Summer BBQ

Republican
Assembly of Kern County

Date: June 15, 2009 Monday

Time: 5:30 pm Social

6:00 pm BBQ & Brief Meeting

Place: Home of Ken & Barbara Mettler, 15229 Henderson Ave., Bakersfield, CA 93314

“Future
of CRA & RAKC”

Ken Mettler, newly elected CRA President

POTLUCK …SO BRING A SALAD, SIDE DISH, DESERT, OR BEVERAGES. Hamburgers provided.

Young members just bring yourself!

No meeting in May

Because our state legislators are not doing their job, the taxpayers of Kern County are paying $1.5 million for this special election. Be heard on May 19^th!

1A “Rainy Day” Budget Stabilization Act NO

This is fraud. This is a serious tax increase masked as a spending cap. This keeps a $16 to $20 billion tax increase in place for two more years with an increased sales tax, a doubling of the vehicle license fee, increased income tax, and elimination of the child care tax credit. This costs the average family $1,100 more per year in taxes.

1B Education Funding. Payment Plan NO

This is a “save now—pay later” scheme. This is a shell game, temporarily shuffling education funds at the expense of taxpayers for years to come.

1C Lottery Modernization Act NO

“Modernization” must mean increasing the public debt by selling bonds that must be paid back later at unfavorable rates due to California’s poor credit rating.

1D Children’s Services Funding NO

This is a classic bait and switch sham. Not only is the title misleading, it is a temporary shift of funds vs. actual fiscal discipline. It moves the voter approved cigarette tax from child development programs to the general fund supposedly for other children’s’ programs. The voters did not vote for another tax for the general fund.

1E Mental Health Funding NO

Another hand-is-quicker-than-the-eye scam. Shifts voter-approved funding from the approved program to the general fund. This undermines the initiative process.

1F Elected Officials Salaries NO

This is a sly bit of chicanery to add an air of respectability to this package of initiatives. While this appears to punish irresponsible legislators it actually penalizes those few who are trying to truly represent the people. The large public employee unions and the special interests will continue to fund the campaign accounts of their puppets in the legislature at a rate much higher than any “salary” loss. The legislators who are not recipients of funds from the special interests will be the ones punished.

The Republican Assembly of Kern County, is recommending that citizens vote NO on all the ballot initiatives on the May 19^th special election.

“The politicians are trying to get the voters to vote for a bogus “package” of false reform without looking carefully at the contents. In this special election, California voters will face a barrage of unparalleled falsehoods and misrepresentations.”

“We need to show the politicians that lying to the people will no longer work”, stated Ken Mettler, president of the Republican Assembly of Kern County.

The Republican Assembly of Kern County opposes all the Propositions 1A through 1F.

Because the legislature is not doing their job, Kern County taxpayers must pay $1.5 million for this special election.

Bakersfield—The Republican Assembly of Kern County, is condemning the recent vote by six Republican legislators to support the liberal Democrat tax and spend budget.

“We are especially disappointed that Senator Roy Ashburn, who has had an exemplary voting record until now, voted for this budget which will add $1500 a year of additional taxes on struggling California families.” stated Ken Mettler, president of the Republican Assembly of Kern County.

  CURRENT

SECTION 4. Public Service. No officer of the Assembly shall hold any partisan or non-partisan, salaried, elective public office.

This provision shall not prohibit any officer from serving on any public commission or board, nor other office or position of authority within the Republican Party, for which no regular salary is received Should any officer of the assembly, during his term of office, become a candidate for election to any partisan or non-partisan, salaried, elective public office, which shall be defined as the filing of necessary papers with the proper authority, then his term of office as an officer of the Assembly shall automatically terminate.

  SUGGESTED REVISION

SECTION 4. Public Service. No officer of the RAKC shall hold any partisan or non-partisan, salaried, elective public office. In the event that an officer is sworn into such office, the officer’s RAKC position shall be automatically vacant.

This provision shall not prohibit any officer from serving on any public commission or board, nor other office or position of authority within the Republican Party, for which no regular salary is received.

Bakersfield Republican Assembly

Proposed By-Laws Changes

The following are proposed By-Law changes. A vote will be held on these changes 9-11-08 at 5:30pm. Details will follow on the meeting venue. Any questions can be directed to Ken Mettler at 549-6715.

• Change the name of the Bakersfield Republican Assembly (BRA) to the Republican Assembly of Kern County (RAKC). This would better reflect our jurisdiction of Kern County. In the event a formal chapter wanted to form in a specific city, such as Ridgecrest or Tehachapi, etc., then that area of jurisdiction would be released.
• Increase the dues for an additional family member, living at the same address, from $10 to $15. This is consistent with the CRA web page dues schedule and other chapters.
• Raise the contribution limit from any one contributor from $1000 to $5000 before requiring Board approval.

A local chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition is forming in Bakersfield. The web site for the organization is www.rjchq.org  or call Mr. Larry Greenfield at 310.478.0752.

Welcome to the Republican Jewish Coalition!

In this time of nearly $5 per gallon gasoline, people losing their homes and the state proposing big tax increases, our Board of Supervisors is being asked to put yet another onerous tax on the people of Kern County. This proposal has no guarantees as to spending priorities.

“We, the citizens of Kern County are cutting back and tightening our belts. Therefore, we urge the Board of Supervisors to not increase the size of government on the backs of the already beleaguered citizens and just say NO to this TAX HIKE proposal”, stated Ken Mettler, president of the BRA.

The proposal to increase the local sales tax by another one percent to 8.25%, is due to the state stealing our local tax funds. Currently, state lawmakers are pilfering money from Kern County and its transportation funds to the tune of $65 million dollars.

Kern County will spend $458 million dollars this fiscal year on mandated welfare costs, an increase of 22% over last year. This is an amount roughly equal to the total budget for the Kern High School District to educate 37,000 students annually. The California legislature needs to get its priorities in order and stop demolishing local government.

The desire for Kern County to provide the necessary matching tax funds for our transportation needs is admirable. But the reality now is that the more we tax ourselves here locally the more funds will be taken from us by a spend thrift state legislature.