Silva Consistent in Opposition to Taxes

* Orange County Supervisor Jim Silva has been criticized in recent weeks because of his personal opposition to the proposed half-cent sales tax (Measure R). This position is quite consistent with his voting record while on the Huntington Beach City Council.

Jim Silva and I served together on the City Council for four years (1988-92). From this shared experience, I have discovered three guiding principles that he appeared to follow:

First, taxes already take too much of the average person’s income; therefore, additional taxes should not be imposed.

Second, informed voters can arrive at their own conclusions about the necessity of the proposed tax. Therefore, Jim voted to place it on the ballot to let the people decide. This action is consistent with his respect for the collective intelligence of the electorate.

Third, one should have a healthy mistrust of administrative staff. This mistrust is vindicated by the fact that J.P. Morgan offered a $2-billion bailout package to lift Orange County out of bankruptcy and the Board of Supervisors was not informed. How many other options to avoid defaulting on bond payments never reached the supervisors? Does this screening of options make a vote for the sales tax more persuasive?

Supervisor Silva may be faulted for his opposition to Measure R, but not for being inconsistent in applying his basic political philosophy to the current situation.

PETER GREEN

City Council member

Huntington Beach