CALL TO ACTION: Request June Election for CCSGI. Wear RED to Attend March 1 Council Meeting

ccSensibleGrowth.org

CALL TO ACTION: Wear RED to attend March 1, 2016 Cupertino City Council Meeting.

REQUEST: Put CCSGI on June ballot.

Time & Location: 6:45pm Cupertino Community Hall (next to Cupertino Library), 10800 Torre Ave, Cupertino, CA 95014

Cupertino Citizens' Sensible Growth Initiative (CCSGI) is grateful for your outpouring support at the Feb. 2 Council meeting. Wonderful speeches by CCSGI supporters.
We will need your presence at the March 1, 2016 City Council meeting once more to give Cupertino voters a chance to have a frank and open discussion on CCSGI by putting it on June ballot, instead of November.

Although CCSG initiative qualifies for the next regular election, which June election, per California Election Code, the City of Cupertino won't put CCSGI on June election before the March 11 deadline.

Good News: The Registrar of Voters has completed the verification of all 4,204 petition signatures. The submitted petitions included 3,759 valid signatures, which is about 14% of registered voters, well over the minimum number required to qualify the CCSGI for the ballot.

Bad News: Per California Election Code, CCSGI qualifies for the municipal's next regular election, which is June election. But the City would only allow CCSGI to be put on Nov. election, by misinterpreting Cupertino Municipal Code for City Council general election as "regular election". The attorneys of CCSGI have written to point out that California Election Code does distinguish "general election" for electing representatives from "regular election".

The proponents of CCSGI felt compelled to submit the initiative because the Council has not done its job of openly communicating with its constituents on the direction of growth in Cupertino before rushing to make decisions that will have permanent negative impacts in the quality of life of everyone of its residents. Over 4000 residents rushed out to sign the petition for CCSGI in just 5 weeks because they felt the same way and want to join the conversation on growth. By pushing CCSGI to November election, the Council will once again prevent a chance for open communication with its constituents.

A decision on CCSGI will ensure a serious citywide discussion about growth and our City’s future. The appropriate time to have that discussion is this period leading up to the June ballot, when the distractions from all other local, state and national voting issues and candidates will be fewer.

Many Cupertino residents – we believe most – see the huge current and proposed projects as having a potentially profound negative impact on traffic, our schools, our neighborhoods and our community in general. With CCSGI we have done our part as responsible citizens to see that we have a community-wide discussion about what kind of Cupertino we want. The City should not put barriers in front of an open and frank exploration of these critically important questions during the period leading up to June election.

The CCSGI committee urges everyone to write to the Council at citycouncil@cupertino,org to clear the barriers for putting CCSGI on June election. Most importantly, the committee urges everyone to come to the Council meeting on Tuesday, March 1 to express the wishes of the people. Your physical presence tomorrow speaks plenty that Cupertino voters want to be heard in June.

Home Page: ccSensibleGrowth.org

Paid for by Committee supporting Cupertino Citizens' Sensible Growth Initiative, PO Box 1132, Cupertino, CA 95015, FPPC# 1381645.