Republicans have a long term, slow boiling plan to make Democratically controlled cities ungovernable. Attempts to defund cities, interfere in elections, defund our schools, and lawsuits to block popular measures are backfiring. Now they think they can use a low turnout election to sneak their most noxious ideologues onto our property appraisal board? Oh NO!
BACKGROUND
Remember voting last November for larger homestead exemptions? Well, we also approved a provision to add 3 ELECTED positions to the previously nonpartisan Travis Central Appraisal District Board of Directors (BOD). The BOD has always consisted of members APPOINTED by taxing entities (read: cities and schools). Its job is to ensure that the appraisal process is fair. It also appoints members to the Appraisal Review Board (ARB). The ARB in turn hears and rules on citizen protests of appraisal values.
IMPACT
So, politicizing the BOD has a couple of ramifications. First, any 2 of these 3 newly elected BOD Members can block an ARB appointment, leaving them free to contaminate the review process with political cronies whose ONLY objective is to lower taxes. Ok so lower taxes sound’s great, right? Not so fast. What are Republicans always in favor of? Lower taxes. What are Republicans NOT in favor of? Public Schools! Public schools will end up taking the hit in recapture payments.* In the long run public school funding will be slowly starved to death. Make way for Charter Schools!!
And this is happening in counties all over Texas!!
WHAT CAN YOU DO?
VOTE on election day May 4th 2024. This is the only item on the ballot in our area. This election is expected to get a DISMAL 3% to 5% turnout. On the North Shore of Lake Travis that translates to between 500 and 850 votes. There are 7 candidates. Three are Republicans including the current Chair of the Travis County Republican Party and a pro-life anti-LBGTQ hater. There is also one Libertarian, Treasurer of the local party.
But, there are three well-qualified Democrats running against them who have established records of acting in the public interest. They are: Jett Hanna Place 1, Daniel Wang Place 2, and Dick Lavine Place 3. Voting is by name only, not party, in this “non-partisan” election. Write this memory trick in your calendar….
We (Wang) Have (Hanna) Love (Lavine)
On May 4th, SHOW YOUR LOVE FOR PUBLIC SCHOOLS. Early voting is April 22 thru April 30, 7 am to 7 pm (except Sunday, April 28, noon - 6 pm) at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church, 21900 1431 in Lago Vista. Election Day voting on May 4th is 7 am to 7 pm at Christ Our Savior Lutheran Church and the Lago Vista High School, 5185 Lohman Ford Rd in Lago Vista.
*Note: Per Daniel Wang, Lowering appraisals does not necessarily mean lowering taxes. Taxing entities can adjust tax rates up so that their total revenue is stable - changing appraisals changes who is paying what share of the total pot, but does not change the size of that pot.
May the 4th Be With You.
Stop a stealth takeover of Travis Co Appraisals by Republicans only interested in their anti-tax, anti-public schools objectives!