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.
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