Editorial: Civil grand jury nails Better Cupertino councilmembers’ misbehavior

A Santa Clara County civil grand jury report makes clear the devastating impact of the Better Cupertino faction of the City Council had on the city.

Constant turnover at the highest levels of city staff. Violation of city codes. Failure to manage financial and fiscal risks. Creation of a deep culture of distrust and fear.

The civil grand jury nailed it. The only downside is the timing of its release last week. What took so long? Cupertino residents could have used the report in 2020 when they voted to continue Better Cupertino’s stranglehold on the council. Or prior to the 2022 election.

Thank goodness Cupertino voters saw the light in November. The election of J.R. Fruen and Sheila Mohan to the council in November gives Mayor Hung Wei a 3-2 majority over Better Cupertino’s remaining councilmembers, Kitty Moore and Liang Chao.

But there’s still work to be done. Moore and Chao aren’t about to give up their NIMBY approach to development. And Better Cupertino’s disruptive reach still extends to the city’s commissions that often produce future council candidates.

The report’s main criticisms focus on what the civil grand jury cited as the “council manic” behavior of Moore and former Mayor Darcy Paul. The latter was termed out of office and in November finished last of four candidates in the Cupertino Union School District Board race.

The report said Paul asked city staff members to work at events that were not part of official city business and to take on additional work outside of scheduled work hours.

Moore was accused of violating city policies barring interference in the day-to-day operations of city staff, including inappropriately asking a staff member about charges the worker made on a city credit card.

That kind of behavior helped create an environment that led to the city having four city managers in the last four years. Jim Throop lasted just six months on the job before Pamela Wu took over in August.

The city has also been plagued by turnover in other key staff positions, including Deputy City Manager Katy Nomura’s departure last fall. The report said high turnover has hurt Cupertino’s ability to recruit qualified staff. No kidding.

The grand jury recommends that the city establish a public ethics commission to create a training program for all councilmembers and hire a consultant to study staff morale and make recommendations to improve employee retention.

Those are good suggestions. And the new council should reverse the previous council’s NIMBY attitude and do its part to help solve the Bay Area’s ongoing housing crisis.

Cupertino is in danger of missing its deadline providing a roadmap that explains how the city will meet state-mandated housing goals. The threat is real. The inaction of the previous council, led by the three Better Cupertino members, risks the city’s missing out on affordable housing and infrastructure funding. If Cupertino fails to comply, it also could be forced to accept large housing projects that exceed the city’s zoning laws, as long as they include affordable housing.

The election of Fruen and Mohan to the council gives the city good reason to hope for a better future. But Cupertino still has a lot of work to do to escape its image as one of the most mismanaged cities in the South Bay.