| CALL TO ACTION – Just One Vote Needed to Stop Eminent Domain Abuse!
Republicans Defend Funding for Agencies that Abuse Eminent Domain
Democrats in the State Assembly began whacking away at the State’s $26 billion dollar budget deficit last night, but could have cut an additional $1.7 billion in funding for redevelopment agencies had it not been for Republican Legislators in the State Assembly!
Only one Republican voted to abolish redevelopment agencies! This is no typo!!!
The Party that once roundly criticized redevelopment agencies for exercising their awesome power of eminent domain to forcibly seize homes, small businesses and places of worship from unwilling sellers no longer stands for private property rights – or so it appears after last night’s display!
The Party who once condemns President Obama’s bailout of Wall Street and General Motors as corporate welfare, now supports redevelopment agencies who use taxpayer dollars to subsidize development projects and sports arenas. They did so even though the State Controller just released an audit of redevelopment agencies, exposing excessive abuse and misuse of taxpayer dollars! What happened to a Party devoted to “good government?”
Given all this, will California Republicans remove the protection of private property rights from their Party platform at this weekend’s Republican Convention?
Republicans will vote on abolishing redevelopment agencies as early as today – and only one more Republican vote in the State Assembly is needed.
So, have your voice heard and call an Assembly Republican today by clicking here. This may be your last chance to restore private property rights in California!
Read article on how GOP Leader defends redevelopment agencies by clicking here.
www.CalPropertyRights.com |
DO NOT STOP ANYTHING!!!
It is to early!
Folks, It must get much worse before it can get any better.
Stan. Well articulated as always. Not!
Stanislav is articulating the revolutionary philosophy of Vladimir Ilyanovitch Lenin – at the same time calling US commies – gotta be from the Alinsky playbook.
Vern. The MV city manager get’s very upset with my writing and references my using Saul Alinsky Rules for Radicals whenever he lacks a response to facts. Any topic from the actual profit sharing agreement on the Kaleidoscope RDA project or alleged illegal dumping at Curtis Park when he eventually admitted that the dumping was authorized by the city [and was only stopped when I discovered $200,000 being spent for a stealth project.]
Let’s look at high-speed rail:
#8. Keep the pressure on, with different tactics and actions, and utilize all events of the period for your purpose.
The problem is that neither one of you, Nelson/Gilbert, have a clear outlook on the international and historical events and are just copying and pasting and getting angry about things which you are really ignorant about.
So when I, the HIQ individual, am presenting to you the facts it gets lost in your gray Goulash and underdeveloped wisdom.
FYI Nelson, my call to do nothing (DO NOT STOP ANYTHING!!!) can’t be interpreted as the revolutionary action. In contrast it is call for natural forces of free market to resolve the imbroglio created by stupid socialists.
Remember: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GcZ8Gz0rDtw&feature=related
All these Republican legislators talk ad nauseum about eliminating waste and fraud and zero-based budgeting.
And they can’t vote to eliminate redevelopment.
Wow.
Mayor Quimby.
Do you expect all Republicans to walk the talk?
For me this is a test to determine whose for real in my party. Lip service on this issue will not cut it for me.
Wait a minute, I thought that these politicians on the right were all about stopping: “waste, fraud and abuse”. There could be no better case for this than the CRA’s.
But, wait a minute, Millionare developer = campaign cash. Now I think I get it.
Regarding the overall budget issue, I read elsewhere this afternoon that there are a number of GOP activists who went to Comunity Colleges and universities in California. So it was good enough for the Cunninghams and Flieshmans, but not for anyone else. Becoming clearer.
dkmfan.
Your opening comments are quite revealing. I would surely agree that much of their efforts are based on bogus declarations of blight.
As I tried to catch the budget debate on the state TV channel today I saw my old friend Huell Howser at Palm Desert showing off their redevelopment activity. Yup, like Indian Wells a city with an average income of perhaps $200,000 eliminating blight by building a golf course for those who are truly down and out. Let me remind readers that the CA Redevelopment Agency paid Huell a few hundred thousand dollars to do this series.
It’s not redevelopment. It’s development of vacant land. Those are not the same.
In his Jan 28, 1999 Editorial former Register writer Steve Greenhut focused on City Hall Handouts that included a reference to Mission Viejo in which our former city manager Dan Joseph is quoted stating: “fault the law, don’t fault cities “ for taking advantage of it.
Redevelopment laws certainly deserve more scrutiny. But reform is likely to come only after more Californians hold accountable those officials who create a pro-business climate by offering bald-faced corporate welfare and not just minimal taxes and regulations.”
*Dr. Larry, we can’t wait to see how many of these wonderful Republicrats you will be endorsing in the next election cycle. These are all fine upstanding “sold out” worthless Representatives of the people…………..Are these people going to be refusing to take their pay, pensions or healthcare benefits ….until they balance the CA Budget?
rw
Well okay, Larry, who are we going to work on? These are your people. Did you talk to Wagner’s or Harkey’s people today, or anyone else? What are their stories? Should Juice readers be swamping anyone’s office with calls? Give us some guidance here!
“Give us some guidance here!”…….. Hmmmm
I guess Paul was just singing into the wind.
Vern. Over the past 48 hours I made several calls to Senators and Assembly Members who supported our prior efforts with Prop 90 and Prop 98.
There are letters being sent out from the Institute for Justice in Washington DC as well as the CAPPPR in Sacramento asking for support of this effort by the governor that is long overdue.
While the end result wasn’t perfect I had more support from SD Dem. Senator Kehoe in 2006 on redevelopment reform than I see from my GOP FRIENDS in 2011.
Here is what I told numerous candidates from city council races to congress that we supported over the years. While you surely do not have to agree with us on every issue there are some core values that must be upheld. Tom McClintock was a beacon in the area of redevelopment reform and abolition and never wavered. Sadly, as of this morning, I do not see that same committment from the SAC GOP.
Walk the talk regardless of backlash if you want our support in the future.
I noticed a comment from Chuck DeVore in which he said he would have given us the needed vote. While it’s easy to make that statement when you no longer have that power I believe Chuck was being truthful. In addition to helping us with Prop 90 he authored legistation that sadly did not get support from the other side of the aisle.
Vern. We ned to shift the focus of this debate and ask yourself the question. Why is the Democratic party in SAC so willing to give up redevelopment agencies today?
For the most part these Assembly Members came up through the ranks as members of city councils who have active RDAs. What are they getting in exchange for their votes?Either the govenor is a better negotiator than we thought or there is some back room slight of hand in the works such as a new bill that enables cities to shift RDA funds into an alternative slush fund with similar tax increment powers
“What are they getting in exchange for their votes?”…….. Hmmmm
I am impressed Gilbert!…. at least you can ask the question.
However, I am disappointed that you do not know the answer in spite of my prior explanation.
Even those of us who are not Republicans appreciate the checks and balances afforded to all Californians when there is a natural check balance of competitive political parties. Single party rule does not lend itself to a real democracy.
In light of that, two expressions come to mind: 1. Politics makes strange bedfellows and 2. A broken clock is right at least once (or twice) a day.
Both my friend and I argued about who [running for Governor] would have the best chance of reforming (we didn’t even dream of abolishing) Redevelopment agencies – He argued quite persuasively that Meg Whitman would be the one. I quickly emailed him Larry Gilbert’s article about Meg Whitman and Eminent Domain.
So in the end, I won that debate, with Governor Brown’s game changing proposition to ABOLISH Redevelopment.
But sadly my friend and I may both be losers because we don’t care who makes the vote, we just want to end the nightmare of Redevelopment.
I ask my Republican friends:
What happened to the party who stands for Free Markets and open competition?
What happened to those who want less government and no more taxpayer subsidies?
What happened to the party who claims to believe in property rights but supports Kelo-type eminent domain?
If California Republicans can’t support those basic ideals, they head back home and allow another party to compete for the best interests of the people instead of the Special interests who are destroying small businesses, hard working blue collar and middle class taxpayers.
Welcome Bob.
Insider baseball. Bob was a victim of a pending eminent domain action in Hollywood. He was one of the ballot signers of Prop 98 (or 90) to protect others from what he had to endure in LA. Even though we collectively defeated CRA/LA the price tag was very heavy. Not everyone you meet will stand tall as Bob did throughout the David vs. Goliath days of summer a few years ago.
While we represent different political parties we are united in our desire to wipe out the abusive redevelopment agencies across this state.
By failing to take the rare opportunity to vote on ending Redevelopment –
Californian Republicans have now taken the position of Tax, Spend, Increase the Deficit, and supporting Eminent Domain for Private Projects (Kelo v New London).
By failing to abolish Redevelopment Agencies, California Republicans have, in one fell swoop:
* Showed themselves as Anti-Free Market: Redevelopment agencies decide new developments and subsidize wealthy real estate speculators and acting as another form of taxpayer handouts for the rich under a Government-run Construction company for Billionaires
* Supporting Eminent Domain for Private Gain (Kelo v. New London)
* Threatening the Future of Proposition 13
* Supporting Massive Redevelopment Debt – Property Tax dollars are leveraged against issuing more debt without voter approval – $94 Billion in 2009
The city of Brea, notorious abusers of redevelopment funds recently spent nearly $10,000. having “information brochures” designed and printed. This was all done in an effort to defend and apply pressure into keeping redevelopment $$ close to home.
Check it out: http://www.cityofbrea.net/images/default/citydocs/edev/REDEV%20insert.pdf
Funny they don’t mention the widespread complaint that you can’t see the field ffrom the bleachers at the $30 Million Sports Park.
What a joke, more money lining developer pockets.