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Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Taxpayers Are From Mars, Unions Are From Venus

While San Diego has some unique attributes – most notably our near-perfect weather – it’s no different than many other cities in at least one notable respect; when times were good, city politicians acquiesced to public employee labor unions’ insatiable appetite for higher salaries and ever more generous benefits for its members.

It was a pretty good deal for everyone involved – until the music stopped and revenues fell through the floor. Faced with having to confront the very labor bosses who helped get them elected in the first place, our politicians chose to intentionally underfund those generous benefits and “pass the buck” for the next set of politicians to deal with.

Local labor union bosses saw the changing of the guard coming, and invested heavily in recent elections to make sure that the next crop of politicians would be the right kind. You know the kind that would know to return the favor when push came to shove. And with the Obama wave of 2008, the unions ran the table in local elections. [article]

So as our city struggled with its budget deficit in recent years, it made all the “easy” cuts first, followed by some minor salary and pension reforms for new hires. It never dealt with the 800 pound gorilla in this equation; the overly generous lifetime pension and health care benefits that existing city employees continued to enjoy.

Over the years the city had also taken it upon itself to provide all kinds of services in-house; everything from a print shop to vehicle maintenance and dozens of other non-core services, all of which – conveniently – added to the ranks of local union members. While the rest of America had learned the benefits of outsourcing, that fell on deaf ears here.

So in 2006 mayor Jerry Sanders and councilmembers Kevin Faulconer and Carl DeMaio banded together, along with taxpayer groups and businesses, to advance a ballot measure to allow private firms to bid on city functions outside of police and fire. Voters passed it overwhelmingly (60%), despite a campaign by the unions to defeat it. [article]

Four years later, NOT ONE city function has been put out to bid as labor unions and their allies on the city council blocked implementation of the measure. In frustration, this summer councilman DeMaio advanced another initiative, this time saying the city “must” (vs. “may”) allow competitive bidding. Unfortunately, it failed to qualify for the ballot.

With the unions refusing to address pensions, health care and competitive bidding for non-core services, recent budgets have been balanced on the back of the basic core services that any self-respecting city should rightfully provide its residents; roads, neighborhood services, police and fire protection. Talk about misplaced priorities.

Which brings us to this week…

Faced with a $75 million deficit, city council president Ben Hueso is pushing a 0.5% sales tax increase to go on the November ballot which, if approved, would generate about $100 million of additional revenue to “restore basic services”. A false choice if there ever was one: “give us more money, or you will lose more police and fire protection.”

Of course, until the city gets its costs under control and deals with its massive pension and health care obligations, any additional revenue will only postpone the day of reckoning for a few more years. Desperate for the revenue, labor unions are suddenly promising to work on all those reforms; but are asking taxpayers to fork over the money first.

Republican councilmembers Kevin Faulconer [article] and Carl DeMaio [article] have laid out specific ideas to address our situation – without raising taxes – and have helped pull together a coalition of taxpayer and business groups which will defeat any sales tax increase on the November ballot under the refrain “Reform Before Revenue”.

To me, what is becoming evident is that the political battle going forward is not so much the usual “Republicans versus Democrats”, but rather it’s “Taxpayers versus Public Employee Labor Unions”. Something is wrong with a system where all of us work hard to support an ever growing public sector which is insulated from any competition.

Don’t get me wrong. Political parties will remain, but the key question is: “Which party will represent the hard working taxpayers that make this country great, and which party will represent the ultimate special interest: labor unions?”

Rest assured that the Republican Party of San Diego County will vigorously oppose any attempt to raise the sales tax in San Diego. If such a “Pension Tax” should make it on the November ballot, we will embark on an unprecedented campaign to defeat it.

There will be no doubt which political party is looking out for taxpayers in San Diego County.

I suspect there will also be no doubt which political party is looking out for the labor unions, at the expense of the very constituencies they claim to represent. Of course, I could be wrong.

But I doubt it.

Thursday, May 6, 2010

MOMENTUM!

Momentum! That's one way to put it!

For the first time in recent history, our annual spring fundraiser, the Lincoln-Reagan Dinner has SOLD OUT!

This is an incredible accomplishment, and a testament to our teamwork and forward momentum as Republicans.

I'd like to extend a big thanks to our generous sponsors and to those who purchased individual tickets.

Thanks to their leadership, our local party will have the resources necessary to advance our Republican ideas of smaller government, lower taxes, and fiscal responsibility - right here in San Diego County!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Republican Victory Campaign For June Kicks Off

This past weekend marked the official start of the Republican Party of San Diego County's Victory Campaign, in support of its endorsed candidates and ballot measures.

The first salvo was a piece to Republicans in Chula Vista, in support of mayor Cheryl Cox. There is a lot more going on behind the scenes, but obviously we won't reveal that.

Suffice it to say we're on OFFENSE, standing up for taxpayers against the tax raisers and corrupt labor union bosses who have been gorging on our tax dollars for too long.

To view the OFFICIAL Republican Voter Guide for San Diego County, visit www.SanDiegoRepublicans.org/VoterGuide.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

OFFICIAL Republican Party Voter Guide

OFFICIAL Republican Voter Guide - San Diego County, 2010 Primary Election

CANDIDATES

SAN DIEGO COUNTY
Supervisor District 4: Ron Roberts
Supervisor District 5: Bill Horn
District Attorney: Bonnie Dumanis
Treasurer-Tax Collector: Dan McAllister
Assessor-Recorder: Jeff Olson

CITY OF SAN DIEGO
City Council District 2: Kevin Faulconer
City Council District 6: Lorie Zapf
City Council District 8: Adrian Vazquez

CITY OF CHULA VISTA
Mayor: Cheryl Cox
City Attorney: Glen Googins
City Council: Larry Breitfelder

CITY OF OCEANSIDE
City Council: Lloyd Prosser

SAN DIEGO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT
District C: Scott Barnett

SAN DIEGO SUPERIOR COURT JUDGES
Office No. 14: Craig A. Candelore
Office No. 20: Jim Miller, Jr.
Office No. 21: Bill Trask
Office No. 27: Harold Coleman, Jr.
Office No. 34: Larry "Jake" Kincaid

LOCAL PROPOSITIONS
San Diego County: Proposition B - VOTE NO
City of San Diego: Proposition D - VOTE YES
City of Chula Vista: Proposition G - VOTE YES
City of Del Mar: Proposition J - VOTE NO
City of Oceanside: Proposition K - VOTE YES
City of Solana Beach: Proposition L - VOTE NO

STATEWIDE PROPOSITIONS
Proposition 13 - VOTE YES
Proposition 14 - VOTE NO
Proposition 15 - VOTE NO
Proposition 16 - VOTE YES
Proposition 17 - VOTE YES

VIEW MORE INFORMATION AND A PRINTABLE VERSION OF THIS VOTER GUIDE

IMPORTANT INFORMATION
This is the ONLY OFFICIAL Republican Party Voter Guide; authorized, vetted, and compiled by your ELECTED local Republican Party central committee members. You will no doubt receive mail from many organizations claiming to represent the Republican position, or otherwise try to trick you into following their recommendations. Do not be fooled! This is the ONLY OFFICIAL Republican Party Voter Guide.

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Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Calendar for TAX [R]EVOLT Week in San Diego!

Last night, with more than 50 new addendees at our monthly meeting, we officially kicked off TAX [R]EVOLT week here in San Diego County!

Friends, we are (finally) witnessing a nationwide, grass roots movement of Americans of all stripes demanding a return to the core principles upon which our great country was founded: fiscal responsibility, limited government, and a strong national defense.

Politicians who fail to recognize this, do so at their own peril, whether they are Republicans or Democrats. This is not - and should not - be a partisan issue, but an American issue. Indeed, a [R]EVOLUTION is brewing, and the People are taking their country back!

View the calendar of events for TAX [R]EVOLT week in San Diego to find a tax protest / rally near where you live.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Statement Concerning Measure to Repeal Proposition 8 Failing to Qualify for the November Ballot

Local Republican Party Chairman Tony Krvaric today issued the following statement regarding the measure to repeal Proposition 8 failing to qualify for the November ballot:

"Once again, efforts to change the traditional scope of marriage in California have fallen short, and the inability of opponents to qualify a measure on the November ballot shows that the popular mandate that passed Proposition 8 is still strong, and likely getting stronger.

"The Republican Party of San Diego County affirms its support for traditional marriage and urges everyone who has worked tirelessly to protect Proposition 8 to remember that the culture war is not over and that we will continue to fight for the sanctity of marriage."

Monday, March 29, 2010

San Diego Patriots in Searchlight, Nevada

This past weekend, several local patriots made their way to Searchlight, Nevada to show Senate Leader Harry Reid just what we think of his "leadership".

Local patriot activists Phil and Donna Scott's report:
  • As was expected, the enthusiasm was thick enough to cut with a knife!
  • Impossible to accurately estimate the number of people, but we GUESS it was somewhere between 20-40,000.
  • We didn't notice any violence and only about 15-20 Reid supporters posted little signs in downtown Searchlight.
  • Noticed licenses from MANY states other than Nevada. Arizona, California, Oregon, Washington, New Mexico and many, many campers. Drivers came from all directions to this dusty, windy desert to voice their concerns.
  • Sarah Palin support was loud and strong.
  • Besides heavy local news coverage, we noticed FOX and CBS media in attendance.
  • The Kusters and Phil were interviewed by local radio and reporters.
  • Helicopters and small planes were visible all day long.
  • The signs and cartoons were priceless and so creative.

"Since Phil and I attended our first "party" last April 15th at our neighborhood post office, we have watched this grassroots movement grow into a living, moving body of American Patriots. We were so proud to be part of our nation's history today."

Local activist Sylvia Sullivan also shared her impressions, which you can check out on her own blog.

I think it's safe to say that the [R]EVOLUTION is brewing. They ain't seen nothing yet. Next set of protests will take place the week of 4/12. Stay tuned.

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