Chuck Kilian, Cupertino's city attorney, has removed the names of Congressman Mike Honda, Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith and former Assemblyman Jim Cunneen from the list of supporters of a ballot position taken by the Advocates for a Better Cupertino.

All three had included their signatures on ballot arguments filed by the ABC by the Aug. 12 deadline.

"It's facially discriminatory and blatantly unconstitutional," Rich Robinson, a member of the ABC group, said.

According to Kilian, the election code states that signatures on ballot arguments are limited to city council members, registered voters in the community or a leader of a citizens group. Kilian said his intent wasn't to argue the constitutionality of the law, but merely obey it.

"None [of the individuals] meet the criteria," Kilian said.

Even so, the removal of the names has caused a kerfuffle in Cupertino.

"In 25 years of political work," Robinson, a political consultant, said, "I have never seen a situation of somebody stricken from the ballot based on who they are."

Honda, in a statement, said, "whether the voice is mine, a supporter or a person in opposition--no law or government official should have the ability to limit the content of political speech or determine who has the right to speak that content. To that end, I stand with the Advocates for a Better Cupertino in opposing any decision to limit the signers of their ballot argument."

The ABC group plans to pursue the matter in court.

"We want to move forward as quickly as possible," Robinson said of trying to get the names back on the ballot. "But we also don't want to deflect from the issues, that is the important thing."

The measures center on growth initiative proposed by another civic group, the Concerned Citizens of Cupertino. The CCC advocates for what it calls "smart growth." As a part of that goal, the group gathered the necessary signatures to place three measures on the Nov. 8 ballot. The measures center on restricting building density (Measure A), building height (Measure B) and distance from the street (Measure C).

In response to the CCC, the ABC formed this year. The group believes the measures would limit housing and job growth and hurt the local economy.