And no one is willing to say why, at least not for the record.

But rumors have been circulating for months that Fred Fowler, Julia Miller and Mayor John Howe wanted to get rid of LaSala and that if Melinda Hamilton were elected, this would happen as soon as the new council took control.

Some say LaSala is getting a hatchet job he doesn't deserve because of the budget cuts he recommended to public safety positions.

In response, Howe said that the leave of absence has nothing to do with decisions involving public safety positions, and that no termination has occurred, or been planned.

Rumors are also circulating that a memo signed by all seven council members was handed to LaSala last week and that he was forcibly escorted out of city hall. According to this rumor, LaSala's laptop was confiscated, and he was told to forget his password and that he was also told not to contact his department heads, and they were told not to contact him. But this is being said off the record.

What Mayor John Howe did say for the record is that LaSala is not currently under any sort of investigation or legal charges. He also added that LaSala was not escorted out of the building, and was not instructed to "forget his password."

He said the council put LaSala on leave in order to deal with undisclosed personnel issues." In this case, we felt and he felt this was the right thing to do." Howe said he does not see the leave as an indefinite situation.

But council watchers say the four council members who left in November—Pat Vorreiter, Tim Risch, Manual Valerio and Jack Walker—were seen as LaSala supporters. When the four left, the power balance shifted and many in the community predicted that LaSala would either resign or be asked to leave.

However, LaSala's contract states: "Consideration of termination by the City Council may not occur within ninety days after a General Municipal Election or special election wherein a new member or members are elected to the City Council."

But those who are talking off the record are saying that the council is getting around that by putting LaSala on administrative leave, which would allow the city to avoid paying him severance pay when his contract is up in July. Howe said he could not comment on the conditions of the leave, because it is a private, personnel issue.

Howe said, "We want to be sensitive to [LaSala] and his situation, so we want to allow reasonable time to get everything resolved."

Howe added that at this time, the leave is just that—a leave of absence—and the future has not been decided. He also reiterated that the city manager is still receiving full pay and benefits, and his position had not been terminated.

Cupertino City Manager David Knapp said it is not uncommon for a city manager to either leave or be asked to leave when a new council takes over because the dynamic between the council and the city manager often changes with a change in the council.

However, Knapp said it is unusual to put a city manager on administrative leave in order to resolve issues.

LaSala weathered another difficult time in Sunnyvale early on. After two years under his management, a number of city staff had left, including four top managers in public safety. At that time, the Sun ran a story responding to community concerns that staff turnover was greater than would normally be expected when a new manager takes over.

In LaSala's absence, finance manager Amy Chan has stepped in as interim manager. Howe said the council is not planning on having her fill the role permanently, as she is actually serving double-duty, as both interim city manager and finance manager. Howe says there are no plans to fill Chan's position.