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Political science students are taught that elected officials are not kings but are servants to the people who have elected them into office. However, under Mayor Fred Keeley, demand that property owners empty their wallets and their life to health care savings for his socialist affordable housing crusade is insane.
He demands property owners pay increased parcel and real estate transfer taxes with a yearly adjustable Consumer Price Index increase for the next 20-plus years.
His crusade will impact property owners’ budget and expenses, such as gas, public transportation and grocery costs, health to long-term family care, insurance, etc. on top of the yearly property-tax increases for environmental and school bond measures already in place. All this will happen while taking the burden off developers who are making millions from these dense developments that go unoccupied and are being built up and down the county.
He also provides no incentive for a renter to better themself. Instead, Keeley wants the citizen to become dependent with no responsibility for their own action or whether or not they can reach their own life goals, dreams and growth, independent from Keeley’s economic and social policy.
Santa Cruz is a compassionate county but to continually push measures onto an already exhausted property owner and onto an unstable housing market struggling to make ends meet is not what we need at this time. It is easy to place a measure on a ballot with just 3,600 signatures – that is not even close to 50% percent of the population.
Jeff Staben
Soquel
