I never thought I would support a bill written by Buffy Wicks. I am sure that the Howard Jarvis (HJTA) crew are equally amazed that the Legislature turned on a dime at the extreme last moment. The State incorporated core elements of the Local Taxpayer Protection Act (Save Prop 13) into their brand new ACA 22. This was part of a what appears to be a back-room smoke-filled piece of horse-trading theater the very night before the Secretary of State (SOS) assigned Proposition Numbers to the qualified Initiatives. It happened so fast between 6/23 and 6/25 that I am half expecting the other shoe to drop to expose some hidden trick inside ACA 22.
I updated the TVR web site for the Official Propositions, Pending Initiatives, and Alameda County Candidate pages for the November General Election. HJTA enthusiastically crowed with a Press Release that their Local Taxpayer Protection Act (Save Prop 13) made it onto the ballot with sufficient verified signatures. They mailed a letter to members seeking advertising funds to get votes to pass it in November, saying they would NEVER back down to trade away this hard-earned Initiative. Only two days later, the SOS announced that HJTA removed it from the ballot! Shock of shocks. I then found a 6/25 Press Release on the HJTA web site that explained the horse-trading results.
The State agreed to remove the “poison pill” ACA 13 hanging over our heads from the ballot. That Legislative Proposition would have made it impossible to create citizen-led taxpayer-protection initiatives in the future. In exchange, the legislature offered ACA 22 bill to replace the Save Prop 13 Proposition. HJTA agreed. What convinced our tax-everything Legislature to yield their beloved ACA 13? What aspects did HJTA give up in the deal? I do not believe a leopard can change its spots. Short of a “Come to Jesus” moment of illumination to our tax-enamored politicians, their compromise ACA 22 (Proposition 43) leaves me perplexed. Yet, I encourage a YES vote on Proposition 43 trusting the wisdom of HJTA to not have given away the ship.
Check out the newly numbered propositions on our TVR November Propositions page: https://trivalleyrepublicans.org/props-2026. Now that they are ready for the ballot, I can begin checking to see how my conservative sources are endorsing or castigating each Proposition. These currently unknown endorsements will be added to the Propositions page over the next three months. Bookmark that page especially when the ballots are mailed to you in early October.