Campbell a hero to some taxpayers

Paul Clinton

Americans for Tax Reform has given Assemblyman John Campbell its

“Hero of the Taxpayer” award for July.

Campbell’s outspoken opposition to Gov. Gray Davis’ budget --

which includes tax hikes for drivers, smokers, banks, small

businesses and electricity users -- won him the award, the group

said.

Damon Ansell, the group’s vice president for policy, announced the

award in a July 25 letter to Campbell.

“We commend you for protecting the principles of lower taxes and

limited government spending,” Ansell wrote in the letter.

The Washington, D.C.-based conservative group, founded in 1986,

asks elected officials to sign a “taxpayer protection pledge.”

Campbell has signed the pledge, promising not to support higher

taxes.

In his 2002-03 fiscal year budget, which has been stalled in the

Assembly since July 1, Davis has proposed tax increases to the

vehicle license fee (of $1.3 billion), tobacco products ($650

million), a bank and corporate tax ($285 million), and an

electricity-users surcharge ($10 million).

Davis also wants to suspend a teachers tax credit, which could

take $170 million out of teachers’ pockets, and revoke a

small-business credit that allows small businesses to deduct net

operating losses (a $1.2 billion hit).

“I have many things in the budget I object to,” Campbell said

Wednesday from his Irvine office. “That is the most objectionable

thing.”

Jurist’s ruling a win for honest Abe’s followers

Leaders of the Lincoln Club of Orange County toasted with

champagne this week when a federal judge overturned an Irvine

political ordinance in agreement with the group’s lawsuit.

The group, a powerful Republican supporter based in Newport Beach,

sued Irvine in October 1999 to overturn a city ordinance that

prohibited two or more people from spending $340 to promote a

candidate with newspaper ads, direct mail, posters or billboards.

Federal Judge Alice Marie Stotler sided with the group in a

Tuesday ruling, as she deemed the ordinance unconstitutional. Similar

ordinances are in place in Huntington Beach, Laguna Beach and other

cities.

As a result of the ruling, Irvine also agreed to pay the group’s

$125,000 in legal bills.

“The courts will not uphold these ordinances,” said the club’s

president, Michael Capaldi. “I think it’s a problem that in this

country it takes three years to gain your freedom back.”

The club, which counts about 260 members, is a major fund-raiser

and supporter of conservative candidates and the Republican Party.

The Claremont Institute Center for Constitutional Jurisprudence and

the Individual Rights Foundation both offered legal services to help

the fight.

Suddenly, it’s summer for district representatives

Early Saturday morning, at about 3:40 a.m., Reps. Chris Cox and

Dana Rohrabacher took their vacations, at long last. They’re heading

back to their districts -- which include Newport Beach for Cox and

Costa Mesa for Rohrabacher -- for the summer recess.

On the Hill, it’s known as the “summer district work period,” so

there’s a good chance these two will be doing more than just hanging

out at barbecues and catching waves.

For the hard-core political junkies who need a taste of Cox in

August, the congressman can still be seen. Adelphia Communications,

the cable provider for about two-thirds of Newport Beach, is

broadcasting new episodes of Cox’s talk show “Washington Report.”

The cable provider will show two episodes during the month, at

10:30 p.m. on two Mondays on Channel 3. Check local listings for

times.

In recent weeks, Cox recorded four new episodes of the

long-running show with several notable guests, including former

Secretary of State Henry Kissinger, CNN anchor Judy Woodruff and

scholar Norman Orenstein.

Adelphia covers the portions of the city west of Jamboree Road.

The shows were also scheduled to run on Cox Communications Channel

30 but have been preempted. The shows, scheduled for 6 p.m. on two

Tuesdays in August, won’t be seen in the 10,000 or so households near

Fashion Island and in Newport Coast.

Managers say the cable provider decided to run the study session

of the City Council instead.

Cox’s show can be seen in Costa Mesa on Channel 61 on Tuesdays at 6 p.m. The congressman has produced the show, from Washington, D.C.,

since he was first elected in 1988. Former Rep. Robert Badham, who

held the seat before Cox, hosted the show for several years.

District 46 challenger a little late on criticism

Long Beach nurse and teacher Gerrie Schipske has been taking

opponent Rep. Dana Rohrabacher to task on a number of the

congressman’s votes. The Democrat hopes to unseat Rohrabacher in the

race for the 46th District.

Yet Schipske has been a little tardy in her press-release assault

on Rohrabacher’s voting record.

On Sunday, Schipske sent out a release accusing Rohrabacher of

voting to “protect American companies who use offshore tax havens to

avoid paying U.S. taxes.”

Rohrabacher’s vote, which occurred almost two weeks earlier, was

cast to oppose a bit of legislative language hooked onto the Postal

Operations and Treasury Appropriations Bill.

The congressman’s press secretary, Aaron Lewis, said his boss

opposed it because it “was not germane” to the bill, which is

comparable to a check from the federal government. Lewis said

Rohrabacher supports reforming the nation’s tax code, so companies

are not rewarded for setting up an offshore mailbox to act as a tax

shelter.