(November 6) -- Prop J (5% utility tax rate cut) author Norm Ryan has e-mailed the following reaction to Dennis Carroll's TV ads for City Hall Prop I (2.5% utility tax rate cut):

Dennis' argument is ludicrous. There was absolutely no way we could yank Measure J off the Ballot in favor of a compromise, even if we wanted to.

There was an attempt to get us to withdraw our support from Measure J and throw it behind a compromise proposal, but none of the numbers came even reasonably close to what had been proposed last Fall. If you notice both Colonna and Baker offered less in this "compromise" than they did last Fall - and their proposal was chincier than the opposition (Roosevelt-Grabinski-Kellogg-Shultz) proposal.

I welcome the 4th District Councilman's commercials. His points are standard fare from Downtown, and I believe most people have become jaded with them. I also honestly believe Measure J will win not in spite of these nonsensical arguments - but because of them.