Recently re-elected Dana Point Councilwoman Lisa Bartlett promised four years ago she wouldn’t raise taxes. Then after she won her first election, she pushed thru a new annual one million dollar a year bureaucracy of new city staff and added pension liability for a “tourism district” in the six square mile city. This new City bureaucracy is funded by a $3 a night tax that is added to the 18.75% in taxes tourists already pay to visit Dana Point. When combined, all the taxes and fees tourists pay in Dana Point exceed those imposed even in New York City hotels. CRA volunteer Craig Alexander helped sweep Bartlett’s tax raising past under the rug and she ended up endorsed by the county GOP for re-election. But county GOP chair Scott Baugh caught wind of that ruse, and asked Bartlett about her record, a few months ago, and the understanding is that she promised to never raise taxes again. Well, Bartlett promptly tarnished her GOP credibility again week before last, when she walked out on a City Council vote to extend the same hotel tax and city staff bureaucracy to serve the “tourism district”. She did not address the agenda item and did not vote on it, she just walked out. And tomorrow night at the second reading of the same ordinance, where Bartlett will have a chance to prove to the rest of us again that she is not a liar about her anti-tax pledge, the likelihood is Bartlett will parse her promises to Baugh and duck out once more on a principle-based vote. No matter what happens, we will be watching and reporting here!
November 22nd, 2010 at 12:00 am
The bones are getting picked….no more chubby meat for RINOS to chew on…..
November 22nd, 2010 at 12:00 am
So Mr. Lacy wishes to throw stones at Lisa Bartlett (and myself) over her vote for an additional Hotel tax.
In my opinion Mr. Lacy has no place at all to be critical of any Republican when he runs a group of slate mailers that will take union money to run ads against your endorsed Republican candidates.
For example, in the Capistrano Unified School District race, the Orange County GOP endorsed the three incumbent Reform Trustees (Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson and Larry Christensen), a No on the Recall of Trustees Mike Winsten and Ken Lopez-Maddox and a No vote on Measure H. The local teacher’s union (the local CTA affiliate) and their allies just spent over $340,000 (and rising as of this date) to elect their own handpicked candidates and for a Yes vote on Measure H.
Mr. Lacy runs Landslide Communications which publishes slate mailers such as the Save Proposition 13 Committee (Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association) and National Tax Limitation Committee’s slate mailers. You would think Mr. Conservative Lacy would want to back the OCGOP endorsed Reform Trustee candidates and the No on Measure H position. But who did he support with his slates? Some of the teacher union candidates and a Yes on Measure H vote. What was the price of his betrayal? $6,864.00 paid directly from the local teacher’s union affiliate PAC to Landslide Communications. Below is information directly from the California Secretary of State’s web site for the required financial disclosure of the teacher’s union’s PAC which they call “Help Organize for Public Education” (edited since the graphics from the web site don’t come through in this blog post). It clearly shows Landslide Communications as the payee on October 11, 2010 of $6,864.00. A link to this page on the Secretary of State’s web site is also included below.
In addition, I can attest that I live in the School District and I received Mr. Lacy’s slates above referenced that had a message of “Yes on Measure H” and “Yes on the Recall.” For the “Save Proposition 13 Newsletter” slate Mr. Lacy also encouraged voters to vote against OCGOP Officer Anna Bryson by voting for her opponent Saam Alikhani – the union endorsed 18 year old college student who has proclaimed his proud affiliation with the Democratic Party.
So when Mr. James Lacy criticizes any Republican as not being sufficiently conservative enough for him, please pardon me if I do not listen to someone I consider a Hypocrite! Given that he has, in my opinion, sold his soul to the government employee unions as the highest bidder for his services, his statements ring hollow and that of a Hypocrite whose alleged conservative principles are For Sale to the Highest Bidder.
Campaign Finance:
HELP ORGANIZE FOR PUBLIC EDUCATION (A.K.A. CUEA H.O.P.E.)
DATE PAYEE EXPENDITURE AMOUNT
10/11/2010 LANDSLIDE COMMUNICATIONS PRINT ADS SLATE MAILER $6,864.00
http://cal-access.sos.ca.gov/Campaign/Committees/Detail.aspx?id=1043314&view=expenditures
November 24th, 2010 at 12:00 am
Craig, you are such a sanctimonious BSer. You are a GOP official, I’m not. You are a CRA official, I’m not. Can you answer this question? Did Lisa Bartlett raise taxes, yes or no? Did you help wire her GOP endorsement? Yes or no? The answer to both questions is yes, and you are no better than those you criticize, in fact you are far worse, because you are certainly a hypocrite. The shame is on you.