Roberta Phillips, a regular fixture at Los Altos City Council meetings and advocate for freedom of speech, has died at 79. Phillips was known for speaking her mind at city council meetings and reminding those in city government that they work for the residents. Phillips showed up to a November 2023 council meeting in a bathrobe to protest council doing away with letting people comment on items via Zoom. “Just like San Francisco is synonymous with cable cars, Los Altos is synonymous with the apricot orchard,” Phillips said in July 2025. Phillips worked in tech and moved to Los Altos in 1990 and after retiring about 15 years ago, she became involved in town politics.