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.”
The council adjourned when Wang disconnected — without voting to appoint a city negotiator. His decision to unilaterally stop the meeting provoked a storm of opposition. He responded in a Dec. 8 letter to his council colleagues three days before they selected a new mayor and vice mayor.
“I wanted to express my sincere apologies for abruptly ending the (Dec. 2.) meeting,” Wang wrote. “I was also suffering a battery issue and frantically trying to power my (laptop) device. My intention that night was to shut down my camera and leave in protest, NOT to end the meeting. However, before I could do that, my battery died and I was not able to dial back in.”
Moore pushed back at Wang’s reasoning during the Dec. 11 meeting.
“It seems as though you were ill-prepared,” Moore said. “But you did have your telephone … What’s your reasoning for not continuing the meeting on your phone?”
Wang responded that his phone was also running low on battery and died, which he hadn’t mentioned in his letter.
“Do you understand why some people might not find what you’re saying sounding remotely believable?” Moore said.
This isn’t the first time Wang has faced pushback for his conduct. Councilmembers removed him from the Planning Commission in 2023 following allegations that he repeatedly belittled city workers and harassed residents who didn’t agree with him.
Fruen, one of two councilmembers in the pro-growth minority, said Wang’s double battery failure story is “manifestly implausible” and praised Moore for not supporting Wang for vice mayor.
“It demonstrates an understanding, even within (Wang’s) group, that his conduct that night was not acceptable,” Fruen told San José Spotlight.
Contact Mike Langberg at [email protected].