"Kitty Moore, Cupertino's new mayor, blocked a City Council ally from becoming vice mayor at a recent meeting - even though both belong to the same political faction in the sharply divided city. The five-member council voted in Moore as mayor Dec. 11 and Mayor Liang Chao as vice mayor, though Councilmember R "Ray" Wang was seen as the leading vice mayor candidate. Councilmembers vote every year to fill the positions from within their ranks. Resident response via email and in person at the meeting was roughly split, with 25 in favor of Wang becoming vice mayor and 27 against."
"Cupertino is divided on housing issues and Wang is part of a three-member council majority favoring slower growth alongside Chao and Moore - which made Moore's opposition to Wang becoming vice mayor unusual. "I cannot willingly choose to have surprises, and I'm concerned that I'm going to end up with surprises, so you (Chao) are my top choice," Moore said at the meeting."
"The public dispute between Moore and Wang - who are typically allies - began at the Dec. 2 council meeting when Wang objected to a vote involving a controversial affordable housing project. Wang, who was at the Wynn Hotel in Las Vegas and frequently attends city meetings remotely due to travel for work, contended the council would violate its rules by appointing a city negotiator to arrange a land sale to the project's developers. Interim City Attorney Floy Andrews and Councilmember J.R. Fruen, who is an attorney, told Wang the vote was permissible. But Wang disagreed and disconnected, which forced the meeting to end because his location was technically accessible to the public and therefore had to remain open while the council was in session. "Well, at this point then I will have to leave the meeting," Wang said just before signing off at the meeting. "You do understand the ramification ... The meeting will conclude ... Have a wonderful evening everybody and thank you.""
Kitty Moore, Cupertino's mayor, opposed Councilmember R 'Ray' Wang becoming vice mayor even though both belong to the same slower-growth council majority. The five-member council voted Moore as mayor on Dec. 11 and Liang Chao as vice mayor, while community feedback was nearly evenly split, with 25 supporting Wang and 27 opposing. The disagreement followed Wang's objection at a Dec. 2 meeting to a vote on a controversial affordable housing project while attending remotely from Las Vegas. City legal staff said the vote was permissible; Wang disconnected, which forced the meeting to end because his remote location was technically accessible to the public.
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