The Sun
Sunnyvale's Newspaper

Cops, City Council prepare for fall showdown

Sides meet for first time in eight months

By Justin Berton

Hours after a heated council meeting ended two Saturdays ago, Mayor Jim Roberts made a phone call to Kelly Fitzgerald, the president of the Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers Association.

Both sides agreed to meet for the first time since January in hopes of settling a labor dispute before voters have to make the decision for them in November.

But when city officials learned it was too late to pull the competing measures that they had placed on the ballot, the meetings took on a new tone.

"Now," Roberts said last week as the two sides geared up for the campaign before them, "we have passed the point of no return."

This week both sides have dug into their respective trenches to strategize campaigns for the next 11 weeks that will include countless phone calls, tens of thousands of mailers, thousands of posters and possibly a few public debates.

If the officers' measure is approved by voters Nov. 3, an outside arbitrator would be hired to make a final ruling on labor disputes between the officer's union and the city. The city's measure would allow the arbitrator's decision to be sent to the people of Sunnyvale for ratification or rejection.

This week Roberts plans to officially register the "Citizens for Local Control" on behalf of proponents for the city's measure.

Roberts, who ran both his own council races, will head the campaign as a private citizen. He expects to raise $40,000 for the effort. "I've never lost a campaign in Sunnyvale, and I don't intend to start now," he said.

He also said he was considering challenging the opposition to public debates that would be televised on KSUN, the city's cable access channel.

The officers will run their campaign out of their union office on E. Evelyn Avenue.

Fitzgerald said off-duty officers will work the phone banks to rally voter support.

"It's important to us that we do it ourselves," Fitzgerald said. "It's our issue and we should talk to the people."

Though Fitzgerald could not estimate how high the officers' campaigncosts will run, support for the cause has been bolstered from local and statewide unions.

Roberts said the lines of support for the city's measure include former Sunnyvale City Manager Tom Lewcock and Parks and Recreation Commissioner Ron Swegles.

Even though both parties have passed the point of no return, the Saturday afternoon phone call between Roberts and Fitzgerald generated results.

For the first time in eight months, representatives from the city and the officers' association met at the negotiating table last Tuesday. And according to both camps, talks will continue even though there is little that can be achieved before the voters of Sunnyvale go to the polls.

"We will continue to consider any options or efforts council wants to pursue," Fitzgerald said.

But in the meantime, the two sides will continue to plan and strategize how to win in November.

"We still have a long way to go," Fitzgerald said.

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This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, August 19, 1998.
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