Fluoridation opponents criticize city ballot tactics

Officials say last-minute changes show no confiict of interest

By Daniel Hindin

Many opponents of a plan to add fluoride to one of Sunnyvale's water sources are up in arms after an 11th-hour change in the wording of Measure S, the fluoridation measure that will be on Sunnyvale's Nov. 7 ballot.

If passed, the measure will enable the city to accept fluoridated water from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC). The air of outrage heightened to an even greater level when two council members submitted their own arguments supporting fluoridation to be included on the ballot with the measure.

At 11:10 p.m., almost four hours into the Aug. 15 meeting, Councilman Tim Risch moved to change the wording of the measure from "Shall the City of Sunnyvale accept fluoridated water from its water suppliers in compliance with State law requiring the fluoridation of public water systems, so long as the capital and associated costs of fluoridation are not passed on to the local ratepayers and/or taxpayers?" to "Shall the City of Sunnyvale accept fluoridated water from its water suppliers?"

The change in wording item was not included in the official meeting agenda.

According to Risch, the city might not be able to enforce the original wording of the measure. He stated that, after recent discussions with members of SFPUC, he realized that the city could not assure the residents of Sunnyvale that they would not have to pay for the fluoridation of their water.

Many people at the meeting spoke out strongly against this unagendized action during the public hearing. Resident David Lamar, said, "Council is acting at the last minute. There is no staff report on this motion. The city knew about this for a while, but they didn't give enough public notice."

One speaker, Bille Baerwald, stated that it was unfair to change the wording at almost midnight on Tuesday night when the official arguments for or against the measure were due at 5 p.m. the next day. "If this action had been on the agenda, the public would have been notified in advance of the meeting and could have been prepared for the change," Baerwald said.

Despite the arguments against the abrupt change, council carried the motion unanimously. At that point, council moved on to the next item on the agenda. At 12:05 a.m., Councilman Risch presented a draft of a written ballot argument in favor of Measure S that was co-written by Vice Mayor Jack Walker.

In their argument, the two council members say that if Sunnyvale chooses not to fluoridate its water, the replacement water will cost up to five times more than what the city pays now. They also said that the American Medical Association (AMA) supports fluoridation.

However, attorney Gary Wesley says, "The only thing Sunnyvale would have to change in order to refuse fluoridated water is to reroute their pipes to another system. The city already spends millions of dollars on water. There is no way that rerouting pipes could really affect prices by five times. The claim is utterly misleading, unfounded, and may be stricken by a court."

Fluoridation opponents have questioned council's decision to authorize two of their own members to draft the argument in favor of fluoridation. They feel that Risch and Walker's distinguished positions in the city will unfairly skew the vote.

But city manager Robert LaSala disagrees. "This presents absolutely no conflict of interest. It is their (council members') legal and constitutional right to speak about this issue," LaSala said.

Wesley also took exception to the fact that one of the signers of the argument for fluoridation is not actually a citizen of Sunnyvale. Greg Loitz, President of the Santa Clara County Dental Society, actually lives in Los Gatos. Wesley believes that this is not legal and is looking into getting Loitz' name stricken from the argument.

Acknowledging the controversy surrounding this issue, the city has decided to hold two public forums on fluoridation. The first forum will be held on Friday, Sept. 22, and the second will be held on Thursday, Oct. 19. Both forums will be held at 7 p.m. in the City Council Chambers at City Hall, and both will be broadcast on Sunnyvale's government access cable station KSUN Channel 18.