Sierra Club Endorses Wong and Sinks in November Election

In a surprising move, the local Sierra Club Chapter announced this weekend that it is endorsing incumbent Gilbert Wong and political newcomer Rod Sinks in the November Cupertino City Council election over four other candidates.

Even a member of the Loma Prieta Chapter committee that made the decision, Gary Latshaw, acknowledged that he thought going into the endorsement process the group would most likely back Sinks and Homer Tong.

Both Sinks and Tong are supported by Councilmember Barry Chang, founder of the group Bay Area Clean Environment (BACE), and a chief opponent.

Last month the . Currently in a land use issue, and is one of the loudest Lehigh critics on environmental matters.

"Gilbert's stand on Lehigh is pretty weak, so I'm surprised they gave it to him," Chang said Monday. "He's a mayor who has openly praised Lehigh, even when we know Lehigh has a bad track record."

In response to their critics, Lehigh officials have stated recently that they are meeting all governmental regulation standards, and deny that emissions into the air and discharges into Permanente Creek are harmful to residents.

In Saturday’s email announcement, the committee also acknowledged that it was a “split” endorsement, since Sinks and Tong are supporting each other in the race, and Wong and candidate Marty Miller are supporting each other.

The four-member committee interviewed all six candidates in recent weeks: Wong, Sinks, Tong, Miller, Donna Austin and Chris Zhang. .

In a related story, Sinks was the only candidate out of the six to receive the endorsement of the California League of Conservation Voters.

Last week Wong and Austin received endorsements from the Cupertino Chamber of Commerce.

Lomia Prieta endorsement committee member Latshaw said on Sunday that he voted to endorse Wong in part because the chapter endorsed him in 2007, and since that time Wong has delivered on promises to support energy conservation measures, and has voted for more open space and trails in the city.

The committee pointed to Wong’s support of upgrading streetlights to more energy efficient ones, installation of electric car chargers at city hall, preservation of McClellan Ranch and the Stocklmeir orchard, and development of the Stevens Creek bicycle/pedestrian trail. Wong also told the committee he was in favor of promoting water conservation measures citywide.

Latshaw, speaking only for himself, said he didn’t think the chapter should “abandon” Wong after he had made good on previous campaign promises.

And while Latshaw said his ideal candidate would want to take strong legal action against Lehigh, he said he was satisfied that Wong promised to support measures to ensure the company was compliant with environmental regulations.

In endorsing Sinks, the committee specifically pointed to his involvement in BACE, and in challenging both Lehigh and regulatory agencies that oversee Lehigh’s operations. Members also pointed to Sinks’ promises to increase cooperation between the city and schools to reduce traffic around campuses, and to promote energy and water conservation measures in the city.

Sinks is also a Scoutmaster and YMCA father-daughter leader, who is in favor of getting children outdoors, the committee said. 

Both Wong and Sinks are also supportive of “smart growth” or higher density housing near transportation corridors, committee members said.

Chang told Patch that he could understand why the committee would endorse Wong for being supportive of the idea.

The topic of higher density housing has not been a popular one in Cupertino, with hotly contested elections in 2005 and 2006.

In 2005 a group called Concerned Citizens of Cupertino (CCC) unsuccessfully campaigned for Measures A, B, and C, which would have put limits on height, setback and density requirements on developments. Although the CCC argued that higher density developments would be detrimental to the city, a wide array of opponents said the limits would encourage sprawl and a greater dependence on the automobile throughout the region.

A year later another bitter fight ensued when a group of residents put up Measures E and D, as a reaction to council-approved projects for condominiums and mixed retail and residential surrounding Vallco shopping center. Both measures won, forcing developers to go back to the drawing board. In one case, the development proposed at the corner of Stevens Creek Boulevard and Finch Avenue — formerly known as the Toll Brothers project, but now owned by a different development company and called Main Street Cupertino —  was later approved with less density.

Wong told Patch on Saturday that while he does favor more vertical growth near public transportation routes, he has taken into consideration residents’ concerns on higher density development. While on the Planning Commission he voted in favor of the Toll Brothers project, later struck down by voters in 2006, but while on City Council he voted for the Main Street development with lower density.

“I made it very clear we need to listen to our residents concerning high growth,” he said. “We had very good, strong public hearings on that, and we listened to the community.”

According to Latshaw and the committee’s announcement, both candidates said more public education and consensus building is needed on promoting “smart growth” ideals.