I found the Dec. 24 article on the City of Sunnyvale City Manager very disturbing. I had only a minor inkling that there "were problems in river city" (Risch versus Hamilton versus public safety) and your article raised the "bar of the unknown" even higher. You raised many more questions than you answered.

Why did you not give more insight? I am a Sunnyvale resident (for 28 years) and feel I am entitled to an explanation of how our city council is dealing with its problems.

Why are they not talking? What is so secret? Their activities should be public knowledge. What are they afraid of?

You quote Mayor John Howe as saying "for the record" that "LaSala is not currently under any sort of investigation or legal charges."

That has to be a bogus statement because if there is no investigation then LaSala should still be on the job earning his salary that I helped pay.

I think you were remiss in not doing more investigation to obtain some solid facts in your article. Or are you also afraid of saying too much; afraid of being sued?

I hope you don't stop with this first article but do some solid investigative reporting into what could be a real mess. The truth has to be told no matter who gets hurt. It's all of public interest.

James D. Long

Sunnyvale

Hamilton could have halted PSOA mailers

Once again, the Hamilton campaign proves to be the master of deception (or shall I say: perception?), and I find myself having to speak up for our community.

Stephen Smith, Campaign Manager and San Jose resident, claims to have had no knowledge of questionable and unethical actions in the Hamilton campaign.

I stand by my statement (Sun Nov.19): "The pieces the Police union produced for the Hamilton campaign were full of half-truths, lies and they deceived the voters." Once again, the Hamilton campaign would lead you to believe they presented accurate quotes taken from the Risch campaign website and public meetings. What Smith fails to say is that these quotes were only partial quotes, not the full text, and were deliberately condensed to present a misleading point of view.

For Smith to say: "Having no involvement in the production of those mailers, I can only respond to what I saw come through the mail" is again misleading. Hamilton workers helped stuff PSOA mailers and therefore not only participated but also were acutely aware of the content and could have called a halt to the mailings. They chose not to. The Hamilton campaign's direct-mail postcards stated Risch was anti-choice when he is pro-choice.

It is a matter of public records that council members Miller, Fowler and Howe violated the Brown Act and city charter by instituting an illegal subcommittee investigation.

What is truly sad is that Yolanda Risch served as Mayor Howe's campaign manager when he ran for office and that Howe was best man in the wedding of Tim and Yolanda Risch.

Hopefully, the citizens can now see beyond this smoke screen and illusion that the race for Seat 7 was anything less than the ugliness it was. I know that I do, and who knows how many others.

Nancy McCaa

Sunnyvale

We need a foundation of truth based on the facts

The Sun has printed Jack Walker's ramblings and accusations, Larry Stone's assumptions and speculations, and the ravings of uninformed people in a PSOA defamation. You've let them besmirch the good name and character of Melinda Hamilton and they don't know her at all. It is not edifying to the city of Sunnyvale. We must create a foundation of truth and honesty based on fact, much like John Adams did in the beginning of our country.

The Sun has created a fiasco, a joke. Who can take the Sun seriously?

The outgoing city council ignored the fact that 6,300 people signed three initiative petitions and that they were all registered voters. Door to door it takes about two hours to collect less than 10 signatures. Weekends at the Farmer's Market, days at the library, visits to neighborhood associations, countless efforts ignored.

The city played our own Friends of Sunnyvale as fools. And we were. We trusted our employees to be working for us, the people of the city. If the initiatives were put on the ballot, Melinda had had no intention of running.

The June 17th environmental impact report meeting had the smell of shenanigans when the initiatives were ignored completely. The initiative lawsuit failed due to being misinformed but the people who vote did not fail. It took 7,400 votes to create the largest majority in the 2003 election. From June to November and for a whole year before that, people were being informed and the 6,300 grew.

With over a 90 percent approval rating for the three initiatives by registered voters, the word spread throughout the city. Our efforts were directed toward the election. It was great that PSOA also wanted to change the city council personnel. But one thing you missed in the Sun's PSOA slander is that Otto Lee was supported by the Friends of Sunnyvale and Heritage District Neighborhood groups and won. James Fussel, who by the way showed great character in his race, was supported by PSOA and lost. If you want the Sun to be taken seriously and not to be just a piece of trash not even picked up before a rain you must deal with the facts.

Your articles on LaSala are filled with allegations and insinuations. Go to the city municipal code and find the facts. Explore the General Plan. Get out a law book on city managers and how or why they can be dismissed.

I would much rather see a front-page article that would inform and engage the public into a worthwhile and constructive atmosphere for harmony.

You can't argue the facts. Present them.

Thomas J. Carrig

Sunnyvale