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City won't appeal judge's decision

Sunnyvale Mayor Jim Roberts confirmed last week that the city will not appeal the judge's decision in the San Jose Mercury News lawsuit.

The judge ruled that the city violated the Ralph M. Brown Act by not giving the Merc documents pertaining to a series of closed-session meetings it held to discuss former Mayor Frances Rowe's conduct with members of the city staff.

The judge also ruled that the city will be allowed to redact, or censor, portions of those documents.

Roberts said the city approves of the court's decision because the ruling allows for the protection of the privacy of its employees.

In a related story, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has closed its case against Rowe.

Two weeks ago, the FPPC accepted a $28,000 fine from Rowe, who was found to be in violation on 14 counts of falsely reporting campaign contributions.

Rowe had hoped that the fine would be rejected by the commission, which could then have opened a hearing where she says she could have exposed the conspiracy against her.

Last week, Rowe said she blamed the city attorney's office for stopping the hearing.

Rowe insists that she is prepared to move forward in her campaign to expose the alleged coverup.

"Either way, I've got the ammo I need to go after [the city]," she said of the FPPC's decision.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, March 18, 1998.
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