#proposition-13

#proposition-13

California is known for a lot of things, but affordable housing isn't often among them. What catches many homeowners and prospective buyers off guard, however, is that property taxes in the state can quietly eat into thousands of dollars a year, even though California's effective tax rates look fairly modest on paper. The reality is that when you're taxing even a small percentage of a million-dollar home, bills add up fast, and in some counties, even faster than most people expect.

After the abrupt resignation of the county's 30-year former assessor, Larry Stone, a special contest to manage the county's $700 billion real estate roll is headed for a Dec. 30 runoff between Kumar, a former Saratoga councilmember, and Los Altos Vice Mayor Neysa Fligor - who also serves as an assistant assessor. Kumar faces an uphill battle against Fligor's commanding lead of 37% of the vote in the Nov. 4 special election. Still, it wasn't enough to win outright and avoid a runoff.

Just like every other city in California, Oakland desperately needs new revenue sources. California cities don't even have enough money to fund the bare minimum of public services, with essential services like BART shutting down frequently. This is a problem that has gone back decades, ever since 1978, when Proposition 13 passed, and has since robbed hundreds of billions of dollars from our communities.