Following the publication of the editorial, outraged residents flooded the city council chambers during the June 2 Cupertino City Council meeting to express differing views in the heated debate, which led to more ill feelings on both sides.

Names were called and fingers were pointed in multiple directions. Some criticized James' actions; others questioned Mayor Michael Chang's intentions. Councilman Richard Lowenthal, on the other hand, blamed the news media for the mess. People even came from out of town to protest.

Albert Lee, co-president of the Organization of Chinese Americans' Silicon Valley chapter, decided to speak out after reading the editorial.

He said to James, "I believe donating money and supporting a community should be honored, encouraged and appreciated. ... You made statements about [donor] Fred Chan like, 'What do we know about these people?' And you questioned his credentials by citing a case of a school coach who's convicted of child molestation. I think your approach is unwarranted, unprofessional, and borders on slander and stereotype. As the vice mayor of a diverse community, you should become sensitive to Asian American issues."

James believes news articles have taken her statements out of context. She said, "This is not a racial issue.

It's always been about the process, about having a policy in place. I suggest that you not take what you read in the newspaper and go listen to the tapes of the meetings."

James said that she has met with Fred Chan twice recently.

"Mr. Chan told me that he never saw this as a racial issue. He's still very interested in the library project. He's waiting for us to get our policy together. He also has some friends who are interested in donating to the project," she said.

Cupertino resident Bob Hendrickson agrees with James that her statements were misinterpreted by some people. He believes others, not James, are to blame for the problem.

He said, "Next time when you don't understand what another person is saying, ask them. Don't run to the news media and embarrass the city."

Hendrickson did not say who he was referring to. Nevertheless, at one point or another during the meeting, all attending council members have made it clear that they did not go to the news media and instead the news media approached them.

Lowenthal says, "The same reporter that wrote the first Mecury News article on May 27, asked me if this was a racial issue. I said, 'Absolutely not. Sandra James is not a racist.' "

"[The reporter] might well be responsible for this," he said, "because I wasn't quoted when I spoke my mind."

The discussion at one point became very confrontational when James' son, Justin James, called Mayor Chang a "bold-faced liar." According to Justin, before the meeting, when he approached Chang asking him if he thought Sandra James was a racist, Chang had told him no. But during the meeting, Chang denied ever saying no to Justin's question. Chang did not give a definite yes or no answer when Justin asked him the same question repeatedly during the meeting but said he and Sandra James do not agree on many issues.

The naming issue began in July 2002. As part of the campaign to raise $1.2 million to furnish the new Cupertino Library, the city council unanimously approved a list of structures for naming opportunities almost a year ago. The controversial item, the community hall in this case, was one of the structures on the original approved list.

The controversy began when Vice Mayor James said at a later meeting that she did not understand that placing the community hall on the list meant the whole structure would be named after a donor with a naming plaque.

This was after the fundraising committee solicited Fred Chan to give $250,000 to the project, and in recognition of his contribution, the committee submitted Chan's name for a plaque that would go on the outside of the community hall building.

During the council meetings on March 17 and April 7, James explained her opposition to the Fred Chan plaque.

She said it was her understanding that when the council approved the list, donor plaques would only apply to interior rooms, not the building itself. She said she didn't believe in selling the rights to name a public building that is paid for with taxpayers' money, though she didn't see a problem with naming rooms inside a building. James also expressed concern that the committee might not know the donor well enough. She highlighted a case in which an award-winning coach at a local university was recently accused of rape.

Her four colleagues on the council, on the other hand, understood their unanimous approval of the naming list to include the community hall building itself and not just the interior rooms. So when the council decided again on March 17 whether to include the community hall building in the list, a 4-1 vote was cast to keep the whole building as one of the naming opportunities.

After that meeting, some said James brought up the issue because Chan was Asian American. James, on the other hand, said the issue is strictly about process.

Nevertheless, the fundraising committee has stopped its solicitation efforts since that meeting, leaving in the bank the $73,000 already raised. Both James and Chang are currently working with city staff in creating a policy on naming public buildings in Cupertino.