Register reiterates NO on Troy Edgar’s Los Alamitos Telephone Tax

The Sunday Register inventories their current candidate endorsements and ballot recommendations in today’s Opinion section.  Here’s how they summarized Los Alamitos’ Measure DD being promoted by their Mayor, Troy Edgar:

NO.  Los Alamitos’ Measure DD is incredibly overbroad, taking over 300 words to describe all of the technologies subject to its tax power, including text messages, cellphones, voice-over Internet, faxes, paging systems, routers, electronic billing, video conferencing, among many other.  It even taxes technologies not yet invented and prohibits residents from seeking an injunction against those taxes. In the event federal law changed and allows taxation of the Internet, Measure DD allows Los Alamitos to begin taxing it, too, without voter approval .   The City Council recent voted to hold a contest to decide how to spend general fund money, which is where the telephone users’ tax goes, raising the question of how essential that revenue is.  Spending options include “emergency kits for every household,” and “seed money for sugar been festival.”

Edgar is also running for the 72nd Assembly District, touting his reputation as a “Tax Fighter” and promising he won’t raise taxes.

But just yesterday in front of a group of religious leaders in Little Saigon, he just couldn’t explain the non-sequitur.  As candidate, he promises — make his personal pledge — to potential voters that he will NOT raise their taxes.  But as Mayor, he’s slamming his city residents and businesses with an “overbroad” tax specially targeted at cell phone users, and applicable to a wide variety of other telecommunications services.  Even cable and satellite television could be taxed.

Edgar’s lied about taking union money, and he’s going to find himself in deep stuff when the facts from R. Scott Moxley’s OC Weekly story from last week get investigated.  He won’t sign the ATR Tax Pledge in confirmation of his personal promise.  He’s manipulated the trash hauler bidding and selection in Los Al to ensure a campaign contributor got the business.

We understand the legal bar’s probably too high (for now) to get this guy into court, but with this record and the lengthening trail of lies and accusations, how is he still in the Assembly race?