Republican Club
By Brian Harmon
LW contributor
Assembly candidate Janet Nguyen drew a rousing welcome at the Republican Club Zoom meeting on Sept. 16. The group spent time discussing issues such as law enforcement, Proposition 15, Prop 16 and AB5.
As a lifetime supporter of law-enforcement, Janet talked about the issue of defunding the police and the negative consequences it would have for the community.
“Now, more than ever, the police deserve our support,” she said. “They need to know that we have their back as they risk their lives for us. We do need police reform, but that does not mean condemning the entire law enforcement community because of the crimes of a few.”
She also discussed Proposition 15 on the November ballot, which would repeal the long-standing Proposition 13 for business and corporate property. Enacted overwhelmingly by the voters in 1978, Proposition 13 limited property taxes to one percent of the purchase price plus a maximum of two percent increase per year.
Nguyen said, “with businesses hurting as they are, this is the worst time to raise taxes on commercial and industrial property.”
Most economists agree that raising taxes on businesses tends to increase prices and unemployment. Although some California taxes are above the national average and some below, the overall tax burden in California is now number six in the nation, according to the national, non-partisan, Tax Foundation. “As a result,” she said, “businesses are fleeing California.”
Nguyen also discussed that if Prop 13 is eliminated for businesses, it might be eliminated for residential housing as well.
“If businesses and individuals stick together, they can defeat any and all attempts to eliminate or water down Prop 13. Once it is eliminated for businesses, it will be very difficult to stop the pro-tax forces from raising it for residential property also.”
The former state senator and member of the OC Board of Supervisors also stated that AB5, a law recently passed by the legislature,
Janet Nguyen spoke at the Republican Club's Zoom Meeting on Sept. 16. requires that hundreds of thousands of independent contractors be hired as regular employees or be laid off.
Proposition 22 on the November ballot would exempt rideshare drivers such as Uber and Lyft from the AB5 requirements.
“Destroying the ride share industry makes no sense,” she said. “The whole idea behind ridesharing is that the drivers work when they want and only take ‘jobs’ that they want.” •••• Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at noon, volunteers at the GOP club booth continue to give away face masks donated by Chairwoman of the OC Board of Supervisors and Congressional candidate Michelle Steel, as well as campaign signs for Republican candidates including Michelle Steel and Seal Beach City Councilman Tom Moore, who represents most of LW.
The club is also raffling off a wall-size, framed picture of a jailhouse built in 1878 in Bodie, California, a gold mining ghost town near the Nevada border. The unique photograph was donated by Jim Yoshioka, who was born in a Japanese internment camp during World War II. His auto-biography titled “I am the Clay, He is the Potter,” is available on Amazon. All profits will go to the LW Republican club.
On Mondays volunteers sell colorful merchandise such as U.S. flag pins, scarves, political campaign buttons, bumper stickers, and flags. They have registered 180 voters so far this year and hope to reach 200 by election day.
