Will L.A.'s Mayor Fight Prop 13?

Increasingly seen as an ineffective tool, the property tax limiting Proposition 13 has been derided in California for decades. Now, Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa looks to be willing to argue against the politically sensitive law.

1 minute read

July 12, 2011, 11:00 AM PDT

By Nate Berg


According to this column from the Los Angeles Times, Villaraigosa is planning to raise the issue with Governor Jerry Brown as a way to put more tax money back into city coffers as the entire state faces one of its toughest economic climates.

"[T]he mayor told me he's studying the material but doesn't have a specific strategy yet.

But he said he plans to go to Sacramento in August, and he's thinking he might make a speech to the press club pitching Prop. 13 reform. He said he was surprised that Gov. Jerry Brown hasn't done it himself, because at the age of 73, Brown doesn't need to give much consideration to his political future.

"If he needs a guy like me to start it, then I'm going to do it," said Villaraigosa, a former state Assembly speaker."

Sunday, July 10, 2011 in Los Angeles Times

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