Anaheim Insider here.
If you could spend $49,750 on anything in your community, what would you spend it on? Just to make it a little easier, here are a few options of what that kind of money buys you in Anaheim:
A. Annual tuition for 199 low income kids to attend the Anaheim Boys and Girls Clubs after school programs.
B. One week of tuition for 239 toddlers to attend preschool at the Anaheim YMCA.
C. Underwrite 497 Anaheim kids living in violent families to attend Youth Violence Prevention Programs at the Orange County Family Justice Center.
D. Pay for 829 Anaheim at-risk youth to attend the 24-week Cops 4 Kids Junior Cadet Program.
E. Fund a malicious mail campaign against your (conservative Republican) council colleagues.
It appears Mayor Tom Tait, who has spent his entire first term of office espousing a platform of “kindness,” prefers option E.
As this FPPC filing shows, the Tait Family Trust is funding $49,750 in campaign attack mail aimed at Mayor Pro Tem Kris Murray and Councilwoman Gail Eastman, his two Republican colleagues. And the hits are just getting started with a hit piece dredging up their votes on GardenWalk from nearly two years ago.
As a councilman, Tom Tait voted for the original GardenWalk agreement in 2001 – back when the deal called for a 50 percent share of TOT to just one developer. Tait voted for GardenWalk AGAIN in 2002, extending those same terms to any developers that would build four-star hotels in the resort area.
But it gets better – Tait also voted to split sales tax revenue to incentivize the development of the GardenWalk mall. Not once did he ask for a public vote on any of those agreements. Yet he took tens of thousands in campaign donations from developers and resort-based businesses over the 14 years he’s run for office in Anaheim.
Just to make sure the facts don’t get in the way of the narrative, $49,750 of family money is being spent to bludgeon his colleagues. And what is he trying to sell Anaheim voters? That vital city services are being short changed because Murray and Eastman gift wrapped a full TOT split – a claim Tait should know is outrageous because the city’s finance director keeps reminding him during Council meetings.
Tait’s family-funded attacks speaks volumes about what’s really going on in the “City of Kindness.”
And how much of those feel-good items could be purchased with the $158,000,000 raid on the General Fund to build a hotel that the free market won’t touch?
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Sorry Mr. Insider, but 50 grand is chump change in the oligarchic circle you travel in. Of course in that circle it’s public money wasted. Tait is spending his own.
BTW, when did personal wealth ever offend you?
The ARTIC Mausoleum will become very relevant, very quickly.
“Tait is spending his own.”
No he’s not. It’s his parents money funding the IE. But it sounds like you know that he’s coordinating with them on this, which would be a violation of the law.
“BTW, when did personal wealth ever offend you?”
It doesn’t, and I didn’t say it did. That would be your imagination at work.
Where is that $158 million right now? Is it currently in the general fund and a check will be sent? Will we be able to see the city ledger reduced $158 next year?
No.
Quit trying to push this bogus ‘general fund give-away’ line and try something new.
Sorry, Jack The hotel in question will divert all that dough from the General Fund. Hasn’t done it yet. All those future kiddie programs, and benefits won’t get the funds.
So much for David “I’m always honest” Zenger. You have been patently dishonest on this subject. You can’t give away money that doesn’t yet exist. Anaheim has budgeted no expenditures based on that $158 million. It is not being taken from any aspect of city services.
When and if the GardenWalk opens, 70% of the TOT revenue will effectively pass through the city’s coffers for 20 years and capped at $158 million. This deal will generate $484.5 million in new TOT, of which $255.6 million is retained in the general fund.
But no GardenWalk deal, no GardenWalk hotel…and new TOT revenue: $0.00.
Exactly
Totally Agee with jack on this one. Zenger is just plain wrong. Classic misdirection and scare tactics. The mayor’s record speak for itself. If he’s had a change of heart on his own past votes, say so and explain yourself. What I find odd about the hit money is that it’s against the council race. Doesn’t tait have enough to worry about in his own race without diving into the council race? I guess someone has to keep beating up girls.
And I totally disagree.
Actually Tait has very little to worry about in his race. The latest poll I’ve seen has him at a solid 54% with only 18% undecided. The others get to share what’s left.
By the way, referring to Murray and Eastman as “girls” is quite demeaning to the two of them.
Since you’ve seen a Tait poll, you obviously are close to the Tait campaign. And you contend this IE is Tom Tait “spending his own money,” that’s a convincing indication he is illegally coordinating with the California Homeowners Committee.
You’ve been very helpful, Mr. Zenger.
What does this Zenger character even do? I see from Googling him that he worked for Sup. Shawn Nelson until Nelson fired him last year.
Either Zenger is unemployed and spends all day reading and commenting on blogs, or he has a job and still spends all day reading and commenting on blogs.
Mr. Zenger – your comment regarding Tait’s personal wealth is inaccurate. His company, in fact, makes a most excellent living from city incentivized projects promoting public-private partnerships throughout the United States.
Take, for example, the many and lucrative paydays Tait has made and will continue to make from the City of Garden Grove – a direct competitor for Anaheim tourism dollars.
The fact that Tait inserted himself in this conversation at all (much like in the Angel’s negotiations due to his land interests) is unethical in my opinion. Remember Tait’s personal wealth stands to gain by servicing GG hotels while squashing economic growth in our own Resort District in Anaheim.
The truth here is that this mayor has worked hard to viciously attack his opponents on this matter while doing his utmost to hide the facts regarding his personal wealth and motives from the public.
Mayor Tait is the worst and most divisive mayor this city has ever known.
Ouch. Sounds like the truth is getting exposed. When was the last time Tait spoke with Artie? He hasn’t tried. What does he gain from the stadium being torn down? He claims he is looking out for the citizens best interest. If they sell the land to a developer which I’m sure he knows a few after the Angels are gone after paying property tax the city gets a one lump some of let’s just say 225 million. One time does that ring into your head. Development of that land which Artie is paying for by the way will generate millions over many years to our city and create jobs. If it was sold and a private developer comes in hen I’m sure some hands will be in that kitty! I believe there are lots around the land in mention that are owned by people close at heart.
I’m enjoying all the traffic the OJ guys are sending here. And I keep asking a question over there that they refuse to answer. If outsiders have to stay out of Anaheim vis-à-vis CATER, why can CATER stick their nose into the San Diego Convention Center expansion?
For all the posts those paranoiacs publish about Anaheim Blog, the Orange Juice Blog certainly lacks juice in terms of generating any traffic here. Yesterday, exactly one person clicked on their link to AB. Today it is two.
Hey, where did the two cray-crays go? First they spend the whole commenting, and now they’ve vanished? They’re moonbats, but it’s amusing to read them out-crazy each other
They’ve been put in time-out. Opposing viewpoints are welcome. Zenger and Cantor were basically squatting the comments section by deluging Anaheim Blog with comments, most of it just snark. They’re spammers. Apparently, they are able to spend the entire day commenting on blogs. They saturate the comment moderation queue, and I have neither the time nor patience to accommodate their attempt to flood the zone. If they want to spend their work days swapping conspiracy theories at Orange Juice Blog and telling each other how in-the-know they think they are, they can do so at Orange Juice Blog.
Matt,
You smell bad.
— The World.
You’ve never spent any time in the company of Vern Nelson.