Started in July 2002 by the Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce, SUNPAC and the chamber announced their separation Aug. 17.

Chamber of Commerce President/CEO Suzi Blackman said the split allows the chamber to focus more on local legislation and removes it from the obligation of endorsing political candidates.

"We really wanted to be able to focus on the policies, the political philosophy and the issues coming up," Blackman said.

"When you do political actions and decide to give money to someone, there are a lot of other things that come with that," she said.

Blackman said there had also been some conflict in using chamber money to support SUNPAC because members who paid dues did not always support the decisions. She said the chamber ended up "double dipping" into some businesses that were giving money to their favorite candidates and then having their chamber dues used to support someone else.

"We believe that there is certainly a role for businesses to endorse candidates, and that is why SUNPAC is going forward," Blackman said.

Separating from the chamber allows SUNPAC to work on more regional issues that affect Sunnyvale businesses and markets.

"We see opportunity in this," chairwoman Fran Hirsch said. "We can develop our own positions now."

Treasurer--and former Sunnyvale mayor--Pat Castillo said SUNPAC and its board of directors still represent more than 200 donors, so they have a large obligation to represent SUNPAC's constituents.

One of SUNPAC's first steps was to formally endorse candidates for the November city council race. After interviewing candidates on Aug. 19, SUNPAC chose to back--with $2,000 in donations--Tony Spitaleri for Seat 1, Christopher Moylan for Seat 2 and incumbent John Howe for Seat 3.

Castillo--whose daughter is running Spitaleri's campaign--said she was not concerned about any conflict of interest because the decision to endorse former firefighter Spitaleri was a decision of the group, not hers alone.

Castillo said the group endorsed Moylan because of his record with the planning commission and because "he's quite intelligent and brings a new voice to the council."

It backed former Mayor John Howe because "he helped Sunnyvale at a time when the city was in turmoil," Castillo said. The turmoil was caused by hard budget times and widespread turnover in the city's high-ranking staff.

At that same meeting, Mike Klein--one of SUNPAC's founders--stepped down from the board. He said he had evaluated his personal and professional life and decided that he didn't have the time or energy to devote to helping the fledgling group fly on its own.

For more information on SUNPAC, visit www.sunpac.org.