The Freedom Minute

Vote No on LA Measure B: Green Energy and Good Jobs for Los Angeles Program

This is another deceptively titled ballot measure designed to trick the voting public into voting for something they would never want if they knew the truth – a monopoly by a powerful union and guaranteed higher energy rates. So here’s the truth:

Measure B amends the Charter and Administrative Code to authorize creation of a DWP program to build 400 megawatts’ worth of solar photovoltaics on land and rooftops inside the city. But it also mandates that the “solar power installations shall be installed, owned, operated and maintained by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP)”. This gives the DWP a virtual monopoly on all solar power installations throughout the city and explains why the measure was created and pushed onto the ballot by the powerful union that represents DWP workers. They want to get through legislation what they can’t achieve in the open market – a monopoly. And we all know what happens when you have a monopoly – you block competition that could provide cheaper or better alternatives.

As explained on the VoteNoLA website, “Unlike giant power plants built to serve entire communities, solar power systems installed on rooftops lend themselves to private ownership and operation. Why not always get the best price for rate-payers by soliciting competitive bids? Wouldn’t that be better for rate-payers and the local economy? Of course it would. Competitive bidding and private ownership should be the rule, not the exception”. Private solar companies, with deep expertise honed in a competitive environment, could possibly provide the same solar service more cheaply than the DWP. But if Measure B passes, that won’t happen.

In addition, this measure isn’t even needed to achieve its purported goals. The LA Times stated in a recent editorial, “Los Angeles can do all of those things without Measure B. In fact, the DWP is already working on programs to generate about 900 megawatts of solar power, and it didn’t stop to ask voter permission. It should do the same with the 400 megawatts of in-basin rooftop energy”. Furthermore, the Times goes on to explain the political power grab that is also a part of this measure. “Something else is going on here. It’s a grab for power — the political kind, not the solar stuff — by the City Council and the union that represents DWP workers. Measure B, if passed, would transfer oversight of in-basin solar power from a five-member commission, with at least a modicum of political independence, to the City Council. But because the measure would allow the council to change or suspend everything that’s in it, the council’s new authority would not be accompanied by new accountability. On the contrary, this measure would give the council sweeping political cover.”

Measure B, is another disingenuous campaign put forth by the Mayor and City Council to hoodwink the public. Don’t fall for their deceptions again. Solar power is a good idea; Measure B is a step in the wrong direction.

Vote NO on Measure B.

Times Article
VoteNoLA
Vote NO on Measure B website

February 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, Local Government | no comments

Vote No on LA Measure E: Economic Incentives For Business Development

Amends the City Charter to state that the City may provide economic incentives to attract new businesses to the City or to keep current businesses in the City. Incentives must result in clearly identifiable public benefits, must follow applicable law, and must be approved by the Mayor and Council.

While this measure sounds good on the surface, it simply memorializes in the City Charter what the Mayor and City Council have already been doing, giving away millions of dollars each year of your hard earned tax dollars to rich, politically connected developers in the form of subsidies, tax breaks and other special treatment. These developers then turn around and support the campaigns of the politicians that transferred your money to them, assuring that these politicians will continue in office year after year where they can do more political favors for those that helped put them there. It’s an unholy alliance and this ballot measure makes it worse.

Economic studies show that “incentive” programs do not work: they do not create wealth; they just redistribute money from taxpayers to people with political connections. The best way to improve our business climate it to cut taxes and fees and reform the process that makes business owners and entrepreneurs wade through an unnecessary bureaucracy and mountains of paperwork in order to start and run their businesses.

There’s a lot of smart things we can do to improve business development in Los Angeles, but Measure E is not one of them.

Recommendation: Vote NO

February 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, Local Government | no comments

Vote No on LA Measure A: Fire Department Independent Assessor

Amends the City Charter to create the post of Fire Department Independent Assessor.

The Measure would:
(1) Establish the position of independent Assessor, exempt from Civil Service, who reports to the Fire Commission;
(2) Provide the Independent Assessor the responsibility for auditing, assessing and reviewing the activities of the Fire Department, including handling of complaints of misconduct against firefighters and civilian employees, under rules established by the Fire Commission; and
(3) Authorize the Fire Commission to appoint and remove the Independent Assessor.

Recommendation: Vote NO

Proponents of this measure claim that in order to protect firefighters from harassment at work while protecting taxpayers from frivolous lawsuits we need an Independent Assessor. But we are already footing a multi-million dollar annual bill for an army of deputy mayors, mayoral aides, attorneys, risk management teams, etc. whose job it is to prevent harassment and defend against frivolous lawsuits. We need better management at the top, not more layers of management below. The answer to any real or imagined problems within the fire department is to hold accountable those who are already charged with managing the department correctly.

The Mayor, Fire Chief and the Board of Fire Commissioners are responsible for conditions at the Fire Department. The Mayor has a staff of 93 people. The Fire Department has a Professional Standards Division to handle complaints. The City’s Personnel Department, moreover, has an Equal Employment Opportunity Section that “monitors compliance by City departments with City, State and Federal EEO laws and regulations.” The City Administrative Officer has a Risk Management Team. So does the City Attorney. As for lawsuits, the City Attorney has a budgeted staff of 791 people, including over 300 attorneys. City Hall, moreover, spent $28.9 million last year on outside counsel. Under the Charter, the Mayor and the City Council make “the client decisions in litigation,” including whether to take a case all the way to trial, or whether instead to settle and, if so, on what terms.

If all of those people cannot protect firefighters and taxpayers, what difference would an “Independent Assessor” make? None. We do not need to add yet another layer of bureaucracy. We just need better people running City Hall.

February 28th, 2009 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, Local Government | no comments

California State and Local Ballot Initiative Recommendations

This is a summary. Please see the full discussion of each measure elsewhere on this site.

To download a pdf of this post Right Click here and choose “Save Link As” or “Save Target As”

STATE BALLOT MEASURES

PROP 1A – Vote NO
It is irresponsible to incur additional debt at this time.

PROP 2 – Vote NO
It’s unclear that these animals are being mistreated. Could harm the economy and drive farmers out of business. Will raise food prices.

PROP 3 – Vote NO
It is irresponsible to incur additional debt at this time.

PROP 4 – Vote NO
The motives of the proponents of this proposition are suspect and if passed, Prop 4 could harm more girls than it helps. Furthermore, there is no indication that any of the problems this proposal is meant to address, actually exist.

PROP 5 – Vote YES
Saves billions of taxpayer dollars and frees up much needed prison space for real criminals. Provides treatment instead of incarceration.

PROP 6 – Vote NO
Simply mandating a 60% increase in funding to local law enforcement and then mandating an additional annual increase is not necessarily going to make anyone safer. Would raise taxes or require cuts for other items in the budget such as schools, healthcare, and other vital programs.

PROP 7 – Vote NO
Would raise utility rates. Unfairly sets arbitrary goals for the use of renewable energy and then prohibits smaller renewable energy providers from contributing towards that goal.

PROP 8 – Vote NO
Requires the state to treat one class of citizens differently than another class of citizens. Unfair and mean-spirited.

PROP 9 – Vote NO
Duplicates many laws currently on the books and is therefore unnecessary to a large degree. Contains a number of troubling provisions which are either unconstitutional or simply wrong-headed.

PROP 10 – Vote NO
Most of the funding goes to encourage a shift from oil based energy to natural gas not to renewable energy sources. Would likely raise the cost of energy while enriching Texas billionaire T. Boone Pickens.

PROP 11 – Vote YES
Anything is better than the current system in which incumbent legislators create districts where they are virtually guaranteed reelection.

PROP 12 – Vote YES
Helps veterans to purchase a home. Program has been running since 1922 and has yet to incur a cost to taxpayers.

LOS ANGELES CITY AND COUNTY MEASURES

Prop A – Vote NO
Unnecessary. Raises property taxes.

Prop B – Vote NO
Overturns previous ballot initiatives passed by voters in 1973, 1977 and 1980. Intentionally confusing and misleading.

Prop J – Vote NO
At this time of budget crisis, it is irresponsible to take on additional debt or raise taxes.

Prop R – Vote NO
Increases the sales tax. Would drive away consumers and businesses. Transportation priorities not well thought out.

Prop Q – Vote NO
It is irresponsible to take on additional debt or raise taxes.

Prop U – Vote NO
If the measure is defeated and you live in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles, you will no longer have to pay this 5% tax on your phone service.

October 29th, 2008 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, Local Government, State Government | no comments

LOS ANGELES CITY AND COUNTY MEASURES

Unlike the state ballot measures, I’m not going to take the time to explain every little nuance of each proposition. I’ll give a basic explanation and then my short recommendation

Prop A – Vote NO

CITY OF LOS ANGELES SPECIAL GANG AND YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION, AFTER-SCHOOL AND JOB TRAINING PROGRAMS TAX.

Permits the City of Los Angeles to levy an annual $36 gang prevention tax on each real property parcel.

Vote NO. Another tax for “safety”. The city has already raised the garbage collection fee with the promise to hire more police officers, but then used those funds for administrative and equipment costs. Also, during the last election, the city ran a deceptive campaign to trick voters into approving Prop S which allowed the city to continue to collect the illegal city utility users tax. That campaign focused on “safety” as well. Where is all that money going? It’s time the city started using the funds it has more efficiently. And if you think this tax won’t affect you if you don’t own property, remember that landlords will just pass the tax along in the form of higher rents. Vote no.

Prop B – Vote NO

UPDATE OF LOW RENT HOUSING AUTHORIZATION.

This proposition repeals propositions approved by voters in 1973, 1977 and 1980 that placed limits on the density and height of low income housing units built in the City of Los Angeles. These restrictions also impede the City’s ability to get certain funding from the state.

A “Yes” vote allows the City to build low income housing in excess of the restrictions on density and height put in place in previous years.

A “No” vote maintains the status quo.

Vote NO. This ballot initiative overturns previous ballot initiatives passed by voters in 1973, 1977 and 1980. If it is necessary to update the provisions of those measures, the City should educate the voters with the facts and put forward a clear and concise initiative rather than create a ballot measure which is intentionally confusing and misleading. When in doubt, vote no.

Prop J – Vote NO

LOCAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE CLASSROOM REPAIR, PUBLIC SAFETY, NURSING AND JOB TRAINING MEASURE.

Permits Los Angeles Community College District to issue $3.5 billion in bonds which will need to be repaid with interest.

Vote NO. The bond would be repaid by an additional property tax levied on real property within the district. At this time of budget crisis, it is irresponsible to take on additional debt or raise taxes.

Prop R – Vote NO

TRAFFIC RELIEF. RAIL EXTENSIONS. REDUCE FOREIGN OIL DEPENDENCE.

Raises Los Angeles County’s sales tax one-half cent for 30 years. Most of the funds would go towards initial funding of the MTA’s “subway to the sea” project.

Vote NO. The last thing we need right now is an increase in taxes, especially an increase in the sales tax which hits the lowest income citizens the hardest. Also, raising the sales tax could decrease revenue overall as buyers look to alternative sources for goods and services outside the county or on the internet. This plan drives away consumers and businesses and would mean that Los Angeles County would have the highest sales tax rate in the State. Vote no.

Prop Q – Vote NO

SAFE, HEALTHY NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOLS MEASURE.

Permits the LAUSD to issue $7 billion in bonds which will need to be repaid with interest.

Vote NO. Four previous LAUSD bonds have been passed since 1997. These were mainly targeted to relieve overcrowding and the district now has enough money to do that by 2012. This new bond measure which is substantially larger than the others, would raise an additional $7 billion, much of it for vague and unspecified uses. The bond would be repaid by an additional property tax levied on real property within the district. As I’ve said previously, at this time of budget crisis, it is irresponsible to take on additional debt or raise taxes.

Prop U – Vote NO

THE UNINCORPORATED LOS ANGELES COUNTY UTILITY USERS’ TAX CONTINUATION MEASURE.

Permits Los Angeles County to continue to levy the utility users’ tax on citizens living in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles but reduces that tax from 5 percent to 4.5 percent.

A “NO” vote means that the utility users’ tax on phone service will be discontinued in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles.

A “Yes” vote means that you wish to allow the County to continue to levy the tax and expand it to include a tax on other utility usage not now taxed such as certain internet services.

Vote NO. The deceptive campaign that tricked voters in the City of Los Angeles into approving Prop S during the last election worked so well that now the County is trying the same tactics. Don’t be fooled. If you vote no, you will no longer have to pay this 5% tax on your phone service. If you vote yes, the tax you now pay will be reduced to 4.5% but will likely expand to include a tax on utility services not now taxed. If you live in an unincorporated area of Los Angeles and this measure appears on your ballot, Vote No.

October 28th, 2008 Posted by freedomminute | Ballot Initiatives, Election, Local Government | no comments