“MICHAEL KEMPS
”I was not in favor of Measure D. I felt that there was insufficient explanation for new taxes – and was not sufficiently convinced by its sponsors. My perception as a voter at that time was that new taxes were being levied upon our residents without sufficient justification. It was not clear that this funding was vital without massive changes to our budget.””

“JENNIFER KING (incumbent)
”Proposition 13, enacted by California voters in the early 1970’s, capped the amount of property tax revenue our City receives. Because our City has always been fiscally conservative, the cap imposed on PVE provides a lower level of funding than the amount received by many other California cities. For approximately 30 years, our residents have chosen to supplement the Proposition 13 amount with a parcel tax. Measure D would have extended the same tax that had been in place for decades, ensuring our continued ability to fund the safety services that our residents expect and deserve. When it ultimately fell just short of the required two-thirds vote necessary to enact it, I was pleased to be able to work with a broad coalition of City residents to better understand their concerns and support a revised referendum to maintain this critical funding.””

“VICTORIA LOZZI
”I did support Measure D. I became City Treasurer in March 2017, and while campaigning in the months leading up to that election, I studied the financial information that was publicly available (the City budget and CAFRs). I determined that it would be very difficult to cut roughly $5 million from an $18-19 million budget, which is what would have been needed to make the parcel tax unnecessary. At the time, I felt that the parcel tax exactly tied to the fire services contract was a good mechanism for generating needed revenue and thought that there were savings that could be realized on both the City Hall and Police Department sides of the house that could help to reduce the pressure on the operating budget.””

“KEVIN MCCARTHY
”I supported Measure D. Although it was technically a new Tax, I saw the Measure as an effort to extend an existing tax to maintain County Fire Services. I did not believe the City had sufficient resources to fund Fire Service without Measure D. Public safety is one of my top priorities and due to the lack of options for fire and medic services, I didn’t see any alternatives.””

“DAVID MCGOWAN
”Yes, I supported Measure D, but I had concerns regarding its structure. The community was previously supportive of this parcel tax that was configured to cover annual fire and paramedic services provided by the County of Los Angeles. I believe the community was satisfied with the quality of services delivered, but that the voters balked at the unprecedented increases in the annual cost escalator (6%) and the duration of 12 years. I shared those concerns.””

“BETTY LIN PETERSON (incumbent)
”The Council voted unanimously to support Measure D. Measure D would have continued to bring in revenue, in the form of a special tax, to pay for our Fire Department, thus maintaining service level as its predecessors have done for the last 30 years. The City was not in the position to lose $5 Million in revenue. Losing $5 Million dollars has had an ongoing negative impact to the City, not just in City Government itself, but in the community as well. Losing Measure D has also delayed what City Council was planning to accomplish by at least 2 years such as Asset Inventory, Reserve Policy Study, Pension Liability Study, Traffic Mitigation, Capital Improvement Schedule, Maintenance Schedule...etc.””