Toll Road Jerry strikes again…
We have been beating up on Don Wagner for weeks – but there is another awful Republican running for the 70th Assembly District. That would be Tustin Councilman Jerry Amante.
Amante’s record in Tustin is quite poor. Check out these excerpts from the O.C. Register:
The city will have to pull $1.5 million from its reserves this year to take care of a budget deficit, officials said Tuesday.
Tustin also is struggling with its Water Enterprise Fund, which is expected to have an operating deficit of $2 million by the end of the fiscal year. City staff members are preparing another rate increase plan.
Amante claims to be against new taxes, but he is heavily involved in the California League of Cities, a squishy organization that advocates for redevelopment and generally is not known for fiscal conservatism.
And it gets worse. It turns out that Amante likes to raise service fees – which is about the same as raising taxes.
The Orange County Transportation Corridor Agencies, dominated by local Republican politicians such as Jerry Amante (“Toll Road Jerry”) of Tustin and Orange County Supervisors Pat Bates and Chris Norby, has announced that tolls on the 73, 241, 261, and 133 toll roads will go up by 25 cents on July 5, and the monthly account maintenance fee for those with FasTrak will double from $1 to $2 per transponder. (The Moving Target Blog).
Amante also voted to study a five billion dollar Big Dig that would put a tunnel under the Santa Ana River after every other toll road project has been shown to be unworkable. And he favors adding toll road lanes to the 405 freeway! (OC Progressive)
Councilwoman Deborah Gavello suggested that the City of Tustin approve a partnership with the Irvine Ranch Water District (IRWD) which would have saved Tustin taxpayers about $20 million in borrowing costs alone, Amante slammed her. He then stripped her of her commission appointments. Now Tustin taxpayers will have to acquire $45 million in bonds with an A rating or lower.
Now check out what Amante does for a living. According to a report from Aktien unter 5 Euro Übersicht, “He owns a law firm specializing in advocacy, strategy and government relations and a commercial and residential real estate brokerage firm.”
Are you kidding me? This guy is a political consultant – and he is part of the real estate industry that has brought so much ruin to our state! Do we really want to send a political consultant to Sacramento to serve as a legislator? How in the world is that a good idea?
Now let’s take a look at some of Amante’s endorsers – these are some of the worst politicians in Orange County:
- Mike Duvall (the disgraced former Assemblyman who got caught talking about sex with a lobbyist)
- Supervisor Janet Nguyen (may no longer be electable after the Black April fiasco)
- Former State Senator John Lewis (Backing Democrat Tom Daly against Hugh Nguyen, the GOP candidate for O.C. Clerk-Recorder)
- Former State Senator Dick Ackerman (illegally advocated to sell the O.C. Fairground)
- Assemblyman Jeff Miller (the guy who was talking about sex with Mike Duvall, on an open microphone)
- Supervisor Bill Campbell (tried to appoint John Urell, the guy who covered up for molesters, to a County commission)
- Orange County Public Administrator John Williams (complete scumbag, with a horrible toupee)
- Costa Mesa Mayor Allan R. Mansoor (his new hateful law in Costa Mesa may cost them the O.C. Fair!)
- Mission Viejo Councilman Frank Ury (I think you all know what a dirtbag this guy is)
- Santa Ana Councilman Carlos Bustamante (LOL! Tossed off two State Commissions for his “waterbra” comments)
- Adam Probolsky (slimy consultant and lobbyist who works with Democrats and RINOs)
And you simply must check out Amante’s Facebook page. He has only three friends!
Finally, where does Amante stand on the issues? The man is a complete nutter – with no new ideas at all. He is anti-choice, anti-gay marriage, anti-immigration, etc.
The incumbent in the 70th A.D. is Chuck DeVore – another nutter who is now running a losing campaign for the U.S. Senate. If anything, Amante might be even worse than DeVore!
You do have a choice – Dr. Steven Choi, a very successful Irvine Councilman who beat Larry Agran in 2008, is also running for the 70th A.D. Click here to find out more about his campaign.
If you are a Libertarian, you can vote for Libertarian Candidate Debbie Tharp.
And if you are a Democrat, I prefer Mike Glover, a former legislator in Kansas, over Krom ally Melissa Fox.
Whatever you do, please don’t vote for “Toll Road” Jerry!
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