I keep reading this raging battle of letters in the Courier between the Alliance for a Better Cupertino and the Concerned Citizens of Cupertino political group. I am embarrassed to say that I don't truly understand what the fight is about or the subtle nuances that may be there.

It would appear to me, just on the surface, that these two groups are fighting to see who can take control of Cupertino in terms of what can be built, how it is built and all other rules concerning the growth of Cupertino.

In my almost 30 years of living here in Cupertino, I have always assumed that the elected Cupertino city council, its staff and the various department managers were responsible for running the city.

The residents can elect or unelect any of these council members if they don't like the way things are going.

From the letters I have read, it seems that these two warring factions consider the city council to be pretty much irrelevant.

In Rich Robinson's letter in the July 13 edition of the Courier, he even lists the city council in a sentence with special interest groups like the Sierra Club, the Greenbelt Alliance, League of Women Voters, etc., as being in favor of his organization.

I did not think the city council is considered a special interest group.

We have all heard the old saying about leadership. Lead, follow or get out of the way. It would appear to me that the city council has decided to get out of the way.