Stupid Sales Tax Desperation? Five Mailers in Two Weeks

In the last two weeks, I have received five mailers with different endorsements and scare tactics telling me that I MUST, MUST, MUST support Measure SST, which will raise the city sales tax by half a percent.

If I do not support the sales tax hike, every core and essential service will shut down!

If I do not tax myself more on every purchase I make in the city, then the whole city will go bankrupt!

If I do not add to the inflation already crippling household budgets and forcing people to cut back on essentials, then life as we know it will end and the world will self-combust in a ball of fire!

Blah, blah, blah.

Councilman George Chen rightly denounced these scare tactics.

It's really insulting that the city staff and the city council majority forced the residents to even consider a tax hike, when so many of us are hurting because of the high costs of gas, groceries, and other goods and services.

How tone deaf, how out of touch can people be?

So, let's take a look at the five mailers which have flooded mailboxes throughout the city begging every voter to cough up more of their dwindling financial resources to the city:

Here's the first one I received:

"Every second counts!"

Yes, indeed, every second counts when it comes to emergency care. No one would dispute that. The argument, however, that we must raise the sales tax to ensure that the fire department and the ambulance services remain running is disingenuous at best.

Last month, I had a health emergency and called the fire department. They arrived on scene within two minutes. In fact, there are six fire stations in the city, and they are currently adequately staffed.

Also, there is already a $23 million reserve in the general fund (not $500k, as the Daily Breeze had earlier reported), and that fund is going to increase to $32 million by June, 2022.

We do not need the sales tax increase. No, we do not have to worry about health emergencies going unanswered if the sales tax increase does not pass.

Now, here's two more flyers pressing for the sales tax increase:

The SST committee is relying on LA County Supervisor Janice Hahn to make the pitch for this stupid sales tax? Really?

Who thought that this was a good idea?

Most people have no idea who their supervisor is, representing them in Downtown LA.

Second of all, so what if some other elected official outside of the city wants a sales tax increase? 

This kind of advertisement is a bigger turn-off than a turn-on to support this tax move.

Let's cut through the crap here: Supervisor Hahn simply wanted to put her face on a mailer so that she could promote herself, and she wants to keep in good graces with the public sector unions in the city. She is a union whore, after all, giving the public sector union lobbies everything they want and then some, no matter how much it costs the taxpayers, and no matter whether the citizens get their money's worth for all the spending.

These two flyers were just an insulting waste of time, to put it mildly. Pure political opportunism and sex promotion, nothing more.

Here are two more flyers. The first one tries to appeal to everyone's sense of Torrance as a nice, home-town place where everyone belongs and everyone shares the long-standing history of the city:

Hey, it's a great map! It's a nice, glossy mailer that gets the reader's attention.

But guess what? I still don't want to pay more in sales tax!

Here's another flyer:

Yes, there is that headline "Every penny stays right here to keep in Torrance."

Actually, such a blunt, obvious headline does not inspire confidence. I guess a focus group or another poll indicated that people are more worried now than before about how the money will actually be spent, and whether it will actually stay in the city of Torrance.

The SST committee is not being completely honest here. There is no certainty that the money will be used for police, fire, or paramedics. There are no specific strings attached to the monies to ensure that they go to essential services. In fact, much of the money will likely go to pensions and benefits for retired workers, which means that the money will NOT stay in the city at all!

But regarding the fact that the money will not be earmarked to specific costs, the city will indeed have the full discretion to spend the new tax revenues on anything they want in the city. That does not inspire confidence to support this measure, even if all the money stays in the city.

When the city council was debating this matter, Councilman Mattucci offered to consider this tax measure if the ballot initiative made it absolutely clear that the monies would only be spent on police or fire. For that kind of initiative to pass, however, would have required a two-thirds vote of the residents.

There is no way that two-thirds of the city would support a tax increase, even if the money would be directly tied to specific essential services in the city only.

In fact, when the city council and staff were investigating how to raise revenue via a sales tax increase, they had initially consider a .075 percent sales tax! After polling on that issue, however, they realized that it would not pass. When they considered a .5 percent sales tax, their polling sample resulted in a bare 52% supporting the tax increase. Of course, all of that was before the price of gas doubled and budget-crippling inflation had set in!

This Stupid Sales Tax Committee has tried so many arguments to make their case. They have threatened residents that core services will suffer if they do not vote to tax themselves more. They have asked Supervisor Hahn to endorse the proposal, and they sent two tacky flyers promoting the self-promoting county politician to everyone in the city.

And now they are trying to assure everyone that the money will stay in the city.

Last of all, they have listed a whole bunch of politicians and city staff, retired and current, who endorse this proposal.

Check out the latest flyer that I received, with a whole bunch of  endorsements!

                                                  

I really have to question this kind of logic.

So what if a bunch of former and current city councilmembers, administrative staff, fire chiefs, police chiefs, etc. endorse a sales tax hike? It's not their money.

It's our money they are asking for more of!

And, the current city councilmembers who endorse this SST measure are the same people who approved spending down the general fund reserves over the last SEVEN YEARS! They were fiscally irresponsible. Why should we pick up the tab on their lack of restraint?

But what really caught my attention with this latest flyer is that they repeat names on the list! Did anyone bother to edit this flyer?

Look at these close-up shots of the listed endorsements:

"Street Racing Kills" is listed twice. What does the fight to curb street racing (which is a dangerous practice, to be sure) have to do with raising the sales tax? And why list it twice? Granted, the second list includes the director for the movement, but shouldn't the organization's endorsement alone suffice?

Oh, and the flyer lists Jimmy Gow, the abused President of the Torrance Democratic Club, as an endorser. This is the shameless, self-promotional politics that we got with the two previous flyers propping up Supervisor Hahn. Give me a break!

Oh, and Jimmy Gow is listed twice, too:

So, because a partisan activist who trespassed on a veterans hall, and went with minions who spit at veterans and stole their property -- he is listed twice on a flyer to endorse a sales tax increase?

What was the SST Committee thinking?!

This is desperation, nothing more.

Torrance voters need to reject this Stupid Sales Tax. One flyer after another indicates clear desperation. Frankly, the committee pushing this measure should be ashamed of themselves, considering all the economic challenges that Torrance residents are facing as it is.

The United States is facing a recession. The S and P Index just touched into Bear Market territory this past week.

The price of gas has skyrocketed, and it's only going higher. The price of groceries is going up by 20%, 30%, 40%. Business is slowing for many small business owners, too.

And with this perfect storm of econmic troubles, the city council and staff want to push a sales tax increase? And this increase is not even necessary, and it will only discourage commerce in the city.

Say NO to the Stupid Sales Tax increase.

                         

The Daily Breeze Comments on Election 2022 Torrance Mayor's Race

The Daily Breeze has finally weighed in on the Torrance City Council elections, specifically the Mayor's race.

Election 2022: Torrance to choose a new mayor for the first time in nearly a decade

This title is sitcom flat, and in a sense it's incorrect. Torrance voters can choose a new mayor every four years if they choose to. What happened in 2018, though, is that two challengers split the vote (again), and Creepy Pat Furey got re-elected.

Perhaps it's time for Torrance voters to invest in a run-off process for city council districts and mayor's races.

George Chen and Cliff Numark, both with city council experience, have slightly different approaches for handling budgets, public safety and homelessness.

One correction needed: Cliff Numark quit when he was on the city council because he wanted to climb up to a higher office. George Chen has been elected twice in the last four years, and if he gets elected mayor, that will be his third election win in four years.

Councilman Chen did not abandon his council seat to seek another office.

For the first time in nearly a decade, Torrance voters will choose a new mayor.

Mayor Pat Furey, who has held the top job since 2014, has termed out as leader of this city of 147,000.

Thank God!

But the two candidates vying to succeed Furey during the June 7 statewide primary are not political newcomers: current District 2 Councilman George Chen and Cliff Numark, who served on the council from 2008 to 2013, before Torrance was divided into districts.

Councilman Chen was elected to the city council when the seats were elected at large in 2018, and then he was elected to a city council district in 2020. He has won in both forms of terrain. In fact, he was the #2 vote-getter in 2018, even though he was a complete political newcomer at that point.

Numark received $47,000 in contributions during the last reporting period, which ended April 23, according to the most-recent campaign finance documents, and had $102,000 in cash on hand.

Chen, meanwhile, raised $25,000 during the same period and had $79,000 in cash on hand.

The next elected mayor faces myriad challenges, including a projected budget deficit of more than 12.5 million; ongoing controversy over police officers accused of exchanging racist and homophobic text messages; the call for an independent police oversight commission; and the ongoing homeless crisis.

There is no deficit, there is no budgetary crisis, either. All of this is smoke and mirrors now, since the current city council has made a number of necessary cuts.

The city’s finances, public safety and homelesness were, in fact, the top-three issues facing Torrance, according to both candidates,

They differ, however, in their proposed solutions for each.

Financial solvency

The city’s retail and tourism industries faltered during the pandemic — including at its crown jewel, the Del Amo Fashion Center, and unemployment rose from 3.3% to 16.5%.

The city should have never locked down. The city should have rebuffed the county and rejected the mandates from Governor Newsom.

The city’s fiscal year 2021-22 General Fund Operating Budget was adopted with a structural deficit of $16.8 million. Torrance balanced the budget, as required by state law, with $12 million from the American Rescue Plan Act and about $4.8 million in planned salary savings from unfilled positions.

But city staff have anticipated a recurring structural deficit from $12.5 million to $14.1 million each fiscal year until 2030-31 year.

The city’s poor financial state — which current Torrance officials will try to correct by asking voters to approve a sales tax increase this election — is what motivated each to run for mayor, the candidates said.

Chen, a 30-year resident and a retired aerospace engineer, said the council should consider the “wants” versus the “needs” of the city.

Yes.

The wants — such as annual contributions to the Rose Parade Float ($127,000) and the Torrance Cultural Arts Association ($74,400) — should be examined and possibly cut, he said.

The city could also consider a reorganization, Chen said, reducing the number of mid-level supervisors.

Indeed, the city civil staff is too top-heavy. There is too much middle management, and it is more than appropriate to cut the extra positions out.

“There may be some staff reductions,” Chen said, “and maybe people who retired and we don’t necessarily have to replace them.”

That's a good approach. No one has to be fired, and the city can save money.

Chen said his overall fiscal approach would be to have department heads come up with ideas for cost cutting and revenue growth in their own areas.

Agreed. Put the onus on them first. They have the most information about

Current officials have already said that without the sales tax increase, the city could face 5% cuts to each department.

So be it!

But putting cost-cutting and revenue growth in the hands of department chiefs, Chen said, would mean those managers would have some skin in the game.

“It’s not just cuts we need to make,” Chen said. “We have to work on the top line. I want to pay people to think, to challenge them and to work hard for our residents.”

Numark, a senior vice president/chief of marketing who moved to Torrance 23 years ago, said he has a 90-day plan to address the city’s fiscal crisis. The plan calls for suspending health benefits for the mayor and City Council and ending city-paid dinners before council meetings.

That is nothing. Cutting the pay of the city council is virtue-signaling, since city councilmembers only take in $200 a month.

Newmark’s plan would also create a zero-based budget, which would require the city to develop a new spending plan from scratch each year, as opposed to basing the budget on prior years’ numbers.

Torrance ranks fourth among cities facing the most severe financial risks, behind Compton, San Gabriel and Blythe, according to a report by the Auditor of the State of California.

This is very deceptive. The analysis was published before the savings allocated to the general fund were considered. There has been some creative accounting done by some of the city council (mostly the mayor) to give the impression that the city needs the tax increase.

The city’s depleted general fund reserves figured prominently into that audit, along with pension obligations and revenue projections. During the pandemic, the city lost about $15 million in general fund revenue, according to a report from the city manager’s office. Reserves were nearly exhausted.

The upcoming ballot measure is meant to beef up reserves Measure SST would raise the rate by one-half cent, to 10%, generating about $18 million annually.

Reminder: every candidate, even those who support the sales tax increase, have acknowledged that the extra (projected) revenue will not be enough.

Torrance voters rejected a similar measure in 2020, though that one would have raised the sales tax from 9.5% rate to 10.25%.

It's really amazing how the local paper seems determined to push this sales tax increase. What is it with the corporate press wanting to raise costs on everyone?

Chen, who voted against putting Measure SST on the ballot, said raising the sales tax is a flawed solution.

He compared the city to a real estate agent who wants to make more money. The simple solution, Chen said, would be for the agent to raise commissions. But this would leave the customer unsatisfied.

“If a real estate agent needs to make more money, a real estate agent needs to sell more homes,” Chen said. “So in a similar way, the city of Torrance needs to think and work harder on making more sales.”

Yes, the city council needs to come up with better solutions and innovate ideas, rather than merely squeezing the residents for more money.

To bring more people and businesses to the city – especially foreign companies – Chen suggested hosting international youth summer games leading up to the Los Angeles 2028 Summer Olympics and creating more sister city relationships.

Numark, however, said Torrance needs the additional revenue stream from an increased sales tax.

“If SST does not pass,” Numark said, “given where the city’s finances are today, in some way shape or form, there’s going to be very ham-fisted choices that the city is going to make.”

Not true. Cliff Numark is in the business of spending more. He was elected to the El Camino College Board by all the special interests tied in with the college district because he has no problem floating more bonds and squeezing taxpayers for more money. LAUSD tried to raise property taxes in 2019, and the measure failed by 54%! Remember that most of these bond measures need a two-third majority vote to pass in the first place, and the property tax increase failed!

Public safety

If the city needs to further trim the budget, public safety would be one of the top sectors facing cuts, according to literature Torrance has sent out to residents.

Not necessarily. There is funding now to hire more police officers.

The fate of the Police and Fire departments budgets have not yet been decided. But those budgets — which make up 62%, or about $8 million, of the city’s general fund expenses — could see cuts during this month’s budget hearings.

Chen said he wasn’t happy about the city mailers, which he said equated a need for more sales tax with a loss of essential services, such as policing and fire. The city used “scare tactics” he said, to market the tax.

I just received two campaign flyers this week, at the same time! Whichever interests are behind the push to raise the sales tax, they are getting desperate! I don't think there is an appetite in the city for a tax increase, considering the fact that the city has not done its due diligence to cut excessive spending and reduce or decomission redundant services or agencies in the city.

The councilman said, for him, public safety is always his No. 1 priority.

“Just because I’m against the sales tax increase,” Chen said, “doesn’t mean I’m against public safety.”

A “21st century policing” model is needed, Chen said, where the department relies more on modern technology.

To reduce the number of personnel and vehicles called to an area, which could potentially reduce overtime costs, police could designate “hot spots” throughout the city for live video camera surveillance, Chen said.

That way, he said, dispatch would be able to better gauge the severity of a 911 call.

Numark also said he put a high value on public safety and also touted setting a “culture of cost reduction.”

He talks about cost reduction, but he wants to raise the sales tax? Really?!

“We need to be serious about scrutinizing how every dollar is spent in the city,” said Numark.

The Police Department, he added, needs a comprehensive assessment over its core processes and use of technology.

But finances and efficients aren’t the Police Department’s only challenges. It’s also faces ongoing controvery over police conduct stretching back years.

The police force has been under scrutiny since the 2018 killing of Christopher DeAndre Mitchell. The department also faced accusations late last year that up to 15 Torrance officers were involved in sending homophobic and sexist text messages.

Though two officers who were accused of painting swastikas on a victim’s car were fired from the department, 13 others remain under investigation by California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Those officers are on paid administrative leave.

These recent scandals, both candidates said, shape policies at the Torrance Police Department and impact the community’s view of public safety.

But the candidates differed in how they would look to bolster the department’s reputation.

Chen called the allegations against the police alarming, but cautioned officers have a right to due process, which is in the works.

“The hard part is,” Chen said, “people try to connect the dots (of the homophobic/racial slurs) to the DeAndre Mitchell case.”

That case, in which officers fatally shot Mitchell, a Black man, had its day in court, Chen said — though Black Lives Matter continued protesting at council meetings long after that — and people just need to be patient and let due process take its course on the other.

Numark, though, said such accusations of misconduct need to be dealt with head-on.

“We need to state clearly and deliberately that these behaviors are unacceptable,” Numark said, emphasizing city leaders need to do so “in the moment.”

The city council has already done that. The fact that Cliff Numark seems determined to pander to the woke, social justice warrior crowd automatically should shut him out of consideration for the mayor's office. The city of Torrance needs strong leadership. We need someone in the mayor's seat who will restore order to the city council meetings and not put up with the abusive, illegal disruptions by hate groups like Black Lives Matter.

He lauded the recently hired police chief, Jeremiah Hart, for his efforts in directly addressing the issues.

“I think it’s extremely clear there has been a rise in hate crime across our communities,” Numark said. “We need to take an extremely hard stance against that.”

Both Numark and Chen said they are against an independent oversight commission, something Black Lives Matter activists have rallied for at nearly every City Council meeting since Mitchell’s death.

Both candidates said various internal committees that are already in place are best left to handle police oversight.

Homelessness

The 2020 Los Angeles County homeless count found a 42% increase in the number people in Torrance without permanent shelter, with 332 counted.

Last year’s count was canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic and data from January’s survey won’t be available until later this year. But homeless officials have said they expect the pandemic worsened the already bleak crisis across the county.

In Torrance, a 40-unit tiny-homes complex, in the Civic Center parking lot, is slated to be completed in June.

But it would provide only a fraction of what’s needed to provide temporary dwellings.

If elected, Numark said, he’d first assess whether that’s the right spot for the Pallet shelters.

“I’m not wild about the location, and it is supposed to be temporary,” Numark said, adding the location might be too close to neighboring homes.

With the shelter’s approval, though, also came an amendment to the city’s anti-camping ordinance, which allows police to cite individuals sleeping or camping on public property. Police can start enforcing the ordinance as soon as June 26, when the project is expected to be finished.

For Chen, those are the first critical steps to addressing homelessness in Torrance, he said.

Anti-camping enforcement, Chen said, would be left up to police, who would first issue a citation before making arrests. There are always, he said, people who will refuse services.

“The way we understand the homeless community,” Chen said, is that “they don’t like to be bothered or bugged by law enforcement.”

So, eventually, the anti-camping enforcement would act as a deterrent and people would leave, he said.

But Numark said tackling homelessness requires outreach, which can be done by expanding volunteer services. In the same way people volunteer to serve meals at food banks, he said, they could — with proper training — do the same to help with the unhoused.

There also needs to be lots of ongoing conversations, Numark said, since the reasons for someone being homeless are complex.

“There are issues associated with housing insecurity,” Numark said. “But there’s also mental illness and substance abuse and other issues.”

Ultimately, Numark said, he’d like to see homelessness handled at the county level, as cities just don’t have access to as many resources, such as social workers and mental health experts.

The county can't handle anything right. The county is so dysfunctional. Once again, Numark is ignoring what is best for the city of Torrance, and wants to work with the same people who have rolled out the same failed policies over and over.

“Torrance is not an island,” Numark said, “and it needs to work collaboratively with the county and other cities to try to solve this issue.”

Both mayoral candidates favored police enforcing the anti-camping ordinance.

But Numark also said officers need to be proactive in working with social workers and demonstrating to people there are better solutions than living on the street.

More hand-outs and services are not going to get people off the streets. Enforcement and interventions are essential to make this effort work.

Cliff Numark is more of the illiberal folly that the current city leadership has imposed on the city. Numark has the backing of the same frail, failed political establishment which got the city into its funding problems in the first place.

The city of Torrance does not need more of the same. We need new leadership, bold initiatives, a willingness to consider better strategies that will bring in more revenue to the city, without demanding more from the taxpayers.

George Chen has already been elected twice to the Torrance City Council in the last four years. He won a city-wide election, and he won a district-wide election. He has connected with many leaders and community activists in the city. He has worked closely with his church and other communities of faith to do good for the city of Torrance.

I also trust him to take a stronger lead in city council meetings and restore order. Weak liberals like Pat Furey and Cliff Numark will capitulate in the face of hate groups like Black Lives Matter because they are so worried about what other people will think of them, instead of doing what is right for the city, for everyone in the city.

Councilman George Chen has remained committed to serving the city of Torrance, while Cliff Numark ran off to a "higher" elected position on the El Camino Community College Board. And now, if he were to get elected to the Torrance Mayor's office, he would be abandoning yet another seat that he was elected to.

Cliff Numark cares about ... Cliff Numark. What's to stop him from seeking another higher office in the next two years? His ambition is more important than the well-being of the city of Torrance.

Torrance residents, Make Your Mark for George Chen for Mayor!

Torrance City Council Election 2022: The Fight For North Torrance (District One)

 There are two very contentious races in the 2022 Torrance City Council Elections:

1. Torrance City Council, District One

2. Torrance City Treasurer

For this post, I am going to explore the District One contest more closely. 

This is the northern most district, a region of the city which has not gotten as much attention compared to other areas of the city. Based on the number of Title One enrollees at North High School, it's the poorest area of the city. It has seen a higher degree of crime compared to other areas of the city as well.

It's also the most Democratic region of the city, if one is paying attention to the affilation of voters in the area. Of course, I have found that many residents in the city are not as keenly focused on the party affiliation of city council candidates, as much as they focus on

There are four candidates for this seat. Right away, we understand why this fight is so contentious.

Here are the candidates vying for the seat, with their political affiliations and their endorsements

1. Jimmy Gow

Democrat

Endorsements:

Pat Furey: Mayor of Torrance

Al Muratsuchi: Assemblymember representing Torrance

Maxine Waters: Congresswoman representing Torrance

Janice Hahn: LA County Supervisor representing Torrance

2. David Zygielbaum

Democrat

Endorsements:

Torrance Police Officers Association

Torrance Firefighters Association

Pat Furey: Mayor of Torrance

3. David Kartsonis

Republican

Endorsements:

George Nakano - Former California State Assemblyman

Councilwoman Heidi Ann Ashcraft - Torrance Councilwoman; Former TUSD School Board Member Councilman Mike Griffiths - Torrance Councilman 

Frank Scotto - Former Torrance Mayor 

Tom Brewer - Former Torrance Councilman 

Paul Nowatka Former Torrance Councilman 

Maureen O’Donnell - Former Torrance Councilwoman; Former El Camino College Trustee 

Bill Sutherland - Former Torrance Councilman 

Martha Deutch - Former TUSD School Board Member; President of the Torrance Education Foundation Dr. George Mannon - Former TUSD Superintendent 

Ken Brown - Trustee Area 1; Community College Instructor 

Siannah Collado Boutté - Former ECC Trustee, Former ECC ASO President 

Eman Dalili - Former Trustee; Former ECC Student Body President; Gubernatorial Appointee to the California Board of Governors 

Dr. Thomas Fallo - Former El Camino College Superintendant/President 

Brooke Matson - Former Trustee; Current Board Member of the El Camino College Foundation 

John Vargas - Former Trustee 

Matthew Brach - SCROC Governing Board; Palos Verdes Unified School District School Board 

Mark Burton - Former Manhattan Beach Mayor 

Mark Waronek - Lomita City Councilman 

Hugo Rojas - Vice-President, Centinela Valley Unified High School District

4. Jon Kaji

Independent

Endorsements:

Torrance City Councilman George Chen

Torrance City Councilman Aurelio Mattucci

El Camino College Trustee Trisha Murakawa

City of Gardena Mayor Tasha Cerda

City of Gardena Councilman Rodney Tanaka

City of Gardena City Clerk Mina Simenza

Former State Treasurer John Chiang

Former LA County Supervisor Don Knabe

Former LA County Supervisor Michael Antonovich

Former City of LA Councilmembers Jan Perry and David Ryu

Former LA County CEO William Fujioka

Former Chief of Staff, Rep. Steve Kuykendall,  Garrett Ashley

Former City of Torrance Planning Commissioner,  Ray Uchima

Civil rights attorney, Dale Minami, Esq.

Actor and civil rights activist, George Takei

Actor and comedian, Derek Mio

USC Heisman Trophy winner and Super Bowl Champion, Mike Garrett

Los Angeles Laker legend Michael Cooper

PGA Professional Ted Oh

Former SONY Interactive Entertainment Chairman and CEO, Shawn Layden

This race has a diverse split in all the endorsements. That certain will make for an interesting contest come June 7th, 2022.

How does this all break down, though?

Jimmy Gow is clearly the most partisan of the endorsements. He has gotten complete backing from every Democratic machine politician in the region, from Congress to the county to the state assembly. No one should be surprsied, since he remains the president of the Torrance Democratic Club, an institution with a history of shutting down public participation when residents want to confront their locally elected officials.

The last thing that many TOrrance voters want is an outright partisan, based on how elections have fallen for the last several decades in the city of Torrance. What's worse, though, is that Jimmy Gow was recently removed from the commission that he had served on for a number of years: The Social Services Commission.

It's a bitter irony that he servded on that commission, based on his obstreperous behavior during the 2016 President election. His infamously visited the West Carson Veterans Hall in 2016, in which he and other rabid leftists trespassed on the property, spit at veterans, pushed them around, and one of the hateful activists stole the phone from one of the veterans at the hall.

Jimmy Gow should be a clear "No" for any voter in North Torrance. He ran in 2018, when city council seats were still elected at large, and he was the bottom vote-getter. Will his overt connections to the Democratic Party get him into the seat?

Well, Democratic voters in North Torrance have another, more professional choice: LA County Deputy DA David Zygielbaum.

He's much more likeable and approachable. He also has a young family and he currently serves on a commission, having received the unanimous endorsement of the city council at that time. He helped start a Neighborhood Watch in his area, too. Plus the fact that he has endorsed by the two public safety unions in the city, and Zygielbaum is a viable option for partisan voters who want a city councilman with some panache and substance.

However, any candidate who receives Mayor Pat Furey's endorsement should invite considerable suspicious. Pat Furey has been a disgrace, an absolute disaster for the city of Torrance. A bitter partisan with open disdain for his colleagues on the council, a political hack of dubious moral distinction who colluded with a local PAC during the 2014 Torrance City Council elections, Furey is one creepy fellow. Many people in the city have had nothing but disdain for this man, in large part because of his rampant disrespect to voters and speakers in the city council chambers.

And his complete incompetence when it comes to running city council meetings has harmed everyone in the city. He refused to take a stand against outside hate groups which have long disrupted city council meetings. He has refused to take a stance against the relentless borrowing from the city's general fund.

Pat Furey has been a huge disappointment to the city, and anyone whom he endorses is all the more suspect as a result.

Like Zygielbaum, David Kartsonis has a considerable record of public service in the city of Torrance, specifically for North Torrance, and for the general region due to his advocacy and volunteer efforts with El Camino College. In 2020, he ran for a seat on the El Co Board of Trustees, and he even received numerous endorsements from local and county elected officials from across the political spectrum.

Yet he still lost.

He's running for the North Torrance city council seat with a considerable array of endorsements, but many of them are formerly elected officials, not current ones, aside from Torrance City Councilmembers Mike Griffiths and Heide Ashcraft. 

Kartsonis has considerable ties to the area, no doubt, and he does not have a partisan axe to grind. Is he the best pick for the seat?

Then there's Jon Kaji.

He's an Independent, and an independent business owner. He has the endorsement of two Torrance city councilmembers. He has ties to the Torrance business community, certainly. Most of his endorsements are from his activism and his connections with his alma mater USC.

It helps to have someone who is more of an outsider running for the Torrance City Council. As it stands now, two of the city councilmembers--George Chen and Sharon Kalani--never served on city commissioners before. It's worthwhile for voters to send a message to the community that they will give "outsiders" a chance to serve on the city council, as well.

There is one clear distinction which Kaji holds compared to the other three candidates: he is the only candidate who opposes raising the city sales tax. That is a considerable development, and makes him a worthwhile consideration.

Final Reflection

Diverse, divided endorsements, different political backgrounds, distinct records of public service: all these elements make the race for Torrance City Council District One an election for the Torrance history books. How will the voters assess these different candidates? Will the endorsements play any kind of factor? Each nominee has a number of respectable suppporters, and some of them have supporters from the same government agency (Torrance City Council, El Camino College Board of Trustees.)

The professional background of each candidate is something to consider, as well.

How will this race shape up going into June 7th?

Yikes! Mike Likes Tax Hikes

Councilman Mike Griffiths.

He has been involved in Torrance politics for more than twenty years. Once can go back as far as 2005, when he was seeking to be appointed to a vacant city council seat. He has served a number of times on the environmental and planning commission, too.

Yes, he is very much a part and parcel of the Torrance Way of politics in this town.

And apparently, it has all gotten to his head.

He has a serious attitude problem, to put in mildly: he thinks that he is entitled to his seat on the city council, and that he should be the next mayor.

The truth is that he did not decide against running for mayor because of a death in the family. The truth is that Councilman George Chen has a better following and more political capital in the city than he does.

And is anyone surprised?

Mike Griffiths dragged his feet on supporting a Resolution of No Confidence in George Gascon. His arrogant demeanor with me (and others, no doubt) regarding this matter is just too much to ignore. Like many Torrance politicians who have been part of the establishment for so long, he uses the voters, then refuses to listen to them.

That kind of arrogance hurt him, especially if you visit his Facebook page. People give him a hard time for not supporting the resolution.

But worse than that, rumors persisted out of city hall that Mike wanted to impose a vaccine mandate on all city employees! He had no problem with violating people's health freedom, their bodily autonomy, and for what?

The vaccine was experimental at best, and many people suffered terrible adverse side effects from the shot. Why would anyone want to push for a violation of people's health integrity?

And of course, like the majority of the current city council, Mike likes the tax hikes.

He wants to raise the city sales tax because he is too lazy or too beholden to the "establishment" in the city of Torrance to think outside the box and come up with more innovative ways to save money and bring in revenue to the city.

Mike likes tax hikes, and for that, the voters should tell him to take a hike regarding his bid for city treasurer.

Election 2022 Sales Tax Scam: The City of Torrance Has Enough Reserves

On March 21, 2022, I wrote to Torrance City Manager Aram Chaparyan regarding the state of the city's finances. I was aware that the city reserves had drastically reduced to $500,000, in large part because previous city councils had continued to spend money that the city simply did not have.

The city manager responded:

The city's current balance in general reserves is

$22.6 Million!

The city is no longer in financial arrears!

There is NO NEED for a sales tax increase. NONE!

Check out the link and the report on Page 24 whicht city manager Chaparyan cited:

FY 2021 – 22 MID-YEAR BUDGET REVIEW REPORT

Here's a closer look at the table above:

With the most realistic projections considered, the city will have a reserve of $36,277,155!

That's a considerable amount of money on hand for the city!

So, in other words, the city of Torrance does not need to raise the sales tax. The argument that Los Angeles County might want to raise the sales tax is a hollow scare tactic at best. Los Angeles Unified tried to raise the property tax rates four years ago, and that effort failed massively.

The Board of Supervisors cannot muster the political capital to force up sales tax rates in the first place, since so many Los Angeles County residents are struggling from paycheck to paycheck as it is.

There is no reason to raise up the sales tax. What it really amounts to is that a majority on the city council is too lazy, too incompetent, or just plain indifferent to the needs of the residents in the city, and would rather gouge taxpayers instead of offering creative solutions to increase revenue.

Say NO to any sales tax increase!