The Cupertino Courier

Cover Story

Photograph by Jacqueline Ramseyer

Reserved Seating: Sandy James, with longtime boyfriend and HobeeÕs Restaurant owner Michael Lashen, met with students from Lynbrook High School who were Ôjob shadowingÕ her for the day.

Personal History

Former mayor reflects on her legacy

By Cody Kraatz

While she was in office, former Cupertino city councilwoman and two-time Mayor Sandy James says she wasn't big on titles or the other trappings of power.

Since leaving the council in November 2005, however, James has gained a new appreciation of how special her time on the council really was, especially when she takes her 3-year-old granddaughter, Ayva, around Cupertino.

"We go into the library where the books live and visit Nemo who lives in the aquarium, and I'm absolutely delighted to be able to show her that her nonnie was a part of this," said James. "The history of the city is now a part of our family history."

James admits to feeling a "mama's pride" every time she visits the library or the Cupertino Senior Center. The two buildings are among many large community projects that were accomplished, despite the challenges of a financial downturn, during James' eight years on the city council.

"We did the sports center, the teen center, the senior center, the community hall, the library, the community plaza and the park called Cali Mill Plaza," says David Knapp, Cupertino city manager.

"The community got excellent service from her. What was amazing to me was the number of people I would come in contact with who would say, 'Oh, she helped me so much when...' " says Knapp, who recalls trying to keep up with James' energy. She would call him early in the morning and late at night on the same day with questions about items before the council.

"Sandy just has more connections with individual members of the community than anyone I can think of. She knows how to address the interests of the people she's talking to," says Knapp.

What she enjoyed most about serving on the council, James says, was working with people and the city staff.

"I'm very proud of most of the work the council and staff did, but I never got that when I was in office. I was so busy doing the job that I didn't have that understanding," says James.

"I am not a politician. I'm not so much interested in that side of it. I'm more into the people side of it. I like the local feel."

Two terms on the Cupertino Union School District governing board and another eight years on the council is an accomplishment for someone who never anticipated a political career. As she told the Courier in 1999, when Democratic Party bigwigs wanted her to run for higher office, "What happens, happens. ...The future has a way of unrolling in front of you."

James, who had a career in human resources for companies such as IBM, was active with her son Justin's school when the administration asked her to serve on a budgetary advisory board. She was selected as its chairwoman and gave a presentation to the district board. It came naturally to her.

"I'm an old speech and debate person," said James, who attended Fremont High School in Sunnyvale.

Board members liked her style so much they encouraged her to run for a seat in the next election, she says. "Then I did something I never expected to do--I became an elected official."

James' husband, Chuck, died suddenly in 1990 when their son was 8. She raised her son as a single parent. She almost resigned from the board, but stuck with it.

"More flexibility with my time worked well for me as a single mom, to be more available and then work as a consultant on the side to put food on the table," says James, whose daughter Amber Lindsey, and granddaughter, live in San Diego.

James served eight years on the CUSD board with no intention of pursuing higher office. But, after urging from the community, she agreed to run for the city council and won in 1997. She was re-elected in 2001, and served as mayor in 2000 and 2003.

James can't forget the sourest period of her political career. In 2003, the city erupted over accusations of racial motives when James and others questioned a plan to name public buildings after major donors.

Los Altos resident Fred Chan offered to give $250,000 to the library and the council supported naming the library after him. James cast the dissenting vote because the city didn't have a policy regarding the issue. The council later adopted a policy, but James was attacked by some groups.

"That was a very painful year for me,'' says James. "What it was about was a very positive thing that a small group of people decided to make a big thing about," says James.

In the end, Chan and his wife, Annie, donated $325,000 to the library for a 3,800-gallon saltwater aquarium display designed with help from the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Apple Computer.

James' familiarity with local politics continues to fuel her new career as the principal in Sandra L. James & Associates. As a land use consultant, she helps property owners identify potential obstacles to their plans from city staff, the community and the inherent limitations of the property.

"Before I was on the other side of the dais,'' says James. "Now I'm on this side of the dais.''

She was recently hired by a Sunnyvale childcare center that she declined to name, which is considering an expansion into Cupertino that would require buying and rezoning a building. She avoided work like this in Cupertino until now.

"I stayed out of Cupertino for the first year. I just thought it was a good idea," says James, who has completed contracts for several local housing and retail projects.

Personal legislation

California Sen. Elaine K. Alquist, who was CUSD board president when James started as a board member, has suggested James think about running for higher office.

"I've said at some point she should consider the state Legislature. I think she would be great, but that certainly is up to her," says Alquist.

In 2001, when Alquist was an assemblywoman, she called on James to testify before the state Senate Public Safety Committee about Maricela's Law, which extended the statute of limitations for sexual abuse cases so a crime committed in childhood can be reported and prosecuted until the victim is 21. Alquist was confident James could sway the all-male committee.

What no one knew, in detail, was that James was raped when she was 13 by a distant cousin about her father's age. Authorities arrested the man. She remembers testifying at the judge's house in her small New York hometown and being urged by her family to keep mum after that.

"She just did a great job testifying to say that victims of rape should really have more time, into their adult years, to come forward with these cases," says Alquist, who has a bill in the state Senate now, SB 256, that aims to eliminate the statute of limitations entirely.

"I wasn't sure exactly how she would present it. She and I were good friends, so I knew some of the background. She was very courageous," says Alquist.

"I was jumping out of my chair. I could hardly wait to share," says James, hardly one to stay quiet with something on her mind.

People cannot see the hardships she has endured in her life, she says. Her gregarious conversational style, her high-profile career and her happy family doesn't jibe with someone with so much trauma in her past.

"I'm a very lucky lady, a very happy person. I did not allow it to determine my life," says James, who appreciates a chance to talk with young women, hoping to help them by reaching out and opening up with them, though she is not particularly active in sexual abuse support networks.

James continues to devote a lot of time to various service organizations and projects she serves.

"I am thinking I need to limit some of the time I give away because I still need to put some food on the table," said James.

One of James' ongoing projects is the third annual Cupertino Special Festival. The event, May 18-19 at Cupertino Civic Center, features a conference and a festival. It is organized by Cupertino-based Organization of Special Needs Families, where James serves as president.

"I grew up with a sister with special needs, so I've always been very interested in special needs children," said James.

Her sister, Laraine, who died in 2005 of complications from cerebral palsy and an enlarged heart, had the mental aptitude of an 8-year-old.

"She was a very sweet person. She enhanced my life greatly. She was like this gift that God gave you," says James.

James says she and her family moved to Cupertino from New York for the same reason people continue to move here: the schools.

They could not get the kind of care her sister needed unless they paid for private school, which they could not afford. So they came to Cupertino.

Young people

The city has a renowned school system, but until the creation of the city's Teen Commission in 2001, the city was not on great terms with its children.

James hopes that her legacy includes her work with the city's youth. She is proud of the Teen Commission, which advises the city council on young people's concerns.

It was created in response to a 2001 survey of Cupertino teens in which only 10 percent said they felt valued by the community.

Then mayor, James hosted a 2001 forum where about 50 teens talked about feeling excluded and disrespected by law enforcement and businesses.

Resident Drew Golkar was vice chair of the first teen commission.

"I was thrilled. For me it was the best way to understand how city government works, to get in there and do something, and to feel that I was being heard."

Golkar remembers James as a public figure that reached out to the city's youth.

"From my standpoint, if I ever needed to talk with her as a commissioner or outside that capacity, she was always available. She was a mentor in that sense," said Golkar.

As she did for other commissioners, James wrote Golkar a letter of recommendation that helped him get into Santa Clara University.

"She was like the mother of the community," he said.

For more information about the Special Fair and the Organization of Special Needs Families, go to www.osfamilies.org or call 408.996.0850. To read about SB 256, go to www.sen.ca.gov and search under legislation by the bill's number.