I don't understand why the city council does not remove Mayor Miller from her position as mayor. She clearly uses her title in ways it should never be used.

On Aug. 16 Mayor Miller had a "Coffee with the Mayor" downtown. This event was advertised by the city, encompassing city staff time and resources.

It was not "Coffee with the Mayor." It was "Coffee with City Council Candidate Melinda Hamilton."

This was clearly calculated by the mayor to give her candidate of choice for city council some exposure. Everyone who came through the door was immediately escorted by the mayor to candidate Hamilton, who was holding court.

The mayor can support whomever she wishes for a council seat, but the taxpayers should not be forced to pay for a candidate's event.

Hamilton is a protege of Ms. Miller and is clearly manipulative and who thinks, along with the mayor, that things like this are acceptable in Sunnyvale.

Well, this is not acceptable behavior!

The mayor should be forced to reimburse the city and taxpayers for all costs incurred for this event.

I was a witness a few months ago in a restaurant when the mayor demanded that she be seated before people who had been waiting quite some time. She said, "I am the mayor in this city and I expect to be seated immediately." How many times a day does she do this?

I think the time has come to remove Ms. Miller as mayor.

—Fritz Robinson, Sunnyvale


Council can't represent residents by phone

In the Aug. 20 issue of the Sun, Jennifer Williams takes issue with the mayor ignoring Councilwoman Pat Vorreiter's request to speak via telephone. City council members are elected to represent us, the citizens, at the city council meetings. They have to be present to vote; they should be present to speak. If Pat Vorreiter can't show up to the job to which she was elected, why should she be taken seriously at all?

Pat Vorreiter didn't have the courtesy to appear at a town meeting I attended, hosted by the Friends of Sunnyvale, concerning the downtown plan. This issue is extremely important to the citizens of Sunnyvale, but apparently not to Pat Vorreiter.

I remember a city council meeting several years ago where Manuel Valerio tried to vote via telephone from Portugal. Vote on city issues from another country?

Here's another example of hypocrisy: Jack Walker, one of the rudest of our city council members, is a co-author of the city of Sunnyvale's Code of Conduct For Elected Officials. On page 3 of this document is the statement: "All council members should: Fully participate in city council meetings and other public forums while demonstrating respect, kindness, consideration, and courtesy to others."

I submit that trying to vote or voice your opinion by phone doesn't meet the requirement of full participation.

Ms. Williams should take a look at the city's charter on the city of Sunnyvale website or in the library and learn about what she assumes she already knows.

I would also recommend reading the Constitution of the United States of America. Ms. Williams would be shocked to find how often our elected officials break the rules the founding fathers made. As to Vorreiter, Valerio and Walker, good riddance. They've rarely voted for the citizens. The way they voted would lead one to believe they are in the redevelopment business themselves.

—Jack Spratt, Sunnyvale


If train doesn't stop at station, why tear down?

My son and I used the Sunnyvale train station recently and sadly noted that the old Sunnyvale building was gone. I didn't even realize it was going to be torn down. We used to use the train to go to Giants and Sharks games but hadn't in awhile due to the construction.

Many years ago I commuted to San Francisco. I am a model-railroad hobbyist, and by chance I found a kit model of a "Sunnyvale station" many years ago that looked a lot like the old building. I painted the model in the same colors as the real one (red/orange roof and all) and installed it on my layout.

I am surprised that the station was not preserved in some manner, perhaps like the Del Monte Building.

What was the public notice process, if any?

If it turns out that the express trains won't be stopping in Sunnyvale, was a new station necessary?

—Andy Gonzales, Sunnyvale


If against construction pay business's share

If you don't want new construction, be prepared to pay business's share of the taxes.

I couldn't agree more with Jack Nelson, whose letter to the editor on Sept. 3 said that if the city council voted "solely on the input from those in the [council meeting] audience, they would never approve any new housing, corporate developments or schools because no one wants them in their neighborhood."

I think every building project in this city—houses, condos, apartments and commercial buildings—faced opposition in council meetings from those who didn't want more people, more buildings or more traffic.

In fact, I can't think of any citizen unrelated to a proposed project I've seen speak in favor of new construction.

Despite a severe budget crisis, the citizens of East Palo Alto didn't want the large shopping center off Highway 101 or the new IKEA store. Most other cities would have killed to have those stores for the convenience of their residents and the tax revenue generated.

You can't have it both ways. If you want services, shopping, entertainment and employment close by, there has to be new construction.

If you want businesses to pay the majority of the taxes as they do in Sunnyvale, don't discourage them from locating or remaining in Sunnyvale.

If you don't want new construction, be prepared to pay business's share of the taxes, over 70 percent in Sunnyvale, I believe.

If you want suburban living, move to a bedroom or rural community without businesses; pay more taxes and commute longer.

If we want a vital downtown, we need to build more stores, housing and amenities.

—John Miller, Sunnyvale resident 26 years