Leslie Daigle supports eminent domain robberies

June 1, 2012

By John Seiler

In preparation for next week’s election crunch, I’ve been taking a couple of days off to get in shape with plenty of sleep and bourbon. But something just happened I must report on.

At 3:39 pm today, I got a robocall on my cell that ended, “Paid by Leslie Daigle.” She’s running in the new 74th Assembly District against incumbent Allan Mansoor. Both are Republicans. I live in the district. My mailbox has been choked daily with two mailers from Daigle, one from Mansoor. She’s getting major funding from wealthy “moderate” Republicans.

The ad was a short spiel by Stanton Councilman David Shawver. Shawver himself is notorious for being the candidate government union goons pushed for Orange County supervisor in 2006 against anti-tax John Moorlach, who trounced Shawver with 70 percent of the vote.

Shawver is a big backer of the massive Measure J tax increase in Stanton. According to the statement he signed, “Measure J allows continued funding for public safety services by providing nearly $1.2 million annually in needed local funding.”

Of course, what they could do is cut cop and firefigher salaries and benefits, along the lines of the 9 percent drop in median incomes in California the past five years. Measure J, essentially, funds high cop and firefighter pay, perks and benefits — at the expense of struggling private-sector taxpayers.

In the robocall I just got, Shawver attacked Mansoor for voting in the Assembly to “take money from our local communities and give it to the state government.”

Translation from the Shawver mendacity: Mansoor voted to end redevelopment, which saved the state $1.5 billion in other budget cuts or tax increases. Redevelopment essentially robs poor and middle-class people of their property and gives it to crony capitalist developers. One of the few good things to happen to this state in recent years is that, because of the budget crunch, redevelopment ended.

So if Daigle replaces Mansoor in the Assembly, by the admission of her own ad she will back robbing the poor and middle-class property owners to reward the crony capitalists.

Under the new Top Two system, to really lose, Daigle has to finish third next Tuesday, after Mansoor and the Democratic candidate, whose name isn’t worth remembering. If Mansoor prevails eventually in November, it’s possible the Republican party will survive in California. Mansoor is anti-tax increase and takes the side of the middle-class taxpayers that form the backbone of the party.

But if Daigle survives on Tuesday, then beats Mansoor in November, the California GOP will begin Cheyne-Stokes respiration and should be given its last rites.