Cupertino Facts

Category: JR Fruen

  • Whose Interests does JR Fruen Represent?

     JR Fruen is running again as a candidate for Cupertino City Council. The questions for voters to ask is:

    Whose Interests does JR Fruen Represent?

    This election is primarily a battle between

    • Those who want to preserve their neighborhood, and vote out those who support school closures
    • Those who want to serve investor’s interests which include closing schools to free up land for construction.

    Who Funds JR’s Campaign?

    JR has had close ties with the investor community. In 2018 he ran a PAC which received tens of thousands of dollars from investors and construction related entities:
    • Vallco owners $29,000.00
    • Plumbers / Steamfitters Union $10,250.00
    • Electrical Union $10,250.00
    • Sheetmetal Union $10,000.00
    • Sprinklers Union $10,700.00
    His 2022 campaign contributors include:
    Construction Related Entities:
    CREPAC (California Real Estate PAC) $2500
    IFTPE 21 (Worker’s Union PAC) $2000
    Plumbers Steamfitters & Refrigeration Fitters (Worker’s Union PAC) $1000
    Real Estate Broker (Milpitas) $1000
    People who advocated for School Closures:

    Richard Lowenthal who sponsors and nurtures a lot of the anti-resident candidates  ($4900)

    Hung Wei the Cupertino Council Member who opposed the City Council writing to CUSD to reconsider school closure ($4900)
    Rod Sinks who made a U-Turn to not put height limits on Vallco ($1000)
    Lorien Cunningham the CUSD Trustee who spearheaded the campaign to close schools
    Sheila Mohan who is standing for the Cupertino City Council because others asked her to un

    Ava Chiao the CUSD candidate who wants to shut down more schools and construct over the land

    Who is Endorsing JR’s Campaign?

    JR is endorsed by all the three CUSD trustees who voted to close CUSD schools in spite of strong opposition by the residents.

    SB10: Scott Wiener endorses JR!

    Senator Scott Wiener who authored SB10 which gives cities the choice to allow up to 14 units on a single family lot, has endorsed JR Fruen. JR is much more likely to to support SB10 than resident oriented candidates. Learn more about SB10 here.

    What is JR’s Past Record?

    As part of the Citizens’s Advisory Committee he was supportive of closing schools (and hence endorsed by all the three CUSD trustees who led the campaign to close schools)
    He runs an organization called Cupertino For All, which endorsed Prop-16, the proposition which was soundly defeated by the voters of California, and would have led to more discriminatory practices against Asian students.

    Please do not vote for JR Fruen if you do not want more schools to be shut down
    Please do not vote for JR Fruen if you do not want investors to control your city and SB10 construction permitted


    Please vote for Govind Tatachari, Steven Scharf & Liang Chao for Cupertino City Council


    Please vote for Darcy Paul, Satheesh Madhathil & Jerry Liu for CUSD Board.

  • SB10: 10 (+4) Units on Single Family Lot

    What does SB10 Permit?

    The SB10 law allows a 10 unit apartment building (upto 14 units including ADUs/JADUs) [1] on a single family lot located within half a mile of transit. Most of Cupertino is within half mile of public transit (VTA) on Stevens Creek Blvd, De Anza Blvd, Foothill Blvd etc.
    Unlike other laws like SB9 and SB35, SB10 is not mandatory. Local cities can chose to implement it or not.

    City Council Ordinance

    To permit the construction of 14 unit buildings on single family lots, all the City Council needs to do is to pass an ordinance permitting such construction. The ordinance will override any restriction due to voter approved resolutions.

    SB10 effectively allows the City Council to enable construction of multi-story, 14 unit buildings in a lot currently occupied by a single family home. [2]

    Flashback: Height Limits at Vallco

    During the Fall of 2017, Cupertino Council Members Darcy Paul and Steven Scharf had proposed that the city enact height limits on buildings in commercial areas. The proposal was welcomed by Rod Sinks.

    However, when it came to vote two weeks later Rod, Savita & Barry voted against it.
    You can watch the video below to understand how, in November 2017, the City Council ignored residents’ interest to permit buildings without height limits.

    That failure to not put any height limits, allowed Vallco investors to propose a design with 26 story high towers in their SB35 proposal. [3]

    Why does it Matter: History Can Repeat Itself

    Like the Vallco case, an investor friendly council can also relax height and Floor Area Ratio limits in our  single family neighborhoods, 

    That would allow the construction of multi-storied buildings with 14 residential units, on the lot next to your single family home!
    For investors buying a lot for $2M and building up to 14 units, each selling for $1-$1.5M+ is a windfall.

    JR Fruen: Whose Interests do you think he will represent?

    Endorsed by the Author of SB10
    Senator Scott Weiner, who gets the highest amount of funding from real estate interests, and is the author or co-author of SB9, SB10 and SB35 bills has endorsed JR Fruen.
    Note that Cupertino is well ahead of most nearby cities when it comes to housing obligations; something  Scott Wiener failed to mention.

    Funded by Vallco

    J R Fruen, used to run a PAC which received $29,000 [4] from Vallco investors in 2018. He represents the same investor interests’ who influenced the city to not put any reasonable height limit on the Vallco property.


    Cupertino For All: Support for SB Laws

    JR Fruen is the co-founder of Cupertino for All.

    Cupertino For All is very supportive of state laws like SB9/SB35 which take away local control. How do you think he will vote on SB10 approval related ordinances?


    Please do not vote for candidates like JR Fruen, who will be inclined to permit SB10 projects; it can mean the end of Cupertino’s Single Family Home Districts.