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Supervisor candidates argue over proposition 13

September 29, 2014

prop 13By KAREN VELIE

The latest skirmish in the contentious battle for San Luis Obispo County’s District 4 Supervisor seat is over the meaning of Proposition 13.

Caren Ray and Lynn Compton are battling for what is considered the swing seat on the board. Gov. Jerry Brown appointed Ray last year after Supervisor Paul Teixeira died of a heart attack.

Ray and Compton have battled over illegally placed signs, signs on vehicles, special interest allegations and claims that a fundraiser serving “hobo stew” was a slap in the face of the homeless.

The candidates’ latest disagreement is over a Feb. 11 board of supervisors’ vote to approve a legislative platform that included paying lobbyists to promote legislation at the state level that would lower the 2/3 voter approval to increase sales tax to a simple majority vote. Caren Ray voted alongside Supervisors Bruce Gibson, Adam Hill and Frank Mecham in approving the legislative platform.

In response to the vote, the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association (HJTA) endorsed Lynn Compton for supervisor. The association is named after the author of proposition 13, which limits property taxes to 1 percent of a home’s value and requires a 2/3 voter approval for special taxes, including sales tax.

Ray’s vote was an attempt to chip away at Proposition 13, Compton said.

Ray fired back in a letter to the editor of the Tribune, saying she had never voted to raise taxes and has fully supported Proposition 13. Ray claimed Compton was being untruthful, noting that only the state legislature can lower the 2/3 required special tax approval. Ray said Compton was attempting to spread misinformation.

During a trip to San Luis Obispo County last week, HJTA President Jon Coupal said Ray was “simply wrong” in her claim that Proposition 13 dealt only with property taxes.

“For someone (Ray) to deny that this was an anti-taxpayer, anti-Proposition 13 resolution is simply not true,” Coupal said. “It matters because there is the potential of having someone elected who is not a Proposition 13 advocate and the potential for having someone like Lynn Compton who is a very strong defender of Proposition 13.”

In response to Coupal statments, Ray said on the Dave Congalton Show, that she voted for lowering the required 2/3 vote to raise sales tax in an attempt to raise money to repair and improve county roads.

By raising the sales tax rate, Ray said the burden for funding roads would not fall on the backs of homeowners, but would be partially paid by tourists who also use the roadways.

Ray said she wouldn’t be a homeowner without Proposition 13, which she said she was in favor of.

Coupal disagreed saying Ray’s vote “can only be characterized as an anti-Proposition 13 vote.” Instead of voting for for more taxes, government should promote economic growth and control spending, Coupal said.

“There is always an effort by local government for more money,” Coupal added. “The biggest spender for lobbying is not oil, tobacco or alcohol – it is local government.”

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i have 50 choices for miss america. 18 choices for rice a roni. thousands of tv channels to choose from. 31 flavors of ice cream. 100s of beer and wine variations. but only two choices for any election that parrot the same shyt all day long and an endless line of sheeple to re-parrot…..


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Slowerfaster (can I call you SF for short?), I agree with you. We should eliminate Welfare for the unproductive and lazy, including Corporate Welfare, so that we can adequately fund basic services. As far as Corporate Welfare goes, if I see another corporation using food stamps at a grocery store, I’m going to go off!


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Fourteen people in the US made more in income last year than what the entire Food Stamps program costs for 50 million .

Not only that, those 14 saw their intake increase from 507 Billion dollars to 589 Billion …IN ONE YEAR !


Forbes reports that the 400 richest americans have a net accumulated worth of over 2.29 TRILLION dollars.


Who is stealing the wealth of the nation for their own welfare ?


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Hello Mr Socialist Democrat Karen Ray supporter, the earners earned it….the takers steal it. Know people by their supporters and friends….as a Ray supporter…bingo….thanks for showing us what type of people support her!!!


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Some of the richest people in the US are responsible for products that millions, or in the case of Facebook, billions use. Most of their wealth is in stock and does not come from ordinary income. And yet most of the talk around taxes is focused on income taxes and a whole bunch of taxes that are regressive in nature (property taxes and bond measures, business license fees, sales tax, phone tax, internet tax, permits, gas, air transportation, tanning, vehicle registration, etc.).


I wouldn’t call getting rich through creating a product so many want to buy stealing, but the system is certainly not balanced. And I would argue the total cost of government is far too high, and makes it hard for anyone but the upper echelons to save, invest, and get ahead.


Any call for wealth confiscation (taxing savings and investments) certainly would have more impact on the middle class that can’t escape through loopholes, moving wealth overseas, or buying political favor.


As far as essential services being starved, “In the year 2000, the city’s population was approximately 43,000 people, the city budget was $37 million, with full-time city employees earning a median annual salary of $56,000.


By contrast, today we have grown by only 1,800 residents since ( a 3.3 percent increase in population), but we now have a total operating budget of $136 million (a 367 percent increase (!)), with 150 city employees making at or over $100,000 a year.

” http://calcoastnews.com/2014/09/case-measure-g/


From 2000 to 2013, Federal budget outlays increased from 1.8 trillion to 3.8 trillion. And our national debt has ballooned from around 5.6 trillion to over 17 trillion.


All the spending and debt have helped create massive inflation, robbing savers, raising costs of living across the board, and are saddling current and future generations with a debt that will require perpetual voluntary servitude (TAXES).


The wealth of the nation is being stolen by politicians, crony corporations, and bankers. And both political parties play along.


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Arroyo Grande City Council has called a special meeting on Wednesday morning at 9 am o contract with an investigator for nookiegate.

They are something else!


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All these New Tax and Automatic Rate Increases go well beyond just Prop. 13#.


At least you must respect a candidate that will go on record in support of making it easier to raise property taxes on homeowners, that will in return raise rents on individuals and small businesses.


In this fragile economy, I believe we need to support candidates from any party who will provide Tax and Automatic Rate Relief.


When you have 90% of your budgets going to salaries, early pensions, and benefits, you have a structural budget problem that needs to be addressed.


It is time to balance our budgets with “existing revenues” that are growing each year. Address the pension problems that are bankrupting our cities. Bring salaries inline with current revenues. Then we will have the funds for public works, services, roads, that are the core function of government.


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Lynn Compton was officially endorsed by the Arroyo Grande Police Officers’ Association.

The AGPOA endorsement comes less than a week after the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers

Association endorsement for the Compton Campaign. Jon Coupal, President of the

Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Assoc. said that they never get involved in local candidates,

however, because Caren Ray showed her true colors on her vote in February of this

year, the Association felt this race too important to stay away from.


If politicians like Caren Ray, Adam Hill and Bruce Gibson, plus the boys and girls

in Sacramento have their way, Proposition 13 will be castigated bit by bit. They

have already chewed away at it in ways that effect out pocket books. Make no

mistake, the likes of Jerry Brown have always hated Prop 13, they want that money and will

do what ever it takes to get it. WAKE UP!


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Caren Ray can’t even tell the truth about the recyclable bags she passed out at the AG

Harvest Festival. In the Democratic Party questionnaire she filled out she said that

all of her campaign materials not printed in-house will be printed in a union shop and

will display the Union “Bug”. Welllllll, I looked for the Union Bug in her bags and guess

what? That’s right, “Made In China”. She is such a phooey baloney. She won’t fess

up to how she really feels about Prop 13 and she takes money from the Unions and

uses their employees (Union paid) to walk streets for her and clearly uses bags made

in another country that is non union. Lynn Compton is the real deal.


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Thank God Being Stupid is not a Crime Ms. Ray,… get her out … Now!!!All Ms Ray has to do is open her mouth and you know, no need to stamp stupid on her forehead!!!


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California is at or near the top of the list of the most taxed states in the union depending on what criteria you use. Why does any politician think we need more taxes? Can’t they make do with the money they already squeeze out of us. It seems to me it comes down to a failure on their part to do the best they can with the money they have.


Any politician like Ray who says we need to make it easier to raise taxes seems to me to be saying to the people they are failures at managing the taxpayer’s money. Give her the chance and she will advocate for more taxes. For these people tripling taxes would still not be enough.


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YOUR taxes may seem higher than they should be for you, while basic services are starved and slaughtered, because those individuals and businesses at the top end that COULD pay their civic responsible share have had their taxes slashed.

They have the money, the accountants, the egregiosly compensated lobbyists, and the politicians of mainly one political aprty in their back pockets.


All to feed their unquenchable greed.


GET IT ?

They’re stealing from society AND YOU !


You like lower marginal taxes …taxes that are reasonable and appropriate for a modern nation ?


TAX the RICH !


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Then you have the politicians that want to reward their donors, pals, etc.


Look at California, all the tax breaks our politicians (including Gov Brown) give to Hollywood and their cronies in Silicon. Then you have the Neveda deal for Tesla. This is done everyday by both parties with little regard for the working people. Our politicians stand up and tell us one thing, stand on the pulpits and preach about the evil wealthy and then dine with them in the White House, governor mansions, take trips with them and like rubbing those elbows for more donations.


They are not stealing, the politicians are giving it to them and letting us pick up the tab!


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I take it that YOU are not rich…..


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my post was addressed to slowerfaster.


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I will address this courteously.


I am rich in friends, in education of all sorts, in experiences vast, in memories not forgotten, in art, in science, in innumerable good things…just a smidgen of what could be called material.


So yeah, I’m rich…and I value all that I have been privileged to enjoy.


But…I don’t hoard it. I share whenever I can, and it is so surprisingly easy to do so, when one commits to being UNSELFISH.


Money is a fickle lover. I’ve had millions ( yes ), and lived as a pauper just scraping by.

The people that merely ‘feel’ that they are rich almost invariably look at others as inferior.

Doesn’t matter their particular political affiliations.

They are superiorcrats. Lost in their “Red Death” illusions..


So, I submit to you…euroamerican,

Am I rich, or am I not ? How would you know ?


Let me be be more specific:

TAX the MONEYHOARDERS !


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I jumped to the conclusion that you were not rich, because in my life experience People are happy to push for something that does not affect them personally.. if they are not rich then why not ” tax the rich,” not going to affect me!!!


How do you suggest finding these MONEYHOARDERS, Maybe the IRS, I am sure they would love seeking out these evil people who want to keep their money.


You sound like you have such an idyllic life, rich in friends, art, millions of dollars, and you are also an unselfish person.


Not like those people who merely “feel” rich and look down on others, darn those superiorcrats.


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Eisenhower’s tax boys had it right


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“while basic services are starved and slaughtered” but certainly public sector salaries, benefits and pensions are not being starved. The federal judge got it right in Stockton, state pensions are NOT sacred and can be cut, now hopefully the city follows thru.


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TAX THE RICH||||||| TAX THE RICH|||||||


Where have we heard that before?


OH yeah| Right before the last time they raised our taxes.


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have we heard that before? The Eisenhower administration ! tax the rich


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they tax everybody just the same….


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Have you ever stopped to think where you would be without “all those individuals and businesses at the top end” ?


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Yeah ….alot better off, for the most part.


The United States decided over 200 years ago that we don’t need a king, or any other royalty.


Today, we could and should do without multi-billion dollar businesses like General Electric that pay no taxes.


Five family members of the Walton’s that control the Walmart fortune have more accumulated ( hoarded ) wealth than the bottom 40% of the entire population. We could do without them, too.


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Michael Jackson is King! Ellington is Duke! Bassie is Count! America does have royalties you know, our Prince abdicated and became an artist formerly known as.


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Where would we be without all the people on Welfare? SF, I bet you don’t shop at Walmart because it is non-union and the workers are “kind of skuzzy (your thoughts, not mine)”. So, where do you shop? Wait. What? You shop at Trader Joes? Uuuuh.


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It sure would be helpful to working families, seniors on a fixed income, the working poor, and those just getting started to have a Real Democratic Vote on the current “Automatic Water, Sanitation, Special Districts, ” Unconstrained Automatic New Rate Increases”.


That is why it is important to Vote and Elect Tax and Rate candidates who will bring some fiscal checks and balances to a flawed system that is rigged against citizen taxpayers.


City Council Elections, County Supervisors Elections, and Special Districts Elections are all important in this current New Rate Increase Environment.


These Automatic Rate Increases and New Tax Increase remind me a lot of the era before Prop. !3 ! Greed and Entitlement with little respect for Homeowners or Renters !


We need a real democratic vote of the people on these Automatic Rate Increases.


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Caren Ray voted to have TAXPAYER money spent on LOBBYING the STATE LEGISLATURE to reduce the voting requirement on PROP 13 issues from 2/3 majority to 55%. Ray is quoted as having said “this would give us access to the crown jewels”. I am assuming that Ray meant “us” to be the government and the “crown jewels” to be extorting more money from taxpayers. I could be wrong but I don’t know how else to interpret it.


To me, how you are going to view taxpayer money is the biggest issue in any election.


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The south county has a chance to get a decent supervisor in their district. Not one designated by the Brown factor. They are lucky to have Lynn Compton! Looking forward to her being elected and putting the bullies in their place. No more status quo!


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“The biggest spender for lobbying is not oil, tobacco or alcohol – it is local government.” What a crock. This crank doesn’t have a clue what’s true and what’s not. He should go back to LA and stay there.


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