The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Long-distance Democracy

The city's Saturday meeting using teleconferencing brought some unique firsts to the usual council proceedings--and some glitches along with it.

Moments after Mayor Jim Roberts brought the meeting to order, he asked Vice Mayor Manuel Valerio to reveal a secret password that would confirm Valerio's identity. City Clerk Carol Butler confirmed the password, "Rodriguez," after opening a sealed letter from Roberts.

Twice during Saturday's three-hour meeting, Valerio lost the connection with City Hall from his hotel room in Funchal, Portugal.

The first time resulted in a five-minute recess until Valerio could be reconnected, and the second was a momentary disconnection that did not halt the proceedings.

The use of teleconferencing to administer official council meetings was made legal in January under an amendment to the Ralph M. Brown Act, California's open meeting law. To date, the city of Morgan Hill is believed to be the only other city government to have used the format.

Not everyone was pleased with the technology being used. Kelly Fitzgerald, president of the officer's union, said it was to the officers' disadvantage that Valerio could not see the number of supporters in City Hall.

"It's real easy to make a decision over the phone when he didn't have to face us," Fitzgerald told supporters after the meeting.

--Justin Berton

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, August 5, 1998.
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