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.

                         

Torrance City Council: Pass Resolution of No Confidence in LA County DA George Gascon, Support Recall

Dear Torrance City Council: 

Public safety is of ultimate importance in any community. Families move to the city of Torrance for safety, as well as for the excellent schools and business opportunities. 

 

Public safety is being undermined, sadly, but the current District Attorney of Los Angeles County, George Gascon. 

 

His directives to the District Attorney's office are immoral, unethical, and in some cases, illegal. He has taken frequent steps to implement pro-criminal policies, even directing deputy prosecutors not to attend parole hearings, and also to offer lenient sentencing guidelines to judges. His memoranda against application of the death penalty, the decision to unilaterally ignore misdemeanor charges in many cases, his decision to refrain from trying heinous juvenile crimes as adults, among his directives for no money cash bail, fly in the face of the rule of law, the will of the voters, and the best practices for maintenance of public safety. 

 

His failures as a leader have elicited outrage across the political spectrum, from retired LA County Supervisor Mike Antonovich to LA County Sheriff Alex Villanueva. Victims’ Rights groups, which are not and should never be partisan, are leading the fight to have Gascon recalled, as well. 

 

I submit that even though Gascon was elected per official reports with a majority of the vote, the fact is that dubious voting and election practices have made the outcomes of local and county elections in Los Angeles County more suspect. However, regardless of the outcome of the election in November 2020, Gascon is a clear and present danger to the public safety of all Los Angeles County residents. 

 

The city of Beverly Hills has wisely taken the simple yet direct steps of issuing a resolution of No Confidence in DA George Gascon. 

 

I urge the Torrance City Council to follow Beverly Hills and issue a similar Resolution of No Confidence. I would go one step further and also urge the city of Torrance to support the recall of the current District Attorney, since his lack of commitment to law and order, to safety and security, to justice and restoration are so skewed, or so lacking, that one has to wonder how he can call himself a public servant of any degree or integrity. 

 

In the link below, you will find a sample of the resolution of No Confidence passed by the Beverly Hills City Council on March 16, 2021, specifically pages 6-8. 

 

https://beverlyhills.granicus.com/MetaViewer.php?view_id=49&event_id=5139&meta_id=464736 

 

I urge the city council to consider this move. 

 

Thank you for your time. 

 

Sincerely, 

Arthur Schaper

Please contact the Torrance City Council and urge them to issue a resolution of No Confirence in corrupt, pro-criminal Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascon!

Torrance City Council Contacts

 

Pat Furey (pfurey@torranceca.gov);

George Chen (gchen@torranceca.gov);

Aurelio Mattucci (amattucci@torranceca.gov);

Sharon Kalani (skalani@torranceca.gov)

Mike Griffiths (mgriffiths@torranceca.gov);

Heidi Ashcraft (hashcraft@torranceca.gov);

 

City Clerk Rebecca Poirier (rpoirier@torranceca.gov);

City Manager Aram Chaparyan (achaparyan@torranceca.gov);

City Attorney Patrick Sullivan (psullivan@torranceca.gov);

Chief of Police Jon Megeff (jmegeff@torranceca.gov)

Phone:   (310) 618-2801

Torrance Police Chief Eve Berg Enables Black Lives Matter Lawlessness, Must Resign NOW!

On June 23, 2020, a neighbor in the city of Torrance called me.

He lives near the Torrance City Hall, and he was telling me that a large group of Black Lives Matter protesters were walking down the street, and they were stationing themselves outside of city hall.

Black Lives Matter has been harassing the Torrance City Council and the residents in and around the city for the last year and a half, since Christopher De'Andre Mitchell was shot by Torrance police officers for refusing to follow orders, after he was caught in a stolen vehicle with an air rifle at his feet.

For a year and a half, BLM protesters have been showing up, barraging the city council with demands for a civilian oversight commission, for lots of money, and for the two police officers who shot Mitchell to be fired.

The LA County District Attorney declined to prosecute the two police officers, and no one should be surprised. The police officer took the measures that he took because Mitchell looked as though he was going to reach for the firearm at his feet. It was a very tense situation in the video.

A year and a half of this abuse.

Last year, BLM protesters took over the city council chambers a number of times. On May 7th, 2019, they stood in the center of the chambers holding hands. They announced empty slogans like "We have the right to fight for freedom!'

Freedom for themselves? Freedom for whom? Definitely not for the residents of the city of Torrance. Definitely not for the stakeholders. Then came May 14th, 2019. I tried to speak at the podium, speaking on behalf of the Torrance police officers and detectives who went to every length to find the murderer of the four black lives who were gunned down in the Gable House Bowl two weeks prior. Instead of respecting those black lives, the BLM haters shouted me down and forced the mayor to recess the meeting and clear the room.

That time, the police officers took out their batons and forced the BLM protesters in the city council chambers to leave. Four of them were arrested, and then a fifth one, Evan "Fake Priest" Bunch was also arrested, since he assaulted me, damaged my property, and threatened my life.

Fast forward to this year, fast forward to June 23. 2020.

Black Lives Matter protesters met at a local park. They walked together in a large group blocking traffic on the different streets. They walked up to Crenshaw Blvd. and then walked along Torrance Blvd until they got in front of Torrance City Hall.

Instead of protesting peacefully on the sidewalk, however, the BLM mob took up the street. Yes, they stood in the street and blocked traffic. Instead of removing the protesters or having them arrested for trespassing and blocking traffic, the police officers blocked off Torrance Blvd. between Maple Ave and Madrona Ave.

What is this madness?! This is total lawlessness. They have a right to protest, but they do not have a right to take up the street and block traffic. If they wanted to stage a parade, then they needed to obtain a permit, which apparently they had not done.

I contacted the Torrance Chief of Police, Eve Berg.

Here's the first email that I sent to her and to the Torrance City Council:

Dear Torrance City Council, Mayor Furey, Police Chief Berg, and City Manager Jackson:

I understand that Black Lives Matter (BLM) protesters lined up and demonstrated in front of City Hall last night, June 23, 2020.

I have also learned from a number of residents who live across the street from the Torrance City Hall that the BLM protesters not only arrived in front of city hall to protest (which is their First Amendment right), but that they walked from one of the local parks, up Crenshaw Blvd in the streets, and then stopped in front of City Hall -- BLOCKING TRAFFIC in the process.

I understand furthermore that the police department was ordered to block traffic from entering eastbound and westbound on the street between Madrona and Maple Ave, in order to enable the protesters to stand in the street.

They do not have a right to do that. That is not peaceable assembly at all. Such actions violate the rights of every individual who wanted to travel on Torrance Blvd. Such actions are not protected as part of the First Amendment.

This is an appalling abuse which these protesters engaged in, and a complete dereliction of duty from the city leadership to permit this to take place.

Whose decision was it to permit the BLM protesters to stand in the street and block traffic in front of city hall?

Whose decision was it to order the police department to block traffic on Torrance Blvd from Madrona Ave to Maple Ave last night?

Why are our police officers not permitted to arrest disruptive elements in the midst of these protests?

I demand answers, accountable, and action to correct this lack of authority. We cannot allow these individuals to break the law in the name of social protest.

Sincerely,

Arthur Christopher Schaper

I then sent the Chief of Police a specific letter:

Dear Chief Berg:

I would like to meet with you regarding the ongoing BLM protests and disruptions that have become a near-constant nuisance.

I did not receive a response from you regarding the email that I sent to you last night.

I am more troubled about the current response from city leadership, and I am interested in knowing what steps the police department is taking to ensure that First Amendment rights AND freedom of travel and movement are respected.

Please contact me. My cell is -----------------.

If you are not available, I have no qualms about speaking with the next available representative or officer who can speak on your behalf.

She eventually responded to my second email:

Good Morning Mr. Schaper,

Thank you for your email.

In complying with COVI19, I am unable to meet with you in person at this time.  Therefore, I will address your concerns in this email.

In regard to your previous email, I want to ensure you that I made all of the operational deployment decisions based on the conditions and circumstances that were presented during the dynamic and fluid situation on the night of June 23, 2020.  No one from council ordered the officers to block traffic or whether or not to arrest anyone. As the Police Chief, and in conjunction with the Incident Commander’s updated briefings, I monitored the entire incident and made decisions accordingly.

The police department is acutely mindful of First Amendment rights and consistently takes steps to ensure that those rights are adhered to as well as respected.

I hope this email has successfully addressed your inquiry.  If you should have any further questions or need more clarification, please don’t hesitate to call me.

Sincerely,

Eve R. Berg

Chief of Police - Torrance Police Department

For the longest time, I had believed that it was Mayor Furey who was directing the chief of police and the police officers to stand down, to let the BLM brats get away with disrupting the meetings in the city council chambers.

Then I received a phone call from the Chief of Police. She had called me this past Monday, but I missed the call. I called her back earlier today, then she called me. At least we did not have to play phone tag this time.

She told me that yes indeed the BLM protesters blocked Torrance Blvd.

She made the call to let them block the street, and thus to close the street to traffic for everyone else between Maple and Madrona Avenues.

She acknowledged that "the buck stopped with her" when it came to the operational decisions and actions taken by the police.

I was unsparing in my criticism of the Chief of Police. I hammered home to her a number of times: "That was not acceptable!"

The chief of police actually claimed that Trump rallies had included people who were standing in the street and blocking traffic. That it a total lie. I have been to at least three rallies in the city of Torrance in the last three weeks, and not once did anyone block traffic.

There is no comparison to the peaceful rallies which residents of the city have engaged in, compared to what Black Lives Matter has been doing in the city of Torrance for the last year and a half.

The chief then insisted that it was her job to serve and protect the community, and to make sure that no one was hurt.

That is a nonsense argument. Lawlessness and willful disregard for the rights of others is creating more lawlessness, undermines the rights of others to attend city council meetings, to speak out on issues, to have their concerns heard. The BLM movement has shut down the city council meetings a number of times, depriving other individuals of the opportunity to attend the meetings and be heard, as well.

I asked her point black: "Are you saying it's OK for someone to rob my house, as long as I am not in the house, and therefore would face no risk of getting hurt?!"

She pushed aside my argument, pointing out that there is a difference between blocking traffic and stealing from someone's home. Granted, but the notion that the police should not get involved in stopping crime or disruptions or violations of other people's rights just because someone isn't "harmed" is quite a disingenuous argument.

I also pressed the chief of police about CCWs. She is responsible for deciding who gets a CCW, and she stated that the individuals cannot have a felony on their record, they have to undergo a background check, and they have to show good cause. That last part is particularly unconstitutional. There is no better cause than self-defense, not just from criminals and potential threats but an overreaching government.

I was astounded how she justified allowing the BLM protesters to break the law, to disrupt traffic, to violate the rights of others. She refused to give any full justification for the reason for allowing the disruptions, but simply stated that the conditions and circumstances warranted allowing BLM to block the street in front of city hall.

The truth is this: bad behavior simply breeds more bad behavior. Allowing these miscreants to disrupt the rule of law, to undermine the rights of others, to violate the clear strictures of the First Amendment -- all of this is simply unacceptable.

I asked the chief of police one last question: "When are you submitting your resignation?"

It's time to demand Eve Berg, the Chief of Police, to stand down. She refuses to do her job. She has refused to uphold the rule of law and to defend the rights of the residents, the citizens in the city. She is allowing BLM protesters to get away with all kinds of lawlessness, both within the city council chambers as well as without. There is no excuse for this dereliction of duty!

Contact the Torrance City Council, the City Manager. Tell them to remove Chief of Police Eve Berg.

Demand that they start upholding the rule of law and bring regular order back to the city council chambers and the city as a whole.

Torrance City Council Contacts

Pat Furey (pfurey@torranceca.gov);

George Chen (gchen@torranceca.gov);

Tim Goodrich (tgoodrich@torranceca.gov);

Aurelio Mattucci (amattucci@torranceca.gov);

Sharon Kalani (skalani@torranceca.gov)

Mike Griffiths (mgriffiths@torranceca.gov);

Heidi Ashcraft (hashcraft@torranceca.gov);

City Manager Leroy Jackson (ljackson@torranceca.gov);

City Council Phone:   (310) 618-2801

Torrance Chief of Police Phone: (310) 618-5705

Chief of Police Eve Berg (eberg@torranceca.gov)