Mayor Tom Tait
Anaheim Mayor Tom Tait recorded a robocall that went out yesterday (I don’t know how wide a voter universe it went to):
This is 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, fore protection and libraries. If you oppose this, as I do, please call City Hall at 714-7655247 to express your view.
Thank you.
My committee, Tom Tait for Mayor 2014 has paid for this call.
The staff report makes it very clear this agreement will not take any funding from city services – the Mayor is not just attacking Mr. O’Connell and the council with this message, he is attacking city staff. In fact, he is blatantly lieing to Anaheim residents.
I’m really disappointed in Tom Tait for using the $158 million “giveaway” line. It’s obviously untrue, but he says it anyway. What are we supposed to think about anything Tait says in the future?
So sad that Tom Tait just doesn’t get it, or does he?
He loves when his daddy’s construction/engineering firm works on hotels in Garden Grove, and he fights any hotel construction in Anaheim since his daddy is prohibited from working on it.
Tait is the best Mayor Garden Grove has ever had. It’s all about him making money, not serving the residents of Anaheim.
I got the Tom Tait speed-reading voice mail yesaterday on my answer machine. I had to play it three times to understand what he said. So thanks for printing it here.
It is so sad that the mayor is continuing to divide our city. If he opposes something, then he should just say so, and vote “no” on it.
But instead he tries to mislead the people.
A few examples:
“This is Mayor Tom Tait. At tomorrow’s city council meeting, special interests and lobbyists are returning to ask taxpayers to subsidize two luxury hotels.”
– I think the request is coming from the developer. No one else is requesting this. But there will be plenty of “special interest” opposition, possibly Unite HERE, OCCORD, OCEA.
“If passed, our city will be forced to pay one developer $158 million dollars over the next 29 years,”
– actually the agreement calls for the developer getting back 70% of the TOT that is generated at the end of each year for up to 20 years- with a cap at $158 million. I dont know how Mayor thinks that is 29 years.
“..taking away money meant for vital city services such as police, fire protection and libraries.”
-Actually 10% of the TOT, and sales tax and property tax generated from this property, will be put in the city’s General Fund on day one. There will not be any cut in funding for any program. If someone read the city staff report on this agenda item or Deputy City Manager Greg Garcia’s comments in yesterday’s Register, you would see that.
“If you oppose this, as I do, please call City Hall at 714-7655247 to express your view.
Thank you.
My committee, Tom Tait for Mayor 2014 has paid for this call.”
– Now this is important. Why did he spend his re-election money for this. Obviously, he is campaigning for re-election on this issue. So he sees it is more important to find issues to campaign on – 18 months before an election – than to govern the city. How sad!
Tom Tait is an absolute disgrace. He is responsible for the chaos that this city has sustained over the last 2 1/2 years. He must go away! He is a HORRIBLE MAYOR!!!
I agree stand for anaheim. He has completely divided this city.
I’m confused. Tait doesn’t want to give one specific developer a tax break because he says it is not fair to all hotels that must pay the tax. Who does he think he is?
I agree with everyone’s feedback about baby boy Tait. I think that that any other hotel built in Anaheim in the future should not have to pay the tax also. We will show Tait that the city can survive just fine without this kind of tax revenue. If existing hotels don’t like it, they can just tear down their hotel and build a new one and not pay the tax. Pretty Simple.
Tait talks about the city being shorted on $158 mil in tax revenue. That’s just crazy. The money is going to the developer who can spend it however he wants. Think about it… Would you gather give the money to one developer or to a city who would use it on something useless.
The staff report provided exhaustive data that the GardenWalk agreement does not impact current or future city revenues – the city even sent out a press release the next day underscoring this point and listing the lengthy financial benefits long term of this program.
Plain and simple, Tait LIED to Anaheim with this robocall.