A year ago, we agreed that it was time to improve the paper and expand our circulation in the city. Our goal was simple: make the Sun a must-read in Sunnyvale.

Under the direction of editor Sandy Sims, the Sun has stepped up its coverage of a broader cross-section of the community, exploring the exciting mix of cultures, looking at how residents live in their neighborhoods and digging up features about some fascinating people—all in Sunnyvale.

We've also tried to shine some light on city hall, a sometimes-puzzling place that refracts light in unexpected ways.

Our readers have responded by turning our opinion pages into a forum for community debate. Your letters have helped turn the Sun's Op-Ed pages into one of the liveliest spots in Sunnyvale.

Last fall, we put our money where our mouth is and doubled the circulation of the Sun.

This week, we introduce one more feature to keep our Op-Ed pages hopping. Steven DeCinzo, the cartoonist who has lampooned, satirized and poked fun at local politicians and local situations for some of our other newspapers, brings his dagger-sharp quill to the Sun.

I've worked with DeCinzo for more than 10 years, and in that time, I have found him funny, frustrating, endearing, maddening, hilarious, outrageous and more often than not, right on target.

DeCinzo is more than a little out of step with most people. As cartoonists must, he places himself firmly on the outside looking in. He holds public officials to high standards and delights in offering readers his satiric take on local goings-on.

More than once, I've cringed at a DeCinzo cartoon that lampoons a public official with whom I have dealt on a regular basis—only to discover later that the public official asked DeCinzo for the original and then framed it and hung it in his city hall office.

In communities where DeCinzo's work has been a regular feature for years, most officials fear they will be the subject of a cartoon—but secretly react with joy when their caricature finally makes the Op-Ed pages. I've been told more than once that being lampooned by DeCinzo is a rite of passage for public officials.

Occasionally, DeCinzo submits a cartoon we think is so far off-base that we reject it, but we do give our political satirist a very long leash. He doesn't have to see things the way management does; his cartoons do not necessarily reflect the position of the Sun or its parent company, Silicon Valley Community Newspapers. In fact, it's safe to say, he frequently does not reflect the views of management.

But then, we believe the opinion pages are the place for opinions that come from all directions. And if DeCinzo's cartoons sometimes make us squirm, let's hope he can also help us laugh at ourselves.

Dale Bryant is the executive editor of Silicon Valley Community Newspapers, which publishes The Sun. She can be reached at 408.200.1021 or dbryant@svcn.com.