Cupertino City Council candidates Kitty Moore and Ray Wang held a joint rally on Saturday, Aug. 31, outside Cupertino City Hall. Approximately 100 Cupertino residents attended from 3 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. to hear speeches from the two candidates, as well as Council Member Liang Chao, former Council Member John Willey, former Cupertino Mayor Darcy Paul and other local leaders.
Moore says the rally was an opportunity for her and Wang to connect with and energize voters, as well as to present results from their past community involvement. Wang adds that the turnout was nearly double what he expected, signaling to him that voters are interested in what he and Moore describe as a resident-focused approach. After hearing the candidates’ speeches, rallygoer San Rao says he’s optimistic about the upcoming election largely because of the residents’ enthusiasm.
“It was great to see the energy out here,” Rao said. “All these people on a Labor Day weekend would have been out vacationing, but getting out here shows their love for the city.”
Moore and Wang are running on a shared platform because they align on many issues, including fiscal accountability and affordable housing. Their speeches emphasized how, despite their different backgrounds — Moore’s in civil engineering and Wang’s in business and finance — they are both, according to former Cupertino Mayor Darcy Paul, “good studious people who do their homework.”
“A city council is like a rock band,” Moore said. “You want different kinds of people on it. Ray is more extroverted and great with speeches, and in that way, he’s been a great addition to the campaign.”
The two candidates hope to fill the two seats up for reelection this November and, along with Chao, achieve a majority hold on the five-person City Council. Moore and Wang both remain optimistic about the election and encourage voters to make themselves heard.
“Everybody says this is the most important election in our life — I’m not going to say that,” Wang said. “What I’m going to say is, if you really believe that residents should be in charge of their government, you need to vote for Kitty and Ray.”
