I am shocked to find these names on Kris Murray's host committee:
Scott Baugh
Shawn Nelson
Janet Nguyen
Todd Spitzer
Do these folks not follow the news? Are they unaware of her voting record and lies to the Anaheim public?
If you believe they should pull their endorsements, please e-mail/call them individually with your thoughts at:
Scott Baugh:
contact@ocgop.org
Shawn Nelson:
Audra.Fishel@ocgov.com
Janet Nguyen:
714-834-3110
Todd Spitzer:
Todd.Spitzer@ocgov.com
From The Voice of OC:
Anyone who's read the public agenda for tonight's Anaheim City Council meeting knows that a vote on a controversial $158-million room tax subsidy for developer of two planned four-star hotels at the GardenWalk outdoor mall is expected.
But known to only a few is that in recent weeks the City Council quietly approved a legal settlement that in essence grants another large subsidy – this time to the owners of the mall.
The settlement, which the Council voted on in closed session, calls for the mall owners, Anaheim Capital Partners, LLC, to receive up to 50 percent of the city's portion of sales tax revenue generated by the mall for the next 25 years. This fiscal year, the owners get 30 percent, and going forward the subsidy could be worth tens of millions of dollars.
In exchange for the sales tax revenue, Anaheim Capital Partners dropped a claim on the room tax revenue generated by the hotels, effectively clearing the way for that money to be handed over to the developers of the hotel, which include hotelier Bill O'Connell.
Read the full story here:
http://www.voiceofoc.org/oc_north/article_bd149a84-bcaa-11e2-9d5b-0019bb2963f4.html
From the OJ Blog:
A developer in Anaheim wants to build two four star hotels on the Gardenwalk parcel near Disneyland in the Anaheim resort district. The developer claims the market economics makes the project not feasible. To assist in making the project feasible, the city will provide economic assistance in the form of $158 million in rerouted tax proceeds after construction of the hotel(s). This equates to roughly $46.6 million in today’s dollars as the total assistance package is expected to run over twenty years (a dollar collected tomorrow isn’t as valuable as a dollar collected today.)
Save Anaheim PAC ran this ad in response to an ad placed by Kris Murray in the OC Register during the last election.
The city’s analysis claims the $46.6 million is roughly 16% of the development cost, which puts the capital required to execute the project at roughly $300 million. That’s quite a bit of money for the private sector to invest in the resort area. From the $300 million, construction jobs will create permanent hospitality jobs including chefs, housekeepers, waiters, valets, office staff, receptionists, engineers, craft persons, salespersons, and of course—management. The investment provides clear and demonstrative public benefit, including increased property tax and sales tax collections, which are all very good things.
The construction will also place additional burden on the public electric utility, the water system, create substantial traffic in and out of the resort district, increase pollution, place additional burden on emergency services, and divert land from alternative uses and taxation (i.e. if you build two hotels you can’t build a Walmart.) All of these items incur a public cost that must be covered by taxes.
Who defines project feasibility and how the term is used is something of an art. The city’s analysis states the project is $63.1 million (today’s dollars) short. The package proposed ($46.6MM) still leaves a gap of $16.5 million. There’s no mention as to how that $16.5 million will be closed.
There’s the first dose of stupidity, right there. Based on what the public has in front of us, we’re being told that someone wants to pony up almost $300 million for a project, even with public assistance, will return 18% below what’s acceptable.
Bill O'Connell as the "Master of the House" from Les Miserables.
Think about that for a second.
According to the city’s analysis, after construction, the two combined hotels will produce a profit of $27 million a year. Apparently, that’s not good enough.
Why it’s not good enough is a bit of a complicated question, but it has to do with alternative opportunities for capital. Based on a bunch of assumptions, the city’s consultant concludes that a reasonable investor would be willing to pony up $220 million to build this project . . . not the near $300 million our current estimate is. Our public assistance isn’t what’s required to break even . . . it’s what’s required for the investor to get his 13% return.
Read the full story here:
http://www.orangejuiceblog.com/2013/05/tripling-down-on-stupid-the-gardenwalk-giveaway1/
Last night council members Kris Murray, Gail Eastman, Lucille Kring, and Jordan Brandman voted to GIVEAWAY $158 million of future Anaheim tax revenue. See highlights from last nights public comments below:
From The OC Register (with Save Anaheim commentary):
ANAHEIM – Several hours of debate continued late Tuesday night over a revised $158 million bed-tax subsidy to assist the developer of two new luxury hotels at The Shops at Anaheim GardenWalk.
As of 9:30 p.m., the City Council had not reached a decision about the tax incentive, mostly due to the dozens of residents who spoke against the plan. If the plan is approved, developer Bill O'Connell Sr., will receive 70 percent of the project's room taxes from when the first hotel opens in 2016 through 2042, or until he has been paid $158 million. Ten percent of the occupancy taxes generated by the anticipated four-star-caliber hotels would be placed in the city's coffers, while the remaining 20 percent would pay off bonds that funded improvements to Anaheim's resort district in 1997.
"Handing over $158 million is not only unfair to other hotel operators that are paying the bed tax, it is especially unfair to the residents of Anaheim," Rick Skinner of Anaheim told the council during public comment.
Other opponents, such as Yesenia Rojas of Anaheim, said any bed-tax revenues raised by the two hotels should be spent on helping the residents of Anna Drive, where a police-involved shooting last summer sparked days of unrest downtown.
"We have been told there are not enough community programs to help our Anna Drive neighborhood, but you have $158 million of our money to give away without helping out the poorest area of Anaheim," Rojas told the council.
An Orange County Superior Court judge ruled in December that the council violated the state's open-meeting law when it narrowly approved a $158 million subsidy that would have allowed the GardenWalk hotel developer to keep 80 percent of the project's bed taxes for up to 15 years, with the remaining 20 percent going toward the resort-bond debt and nothing set aside for the city's general budget.
"I would not have voted for it last year, but this plan is different," Anaheim City Councilwoman Lucille Kring said. How is this plan different? It is the same $158 million GIVEAWAY with no community benefits.
O'Connell and city staffers said the subsidy is needed so that Anaheim can compete with surrounding cities that lure high-spending tourists wanting to stay in luxury hotels.
"The people who are opposed to this act like the city is writing a check to me," said O'Connell, who plans on spending $283 million to build the hotels. That is a lie Mr. O'Connell. The City of Anaheim will write a check over the duration of the agreement directly to you.
"This is a completely different plan that I believe is win-win for the project and the city because no revenue is coming out of this until the hotels get built," O'Connell said. "We want to move forward, build these hotels, create some jobs and generate some revenue for the city." This is the same plan Mr. O'Connell.
Check back daily for updates on the upcoming reinstatement of the $158 million GardenWalk Hotel GIVEAWAY scheduled for TODAY!
Check back daily for updates on the upcoming reinstatement of the $158 million GardenWalk Hotel GIVEAWAY scheduled for TODAY!
This robo call went out today from Mayor Tom Tait:
At tomorrow's City Council meeting, special interests and lobbyists are returning to ask taxpayers to subsidize two luxury hotels. If passed, our city will be forced to pay one developer 158 million dollars over the next 29 years, taking away money meant for vital city services such as police, fire protection and libraries. If you oppose this as I do, please call City Hall at
714-765-5247to express your views. Thank you. My committee Tom Tait for Mayor 2014 has paid for this call.
Q: What is it?
A: Hotelier Bill O’Connell is asking taxpayers to underwrite his hotel, with $158 million in subsidy that was intended for the General Fund, to pay for Police, Fire, libraries, parks and other essential City services. His claim is that the City needs more 4-star hotel rooms to attract upscale visitors, and those more expensive rooms cost more money.
Bill O'Connell
Q: Seems reasonable-so why doesn’t this deal work?
A: If bankers are lending for the 3 star hotels currently about to break ground, but won’t lend on 4 star hotels, they may be telling us there isn’t a market for those high end lodgings. Why should we as taxpayers give money for an investment bankers won’t lend on?
O’Connell says even with the subsidy he will not be able to break ground for at least a year or two. A leading hotel expert argues that by waiting an additional year no subsidy would be needed, as the lending market will be friendlier.
Jack Corgell, a Professor at Cornell University of Hotel Administration stated, “The value of waiting an extra year could be substantial to the city, why would you do this now? What’s the urgency?” In addition, one of Orange County’s top hotel real estate consultants, Alan Reay, stated ,“The hotel market has recovered, and revenues continue to climb. Lenders have already stepped back into the market.”
Q: Why doesn’t the developer wait a year and secure traditional financing?
A: By waiting a year he wouldn’t benefit from free tax money, which makes the deal more lucrative for him and his investors. The developer appears to owe more than the land is worth. Many of us find ourselves “upside down” on our homes, why should one developer expect us to bail out his bad investment?
Q: Didn’t anyone stand up against the original giveaway?
Yes, Mayor Tom Tait and (former) Mayor Pro-Tem Lorri Galloway voted NO. City Manager Bob Wingenroth also opposed the deal, after having served years as Anaheim’s Finance Director, he could see this was a loser for our General Fund. Bob Wingenroth has now left the City of Anaheim, taking a six-figure cut in pay, rather than remain in this environment at City Hall.
Q: Why did the Mayor vote NO?
A: It isn’t fair. Mayor Tom Tait stated, “I’m in business, if I had a competitor, who didn’t have to pay taxes, I wouldn’t like that because it is a huge competitive advantage.”
In addition, Mayor Tom Tait rejected the argument that without subsidy the land would sit empty and unproductive, stating that, “…if you don’t build it, something will be built there, and all that tax revenue would come to the city.” Indeed we already see other sites being developed without taxpayers underwriting the costs.
Q: Why did Murray, Eastman, and Sidhu vote YES?
A: First, they claimed there was no cost to the city. Which is false. The $158 million is our money, collected from visitors who pay the tax, and then diverted to the developer instead of remaining in the General Fund.
If the hotel was built without the subsidy, all that revenue would be kept, funding police, fire, libraries, parks, and community services. Those costs are skyrocketing, since the same Council majority approved one of the most generous union deals in recent memory last summer-again over the objections of Mayor Tait, meaning we will have to increase General Fund revenues just to maintain the same level of service. Knowing we need to either increase funds or cut spending, the only expense the Council majority cut from the budget was the line item for Mayor Tait’s staff!
Plus, the Council claimed it was all about jobs. But the developer does not have an agreement to use local labor, so our taxes are likely to fund jobs for some other town’s workers. These jobs are not right away either. Construction on the first tower won’t start till 2015. The final tower won’t be completed until 2022. The permanent jobs they boast about are mostly in the hospitality industry, offering low pay and no benefits, so taxpayers end up subsidizing O’Connell twice when we also have to build affordable housing projects for his workers, or offer social services to cover their cost of living.
Lastly, the special interests behind this deal spent tens of thousands in campaign money to help elect the current Council majority. Money from the developer, Disney, OC Taxpayers Association, OC Business Council, and former Mayor Curt Pringle (also the lobbyist for the developer) helped boost Eastman, Murray, and Brandman into office.
Gail Eastman and Bill O'Connell
Q: So why is the developer back, didn’t we do this last year?
A: After the initial giveaway, a lawsuit was filed by community members and in December 2012 a Superior Court Judge ruled the Council meeting violated California’s Open Meeting laws, and voided the deal.
Q: Besides the lawsuit, how did the community respond to the initial giveaway?
A: Residents were outraged and over 10,000 Anaheim voters signed an Initiative that would allow residents to vote on any future subsidies. Unfortunately, the Council majority (Murray, Eastman, and Sidhu) voted NO on allowing residents to decide on the fair use of our tax dollars.
A: What can I do now to help stop this $158 million giveaway from being reinstated?
1. Send a quick e-mail to the City Council at sray@anaheim.net or call 714-765-5247
2. Show up at 5 p.m. at Anaheim City Hall Tuesday (May 14th) and voice your opposition during public comments. While we are all frustrated with our leaders, let’s be respectful during the meeting. There will probably be a long line to speak on this issue, be patient and we will all be heard.
3. Support candidates who oppose this misuse of public funds during the next election in 2014.
Q: Where can I learn more?
A: The Save Anaheim blog was created to share information with residents, especially info that we feel the media and papers are not reporting on. Check the site often for updates at
http://saveanaheim.com/blog/?tag=%24158+million+Giveaway
Voice of OC is another blog doing good investigative reporting.
http://www.voiceofoc.org/search/?t=article&s=start_time&sd=desc&q=gardenwalk+hotel
The OC Register
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/council-380779-city-public.html
Check back daily for updates on the upcoming reinstatement of the $158 million GardenWalk Hotel GIVEAWAY scheduled for this Tuesday, May 14th.
Check back daily for updates on the upcoming reinstatement of the $158 million GardenWalk Hotel GIVEAWAY scheduled for this Tuesday, May 14th.
Next Tuesday, May 14th the city council majority led by Kris Murray is going to try and reinstate this outrageous giveaway. Please take the next 6 minutes to view the video below from the initial council vote in January 2012.
Check back daily for updates on the upcoming reinstatement of the $158 million GardenWalk Hotel GIVEAWAY scheduled for this Tuesday, April 30th.
In an article published by the OC Register regarding districting, council member Gail Eastman is quoted as saying:
Gail Eastman
"It's expensive to maintain the lawsuit, but we also need to look at how much it would cost to expand the City Council," Councilwoman Gail Eastman said. "I don't know how we could physically expand the council to eight people in the Chamber. The more issues we put on the ballot, the more people will get confused."
I decided to write council member Eastman and ask her this simple question:
"Where do you come up with such ridiculous statements?"
Within the e-mail I also pasted the quote above. To my astonishment she wrote back. Below is our e-mail exchange (nothing has been omitted):
Eastman: "I have no idea where do you find such things?"
Young: "That's a quote from the OC Register"
Eastman: " But of course! If its in print it must be true! And you must believe in Santa and the Easter bunny too!"
Actual e-mail screen grab:
Young: "So the Register just made up this quote and stated it was from you?"
Eastman: " Not what I said, end of discussion. Again thank you so much for your input, I appreciate your views."
From there I decided to call the reporter who quoted council member Eastman, Art Marroquin of the OC Register, and he stated that the interview took place via phone and that he typed the words into his computer as she spoke.
I think at some point I could put together a small coffee table book with classic Gail Eastman quotes. Here are some of my personal favorites:
After the two APD shootings and the riots:
"The bonus now is that a threat of seeing either the TOT issue or districting on the November ballot is past. In spite of how it happened, it was a big time win for all who opposed seeing that placed on the November ballot. Tonight we celebrate a win with no shots fired!"
On allowing residents to vote on subsidies and districting (reference to Mayor Tait):
"All I can say is "praise the Lord" he cant get either of them on the ballot."
On districting (video below):
"I understand a lot more about it then the average resident."
Save Anaheim has found some very revealing info regarding Mrs. Edinger on Facebook. The following are some quotes from posts Mrs. Edinger has commented on with the screenshots following below with additional comments made:
Amanda Edinger
"Illegal immigration is not another civil rights issue. And it's demeaning to those that actually endured that movement."
"Where is the border security promised in 1986?"
"Stop handing out benefits, cut the automatic birthright, cut education and impose heavy fines on employees that hire them."
"They don't have a right to work here."
Do you think Congress should pass laws discontinuing birthright citzenship? "YES"
"No amnesty"
"Affirmative action is nothing short of govt approved racism."
"They want our guns"
"I'm sorry that some people live horribly there, but invest your effort to either fix your country, or immigrate to ours legally."
"I support Sherrif Joe"
-Click images below to enlarge-
I find it appalling that the OC Register printed Kris Murray's lies in the editorial section but no follow-up article on Mayor Tait's response at city council. So, the Save Anaheim PAC will be running this full page ad in tomorrows Anaheim Bulletin. Here is a preview:
Kris Murray
From the OC Register (pay special attention to Eastman's idiotic quote at the bottom):
ANAHEIM – Voters should be asked whether Anaheim is carved into City Council districts as a way to ensure better representation of minority communities, according to a draft report set for consideration Thursday night.
Gail Eastman -
"The more issues we put on the ballot, the more people will get confused."
Additionally, the City Council should be expanded from five members to six or eight with an at-large mayor, according to preliminary recommendations by the Citizens Advisory Committee on Elections and Community Involvement.
Palm trees frame Anaheim City Hall. The city is considering making major changes as to how the City Council is elected.
The 11-member panel was formed in the wake of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit filed last June, alleging that the city's longstanding system of electing five at-large council members violates the state's Voting Rights Act.
The committee is expected to issue its final recommendations Thursday and present the findings May 31 to the Anaheim City Council. From there, the City Council could ultimately decide whether to put any proposed changes onto a citywide ballot.
"The fundamental question of how we are to be governed should be put to the ballot," said Mayor Tom Tait.
"I'm pleased that the draft report affirms my previous proposal that the best way to determine whether we should have districts is to simply ask the citizens of Anaheim," Tait said. "Who better to decide than the people who live here?"
Along with districts and council size, the committee is expected to consider whether the city should work with community leaders to drum up voter registration, hold more neighborhood council meetings and change the time that City Council meetings are held from 5 p.m. to 6:30.
An Orange County Superior Court judge is expected to rule in July on the ACLU's lawsuit, which alleges that Latinos are shut out of Anaheim's city elections. In the meantime, records show that the city has spent more than $400,000 in legal fees fighting the lawsuit and an additional $35,000 to operate the citizen's commission.
"It's expensive to maintain the lawsuit, but we also need to look at how much it would cost to expand the City Council," Councilwoman Gail Eastman said. "I don't know how we could physically expand the council to eight people in the Chamber. The more issues we put on the ballot, the more people will get confused."
The Citizens Advisory Committee on Elections and Community Involvement will hold its final meeting at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in the Anaheim City Council's Chamber, at 200 S. Anaheim Blvd.
From The Voice of OC:
While various stakeholders continue to disagree on the merits of Anaheim's proposed streetcar project, there is no debating that it is the most expensive project of its kind in recent memory.
An analysis by the Orange County Transportation Authority showed that on a per-mile basis, the estimated $319-million price tag on the Anaheim project is higher than any of the last 11 streetcar projects proposed nationwide.
There are a variety of reasons why such a project in Anaheim would be more expensive than in places like Cincinnati and Portland. Labor costs and environmental requirements among other factors make the cost of any construction project in California higher than in other places.
But it's also becoming increasingly clear that a significant reason for the high cost estimate, nearly $100 million per mile, -- is the demands placed upon it by Disneyland and the rest of the city's resort district.
Read the full story here:
http://www.voiceofoc.org/oc_north/article_b8c70826-b65c-11e2-ae40-0019bb2963f4.html
Tonight I had the pleasure of attending an event thrown by former Anaheim City Council member Lorri Galloway. The event focused on three topics:
1. police relations
2. community issues
3. creating positive change
Approximately 60 community members were in attendance and many took the time to express their thoughts on the 3 subjects (video coming soon). I'd like to thank Lorri Galloway and Dr. Jose Moreno for bringing the community together. People need an avenue where they can be heard, because they certainly don't have the ear of Kris Murray, Gail Eastman, Jordan Brandman, or Lucille Kring.
From the New Anaheim blog:
Last week’s big story in Orange County politics was the meltdown at Anaheim’s City Council meeting — normally taciturn Mayor Tom Tait waited until the end of the meeting to clean Councilwoman Kris Murray’s clock. The You Tube video is here.
Tait’s specific target was Murray’s OC Register guest column from 24 April: Let process play out on Anaheim’s elections (outside Paywall here). On apparently bad legal advice (sources she won’t reveal), or with deliberate intent to deceive (surprising few), Murray misstated a number of facts regarding the noticing of a future election to decide on District-based versus City-wide (at large) Council representation for the city. She accused Tait of violating “state law”. Per the union-funded Voice of OC,
…after the meeting, Murray declined to identify the sources of her legal opinions. She declined to comment further on the matter. ACLU attorney Bardis Vakili sided with Tait and said Murray’s reading of the law is incorrect.
Tait’s response was in today’s Register Commentary section: Anaheim elections (outside Paywall here). It’s also important, and concerning, that the Register’s not run even one story on this drama which could drastically impact the future of the OC’s most well-known, nationally famous tourist and convention destination.
Read the full story here:
http://newanaheim.com/2013/05/05/anaheim-councilwoman-kris-murray-needs-to-go/#more-769
