Second in a series
Re “Flood of Emails Told Mayor Meghan Night Would Be Long”
[img]1307|right|Meghan Sahli-Wells||no_popup[/img]In the wake of the City Council’s flat rejection of a subtraction amendment to Prop. 13, Mayor Meghan Sahli-Wells was asked if the 1978 drastic tax reduction law was a mistake.
After pointing out that she was a mite too young to have voted for it, having been born but five years earlier, Ms. Sahli-Wells said:
“Regarding the spirit of Prop. 13, I am not calling into question the part that makes sure regular homeowners can stay in their homes.”
However, the mayor rigorously endorses the present statewide attempt by the group Evolve to subtract commercial property taxes from the equation.
“I do not advocate eliminating Prop. 13 altogether,” she said. “But there are loopholes where commercial properties are concerned.
“I believe Disney Corp. is paying five cents on the dollar for a certain unit of measure while the average homeowner is paying 40 cents. This is a major corporation not putting back into society what it is getting.”
Why hasn’t the Evolve plan, which Evolve says has overwhelmingly popular support, been a winning proposition in the Legislature?
“Because it is the third rail, the political third rail,” Ms. Sahli-Wells said. “The truth is realtors and the realtors association and the apartment association are organized against it. If it does get on the ballot in the future, I am certain lots of money will be invested to stop it.”
(To be continued)
