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Town Hall Series: "What Matters?" TAXES!
5:00 PM PT - 6:30 PM PT
The California Housing Challenge: What Matters?
Of course affordable housing matters! In a narrow-minded way that benefits builders and housing investors while harming the constituents who cherish daily life in their own charming, quirky neighborhoods and communities, legislators are ignoring essential elements of what matters--things like Safety, Taxes, Elections, and the Constitution.
The September Town Hall theme is "Taxes Matter!"
This is an opportunity to hear from two experts about the propositions on the November ballot, especially the controversial Prop 5.
Susan Shelley, VP of Communications with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayer Association, is out on the statewide circuit talking to voters and editorial boards about state propositions.
Tom Rubin, CPA, transportation expert, was a leader in the successful campaign to de-rail the MTC/ABAG $20 Billion Bond measure known as Regional Measure 4. Over a 53-year period, RM-4 would have cost residents more than $50 billion dollars in principal and interest with vague promises of providing affordable housing. But it didn't even make it to the ballot for two reasons: (1) an "oops, sizeable math error" on the part of MTC staff and (2) polling data that showed the measure was unlikely to reach even the 55% approval threshold to pass.
In its wisdom, the 1849 California State Constitution required a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to place a measure on the ballot to borrow money. The thinking was that asking future generations to pay for a particular public good should have a higher threshold for approval than majority rules.
Proponents describe Prop 5 as a bill that would fund affordable housing for seniors and low-income residents. Come learn about the devil in the details. One example is that seniors themselves would be required to pay the tax, effectively subsidizing moderate-rate housing for a younger generation at the peak of their earning years.
Catalysts Institute president Susan Kirsch
will moderate the Town Hall series. Catalysts for Local Control is a statewide nonprofit
organization that educates, engages, and empowers elected officials,
community leaders, and the general public with a focus on legislation, litigation, and lobbying.
Register for the 9/19 Town Hall. Then mark your calendar for the rest of the 4-part series:
Oct 17 – Elections Matter - Meet three women stepping up to challenge state Assembly incumbents in the November election: Margot Smith, Lydia Kou, and Liz Lawler.
Nov 21 – the Constitution Matters - Hear an update from attorney Pam Lee, Aleshire & Wynder, who won the charter cities' case against SB9. Learn how your city can become a charter city from Sunny Soltani, Aleshire & Wynder.
The recording of the August 15th Town Hall on Safety Matters, which featured Citizen Marin Director Amy Kalish and award-winning filmmaker Carolyn M. Scott is available on the Catalysts website. You can watch
harrowing footage of the Sonoma fire and View the trailer “Small is Beautiful: The Quest to Save Valley of the Moon).
Feel free to forward this Town Hall information to your neighbors and colleagues.
Catalysts thanks our partners:
Alameda County Taxpayers Association * California Alliance of Local
Electeds (CALE) California Cities for Local Control * Citizen Marin *
Coalition for San Francisco Neighborhoods * Friends of the Hills *Los
Altos Residents * Our Neighborhood Voices * Palo Altans for Sensible
Zoning (PASZ) * United Neighbors * West Bay Citizens Coalition. If your organization would like to join as a Partner, sign up here.
Unfortunately, the momentum to build, build, build--regardless of whether it provides housing that is affordable to wage-earners--is growing. Help change the narrative. Register for the Town Hall.
Learn talking points and actions to keep our communities fiscally sound.
One voice can be muffled. Many voices bring about change.
Organization: Catalysts for Local Control
Contact: Susan Kirsch
Contact Phone: 415-686-4375
Contact Email:
Website: http://catalystsca.org