Cupertino Council wrongfully removes outspoken Planning Commissioner

On March 7, 2023, the Cupertino City Council majority (Mayor Wei, Vice Mayor Mohan & Council Member JR Fruen) took the unprecedented step of removing Planning Commission Ray Wang from the planning commission on political grounds. Mr. Wang is highly regarded by his peers and was elected to steer the commission as Chair two times and again as Vice Chair. Tuesday’s action is not the Council majority’s first attempt to remake the planning commission majority by calling for the removal of a sitting commissioner. Previously, the Council majority, led by Mayor Wei, proposed an ordinance to restrict when former council members would be eligible to serve on City commissions. The Council majority sought a retroactive ordinance—which is not permitted—to remove former Council Member Steven Scharf from the planning commission.

The removal of Commissioner Wang is troubling for the following reasons:

• Planning commissioners serve “at the pleasure of the Council”. If the Council majority wanted Ray Wang out, all that was required was an agenda item, a resolution, and a vote. There was no need to defame Ray Wang with mudslinging and multiple rehashed comments about an unsubstantiated allegation of harassment, dating back 20 years. Ray Wang has a long history of vehemently standing up for residents. Additionally, no newly elected Cupertino City Council has ever removed a sitting commissioner, and this was their second attempt at gaining control over the planning commission.

• Cupertino has no procedure for the removal of commissioners, which Council Member Moore pointed out during Tuesday’s meeting. In contrast, Los Gatos Planning Commissioner Kylie Clark was censured for a letter she wrote to Council, but only after an investigation was conducted. Commissioner Clark was censured, not removed from the planning commission. The ACLU defends Commissioner Clark, as the organization determined her right to free speech was abridged. Meanwhile, in Cupertino, Ray Wang exercised his right and responsibility to identify problems with the work quality of a Housing Element consultant and was removed from the commission “for cause” and without warning.

• Council Member JR. Fruen was instrumental in the removal of former City Attorney Randolph Hom in 2018. Fruen wrote a letter to the council in 2018 calling for the firing of Mr. Hom prior to a hastily called closed session meeting. Shortly after the meeting, Mr. Hom was placed on leave, continued to receive salary and benefits for six months ($136,00) and then dismissed. Mr. Hom sued the city and the city settled for $200,000 (taxpayer money). The organization that Council Member Fruen co-founded, Cupertino for All, was instrumental in calling for the removal of Commissioner Wang. Cupertino for All encouraged its supporters—many of whom live outside Cupertino—to write Council to remove the planning commissioner. Hundreds of residents wrote to the council in support of commissioner Wang, yet their requests were ignored.

Cupertino needs a fair and transparent process to appoint and remove commission members, as other Santa Clara County cities have. Without a clear process (and now a history that includes a capricious removal of a commissioner) the City risks that few residents will volunteer to serve on commissions in the future.

As Council Member Kitty Moore expressed during the March 7, 2023, meeting, “I’m deeply concerned for all of our commissioners who volunteer their time, effort and energy that we are sending a message the council is vengeful.”