hidden tax of $3500 by agreeing to waive $77M in development fees for Vallco
You can build without destroying what already exists.
| Pro-Residents is NOT Anti Development |
A well-functioning city-council will balance the concerns of the residents with the developers’ right to develop their property and earn economic benefit. The developers try to maximize the square footage of what they build, but have little interest in how it impacts the people around their development.
Until the November 2018 election, the Cupertino City Council was in control of politicians who are quite close to developers. KT Urban, which was driving the redevelopment of the Oaks Plaza, a project called Westport, wanted to build more than 800K sq ft of offices. They tried to get the office allocation but were asked to wait. The City’s politicians were focussed on enabling the Vallco project and had already given almost all the allocation added to the General Plan (2 Million sq ft) to Vallco.
Cupertino does not get mass transit like BART, Caltrain, Muni or Light Rail. Being a transit desert means that any new office space will lead to a direct increase in vehicular traffic which will make our commute time traffic jams even worse.
After the resident-focussed City Council took over, KT Urban realized that getting the office allocation was even less likely than before because there was resident opposition to it. They decided to pivot the project to housing.
The Westport being built, was negotiated by the pro-resident council. It consists of townhomes, senior housing, an assisted living facility and retail. It is traffic neutra and provides much needed senior housing in Cupertino, and along with a bike path.
The transformation of Westport from giant office towers to much needed housing is a great example of how a resident focussed city council can enable development in Cupertino in a manner which is sustainable
Unlike what the developers want us to believe, pro-residents means sensible development; it does not mean anti-development.
Giant office towers which would have worsened the traffic situation on the Stevens Creek and Hwy 85 junction
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