SEIU Union Just Endorsed LB Councilwoman Gonzalez For State Senate And A Day Later Endorsed Ballot Measure To Remove Prop 13 Limit On Comm'l Property Tax Increases, Would Enable Annual Market Rate Reassessment Separate From Residential Property, Revenue For Schools/Community Colleges, County/City Hall Spending; Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Ass'n Blasts Proposal

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(Feb. 7, 2019, 9:10 a.m.) -- The Service Employees International Union (SEIU), which on Feb. 5 publicly endorsed LB Councilwoman Lena Gonzalez as its preferred candidate for a vacated LB-Huntington Park state Senate seat, on Feb. 6 endorsed a statewide ballot measure that, if approved by a majority of CA voters, would change Proposition 13 to enable annual property tax reassessment of commercial properties but not residential properties (a "split roll") with revenue allocated to schools, community colleges and county/City Hall spending.

The petition-initiated measure, self-titled the "California Local Schools and Communities Funding Act," has qualified for the November 2020 (presidential election) ballot and is supported by (among others) the League of Women Voters of California, Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of CA (CHIRLA) and the CA Federation of Teachers. In a release, SEIU says the change in Prop 13 would close a "loophole for millionaires, billionaires and corporations to restore California's schools, community colleges, health clinics and vital local services."

The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has blasted the "split roll" measure, saying it would "effectively raise taxes on businesses automatically as real estate values rise."

In a Feb. 5 release by her state Senate campaign echoed in her campaign's Facebook feed, Councilwoman Gonzalez said she is "honored to receive the endorsement of SEIU California and its 700,000 members" saying it's "at the heart of the labor movement, fighting tirelessly to improve the lives of workers in California and throughout the country" and adding "I have spent my adult life standing up for working families and advocating for good jobs, fair wages, and quality and affordable health care. I want to bring this fight for working men and women to the State Senate, and I look forward to working with SEIU to build a future that makes the American Dream achievable for all."

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On Jan. 3, 2019, LB's Commercial Real Estate Council (whose website stated mission is to "advocate for commercial real estate investment, development and the opportunity") scheduled a "New Year Mixer" with state Senate candidate Gonzalez, describing her on its Facebook page as having "supported over $4 billion Commercial Real Estate Investment and Development in the Downtown. As the only privately employed City Councilmember and expertise in technology & finance, we are excited to learn more about her campaign positions that support business and CRE investment for the greater Long Beach area."

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