Meet the candidates running for Cupertino City Council

Cupertino voters will decide between seven City Council candidates vying for just two seats this November, with housing as a central, divisive issue.

Councilmembers Kitty Moore and Hung Wei — who briefly suspended her campaign due to health concerns — are competing to keep their seats against several former officials. Cupertino elects councilmembers at large, meaning voters can choose any candidate unlike cities divided into political districts where voters are restricted to their area — the more common method used by nearby cities such as Campbell and Sunnyvale.

The election will determine if the development-friendly council majority, including Mayor Sheila Mohan, Vice Mayor J.R. Fruen and Wei, will keep control of the five-seat council. The city council was less supportive of housing projects such as controversial development The Rise, located at the former Vallco Mall site, before voters elected Fruen and Mohan in 2022.

Mail-in ballots will be sent to voters starting Oct. 7. Election Day is Nov. 5.

Here are the candidates seeking office in alphabetical order by last name:

Claudio Bono

The Cupertino Hotel General Area Manager Claudio Bono, 52, said a big factor in his decision to run was the council’s loss of control over new developments due to delayed approval of the city’s state-mandated housing plan — resulting in builder’s remedy projects, which can bypass local zoning and development standards to get swift approval.

Bono’s top priorities include regaining local control to preserve neighborhoods with smart growth, improving quality of life, reinstating good governance and restoring city services after budget losses. He wants the council to find middle ground to get things done such as the The Rise project, which became contentious because of its size as Cupertino’s largest housing development at more than 2,600 homes. He recently reported a death threat to the police after finding a note on his car that read, “Quit race or die.”

“I understand that we cannot, or sometimes (aren’t) able, to work (out) differences, but I strongly believe in compromise because simply voting no is not an answer and that has put our city in jeopardy,” he told San José Spotlight.

Bono moved to Cupertino in 2014 from Miami after growing up in Italy and working in the hospitality industry nationally and internationally. He is the founder of homeless nonprofit Give A Roof.

Assemblymember Evan Low and Mohan have endorsed him. He speaks five languages, including English, Italian, French, Spanish and Dutch, and said his business experience and worldliness could bring a new, needed perspective to council.

Barry Chang

To former Councilmember Barry Chang, the city is not better off than it was about six years ago when he termed out. Chang did not respond to requests for comment, but his campaign website said he wants to bring needed change.

Chang was elected to council in 2009, where he served to 2018 and was appointed mayor in 2015. He voted for The Rise’s 2018 plans after residents began an unsuccessful recall campaign against him in 2016 due to campaign donations from large developers. He pushed the Apple Park development to pay an increased sales tax to the city. Cupertino took a hit to its Apple sales tax revenue last year due to a state audit. He worked to reduce Lehigh Cement Plant’s environmental damage as someone with a civil engineering background.

His priorities include addressing traffic congestion, public safety and health, senior services and homelessness and mental health. He is the founder of Cupertino’s G-50 Global Smart City Summit.

He ran for Santa Clara County District 5 supervisor but didn’t advance past the March primaries after Mountain View Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga and California State Board of Equalization Chair Sally Lieber finished as the top vote-getters. No endorsements are listed on his website.

Kitty Moore

After four years serving Cupertino, Councilmember Kitty Moore wants four more.

“I think I’ve done a pretty good job for the residents, and I’ve really done my homework diligently,” she told San José Spotlight. “I really have studied how the city works really thoroughly.”

Moore, 58, who voters elected in 2020, said her top priorities include the environment, fiscal accountability and public safety. She supported Santa Clara County Supervisor Joe Simitian in his efforts to reduce the Lehigh Cement Plant’s environmental damage. She wants to extend that same scrutiny to The Rise — which she’s voted no on several aspects of — to hold the developer accountable for any environmental impacts. She said she wants transparency around the city’s budget, which was saddled with a roughly $15 million deficit this year.

Community group Better Cupertino, historically anti-development, supports Moore. She is endorsed by former Cupertino Mayors Patrick Kwok and Steven Scharf. Moore was stripped of her committee assignments last year after an independent investigation claimed she mistreated city staff.

Moore, who grew up on food stamps and was financially independent before 18, served on the Planning Commission for about two years and studied civil engineering at the University of Vermont. She also received paralegal training from De Anza Community College.

Rod Sinks

Fremont Union High School District Trustee Rod Sinks said he would’ve preferred to stay on the school board, but decided to run for council after no other candidates entered the race he could wholeheartedly support besides Wei.

Sinks, 66, was elected to Cupertino City Council in 2011 and served until 2020, including time as mayor, before becoming a school trustee last year. During his roughly nine years in office, he voted for The Rise’s 2018 plan and said the future council needs to work with developer Sand Hill Property Company to get the Vallco project done and build up a booming downtown.

“If that could be my legacy here, getting that project actually rolling and done — it may take a decade, honestly — that is such an exciting (thing),” he told San José Spotlight.

Sink is endorsed by Councilmember Hung Wei, Congressmember Ro Khanna and Louise Saadati, board member of pro-housing group Cupertino for All.

As an early supporter of environmental nonprofit Silicon Valley Clean Energy and former board chair of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, Sinks said he will prioritize addressing traffic, transportation and the environment if elected. He is a proponent of Silicon Valley Hopper, an affordable micro-transit service.

R “Ray” Wang

R “Ray” Wang, founder and principal analyst of high-tech research and advisory firm Constellation Research, plans to use his expertise to boost his tech-driven city if elected.

Wang, 52, wants to increase public safety, support affordable housing through smart development and improve quality of life for residents. He said he plans to facilitate neighborhood watch groups to discourage crime in tandem with law enforcement. He is supported by Better Cupertino and endorsed by Councilmember Liang Chao and former Cupertino Mayor Darcy Paul.

“Our theme throughout this whole campaign is really, we deserve better,” Wang told San José Spotlight. “I mean this isn’t hard, right? You just need people committed to do that. Let’s all get on the same page and make things better for everyone else.”

Wang said he supports the idea of The Rise project, along with its affordable housing component, but is concerned about its environmental impact.

Wang previously served on the Cupertino Planning Commission from 2019 to 2023, but councilmembers removed him last year because he faced criticism for repeatedly belittling city workers and harassing residents who don’t agree with him. He also faced a lawsuit in Redwood City after allegedly emailing explicit sexual images to a former councilmember in 2003. He pleaded no contest to one charge and two charges were dismissed.

Wang has denied the sexual harassment allegations, and said his server was hacked, but also said he’s learned how to work better with others since his removal. He said he’s ready for public service again.

Gilbert Wong

Gilbert Wong, a Foothill-De Anza Community College District trustee, said he could have run for higher office, but local government positions are where it’s at.

Wong, 57, previously served on the Cupertino City Council for about nine years, including time as mayor, before transitioning to the college board, where he’s sat for about eight years. He grew up in East San Jose and Los Gatos, where he said he didn’t see many other Chinese Americans. He moved to Cupertino in 1990 after he attended West Valley College where he saw more people that looked like him.

Wong’s platform includes improving neighborhood safety and cleanliness, maintaining neighborhood integrity while adding affordable housing along major thoroughfares and ensuring housing for the older and younger generations. He supports The Rise, but said this election goes beyond housing. State Sen. Dave Cortese and Santa Clara County District Attorney Jeff Rosen have endorsed him.

“It is not about housing or no housing,” Wong told San José Spotlight. “I am fighting for the residents of Cupertino. Residents are first, (but) there is not enough housing.”

Wong is suing the Foothill-De Anza Community College District after other trustees censured him for allegedly making racist remarks to the De Anza College’s former president Lloyd A. Holmes. Wong said he couldn’t comment on the lawsuit, but said he will work to serve Cupertino regardless.

Hung Wei

Councilmember Hung Wei said the race is personal to her because Cupertino is where she’s raised her family and dedicated her public service career. She reentered the race on Sept. 23 after suspending her campaign the previous week due to her ongoing battle with stage four lung cancer.

Wei, 68, was elected in 2020 and said she plans to expand affordable housing, improve transportation infrastructure and maintain government transparency if elected. She supports The Rise project and wants to streamline the affordable housing approval process, while addressing traffic safety concerns by improving street design and crosswalks.

“Our community’s future is at stake, and I want to ensure that Cupertino remains a city where people of all backgrounds can succeed and feel at home,” she told San José Spotlight.

Wei is endorsed by Low and the South Bay Labor Council. She previously served on the Fremont Union High School District from 2007 to 2018. Her other goals include pushing for environmental sustainability through expanding trails, walkways and bike lanes.

Contact Annalise Freimarck at [email protected] or follow @annalise_ellen on X, formerly known as Twitter.