The Transit Tax could have an added Poison

Well the Transit Tax for Orange may have some added poison. I say poison as for the Proponents of the Transit Tax for the Light Rail will not want an added sales tax Governor Bev Purdue has cast into the political winds this year. Outside the overwhelming distaste for more taxes by District Two, the poison for D1 is not notion of paying more tax for their costly train, it is the added threat to fuel to the fire in the pockets of D2 Citizens who have no use for a Choo Choo in a huge election year.

At the Dec.8^th BOCC meeting, perhaps in response to the Comments made by OCGOP Chair Bob Randal regarding the last implementation of a sales tax, Commissioner Barry Jacobs made a weak proclamation which amounted to a mental pat on the back for the Board of Orange County  Commissioner's efforts for finally getting the sales tax. He failed to mention the violation of state law in using taxpayer treasure to promote that tax, or the off year scheduling tactic. This level of  pompousness provides a prescient window in which to view the Governors proposal in conjunction with the desires of entirely democrat BOCC.

As the quarter tax was shot down in the 2010 midterms in massive voter turnout, the BOCC slipped it in last Novembers Off year elections for the municipalities. This had the clever effect of being scheduled when the great portion of D2 had no other reason to go to the polls.

Now comes the conundrum for the BOCC again. The Transit Tax that so many are pining for is to be planted in toxic soil tainted with the dead sowings of  previous tax attempts and only showing growth from that last attempt by a technique that amounted to subversion.

The Governors Tax will face stiff opposition in the Assembly and there will be lot of press generated on the issue on top of a year to elect a leader of the Nation. Ironically the last sales tax passed by the BOCC was to aid the loss of state funding for education...the intended target of Bev's new sales tax proposal. This raises a question for the BOCC. On the off chance that Bev's school sales tax were to pass, would the BOCC nullify the quarter percent sales tax? I doubt Barry Jacobs or the lot would be leading any great charge to do so.
With a state tax looming and the pet tax for specific group of citizens needed to be scheduled, I look for more scheduling shenanigans designed to maximize on low voter turn out.
Say…in the May Primary?

Chris Weaver