I find the letter by L.J. Johnson (Letters & Opinion, Sept. 14) to be a prime example of the ugly and underhanded campaign Johnson is condemning.

To set the record straight, Tim Risch, during his four years on the council, voted consistently to provide regular salary increases to the Sunnyvale Public Safety Department, expand its infrastructure, provide new and more modern equipment, fund additional personnel and even provide funding to cover department budget overruns.

These are specific votes and a matter of record, not just empty unsubstantiated claims of the Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers Association pawn.

The information about Risch's opponent on the website www.thetruthabouttony.org is based on verifiable and fully documented facts, which have not been refuted. And if this campaign is as "ugly and underhanded" as Johnson claims, Tim Risch is not the one that put it there.

The PSOA's hold on the council created a situation where Tim Risch cast the swing vote that eliminated three vacant PSOA positions. These reductions saved several hundred thousand budget dollars at a time when the budget of every department was being cut in proportion to our city's income reductions.

This offended the PSOA so much that they allocated almost $50,000 to a last minute campaign of mudslinging, inference and innuendo in the last election. Apparently the good people of Sunnyvale bought it because a council was elected that would vote in support of the PSOA henceforth.

My friends and neighbors in Sunnyvale, don't listen to the fuzzy logic of unfounded charges made by Johnson and the other PSOA pawns. Elect Tim Risch to Seat 1 on the council and restore a modicum of decency and honesty to that body.

Don Yeager

Sunnyvale

The Sun giving Risch
forum for mudslinging

For some time now it has been obvious that The Sunnyvale Sun is seeking to undermine Sunnyvale's city government.

It wasn't long ago that Sandy Sims was writing editorials about the city "falling apart" (Letters and Opinion 10/20/04). She noted with great care the departure of several high ranking city employees, yet she has never acknowledged the hiring of their qualified replacements. She even went so far as to try to sabotage the hiring process, letting DeCinzo publish derogatory cartoons while the search for a new city attorney was underway.

Now The Sun is giving Tim Risch a forum to engage in his mudslinging campaign to regain the seat the voters took away from him two years ago. The Sun's motive is crystal clear.

They want Risch back on the council so that it will become a bickering mess again. That way she will have more interesting things to write about.

The Sunnyvale community should send The Sun a message.

Stop your meddling.

Leave Sunnyvale alone.

And get rid of that awful DeCinzo.

Jack Spratt

Sunnyvale

PSOA contract coming up;
they want a stacked deck

I disagree with Judith Hamilton's letter (Letters and Opinion, Sept. 7) that the current Sunnyvale City Council "is presently working very cooperatively and productively."

Indeed, the council is working very cooperatively--with the Sunnyvale Public Safety Officers Association, which elected them for that purpose.

It's disturbing that some council members and some current candidates maintain a cozy relationship with the PSOA.

One candidate, Tony Spitaleri, is the current union leader for the Palo Alto Firefighters Union. However, this fact is conveniently missing from the curriculum vitae on his website.

The Palo Alto Daily, who describes Spitaleri as "confrontational," wrote that he was the author of a vicious, misleading scare campaign in Palo Alto that has "badly smudged the credibility and reputation of the Palo Alto Professional Firefighters' Union." Spitaleri, renown for his pit bull politics and street thug negotiation tactics is trying to pass himself off as the victim now that his opponent, Tim Risch, has divulged some of Spitaleri's misdeeds and well-documented prior bad acts. Yet, PSOA backs Spitaleri's campaign--why is this so?

PSOA's contract is up for renegotiation this term, so it would be beneficial for them to stack the deck by backing candidates to the council that are pliant to them.

The association has exerted undue influence in previous elections as well: Their barrage of false and deceptive campaigning is what led to Tim Risch's defeat by Melinda Hamilton in the last election and the almost defeat of Otto Lee.

If a candidate is perceived by PSOA as too independent and not willing to "play ball" with them, PSOA will launch a smear effort against them and back their opponent.

For this reason, I would be very suspicious of any candidates endorsed by PSOA in this upcoming campaign, as PSOA is looking out for its own best interests and not yours.

Peter Cirigliano

Sunnyvale