Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor (February 27, 2004)

Independents can request a Democractic primary ballot

Editor:

Many voters (over 22 percent in our county) are registered non-partisan or "decline to state." Such voters may request a Democratic Party ballot for the March 2 election and vote in the Democratic primary for president as well as in the race for state Senate between our former Assembly member Elaine Alquist and Assembly member Manny Diaz from San Jose.

Since our gerrymandered district is overwhelmingly Democratic, the winner of the Democratic primary is virtually certain to succeed John Vasconcellos as our next state Senator.

According to the newspapers, Assembly member Manny Diaz failed repeatedly to vote on key legislation. He also failed to attend the debate scheduled for Mountain View. While I have not always agreed with Elaine Alquist, at least she has shown up and taken positions on the important issues facing the Legislature. Moreover, now that I have met her, she seems like a fine person.

Also on the ballot are two measures about which I have a definite opinion:

* Measure J deserves our support. Measure J seeks less money than last June's measure and is calibrated to more effectively and fairly collect the added tax. Most homeowners would pay no more than $75 a year and businesses, including apartment complex owners, must also contribute (up to a modest maximum of $600 a year). Moreover, unlike the situation last June, it is now clear that more money is truly needed to preserve basic programs.

* Santa Clara County's Measure A deserves a "no" vote. It would transfer from the Superior Court to the County Executive (subject to review by the Board of Supervisors) the authority to appoint the county's "chief adult and juvenile probation officer." The juvenile probation department operates the juvenile detention facilities, including Juvenile Hall. Whatever the problems at Juvenile Hall, I would sooner trust judges than politicians to fix them.

Gary Wesley
Continental Circle

A vote for Assembly candidate Alquist

Editor:

In the March 2 Democratic primary, I intend to vote for our former Assembly member, Elaine Alquist, for state Senator. I have met Elaine. She is a caring person and a strong advocate for our interests.

Valerie Harris
View Street

Passage of Measure J a victory for the littlest folks

Editor:

In the late 1970s California property owners staged a revolution. In what was then hailed as a victory for the little guy, Proposition 13 virtually overthrew big government by putting an end to the ever-increasing rise in property taxes that had accompanied California's real estate boom.

In the years following the passage of that victory for the little guy, our littlest guys, our schoolchildren, have suffered from California's tax revolution. Almost overnight, funding for the state's public schools plummeted, and in two short decades a public school system that once led the country in innovation, teacher training and per-pupil spending found itself at the very bottom of American schools.

I believe that what is fundamentally at work here in California is a decision to put personal wealth above collective well-being. We would like our schools, police and fire departments, recreation and other institutions of public benefit to be top-notch, but in the end, we would rather hold on to personal wealth than contribute more taxes to pay for these things.

Maybe we do not trust government agencies to spend our money wisely. More likely we just don't see the impact that underfunded services have on our own lives. We don't see that there is no difference between "mine" and "ours," that when we try to protect our personal wealth to the detriment of the greater good, we all end up poorer.

Take schools, for example. As I've walked my local precinct, asking my neighbors to support Measure J, the parcel tax ballot measure in support of local schools, a few have explained their opposition by saying that they don't have children in the local schools or that they just don't want to pay higher taxes. I urge these neighbors to think of Measure J as an essential investment in their property's value.

Any real estate agent knows that savvy buyers, whether they have children or not, will inquire about the schools in an area before purchasing a home. Good schools equal high property values.

Landlords, homeowners and city officials should support Measure J for the very reasons that compelled Californians to vote for Proposition 13 -- we like living in a wealthy community, we like having valuable property and we will fight to protect our wealth.

Amy Beare
President, Mountain View Educational Foundation
Ehrhorn Avenue
Too many taxes

Editor:

Recent letters to the Voice against citizens who do not support taxation are amazingly vitriolic. People who do not support new taxation are not "selfish," "woefully uninformed," or anti-education. They are against taxation if they believe it is unfair, or that the tax might hurt small and marginal businesses.

Although one can obtain budget information via the Internet, people rely on local newspapers, like the Voice, to provide impartial analyses of tax measures. It seems that some pro-tax individuals do not support freedom of speech, only freedom of their speech.

The problem is that residents pay taxes more than once, and these taxes hurt small businesses. First, residents must pay increased property taxes if they are homeowners (or, if tenants, the tax cost through rental increases). Second, they pay when they purchase goods or services from local businesses, which may pass on the cost of the tax through higher prices to the consumer.

Elizabeth Reus
San Pierre Way

Governor not doing his job

Editor:

I have been watching the election ads, and I have seen our new governor appearing quite regularly saying he needs our help. He seems to indicate he wants our help by passing his bonds which are going to take our money in the same way as taxes under a different name.

His ad says he wants money, saying the cost and spending is going up while the income is declining.

In his pre-election speeches, I again remind all, the governor was going to stop all this wasteful spending to decrease our cost of running the state.

I suggest he has not only been unable to find the waste, but wants to increase our cost of living with the passing of his bonds after giving away a sizeable amount of state money to the people, which was badly needed, from the collection of license fees.

This tactic is the application of the principle of "give away a little to gain a lot." It is the same principle which pays great returns in Reno and Las Vegas.

Dale Bonham
Sleeper Avenue

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