"Larry Stone, who has been assessor for 30 years, decided to step down now rather than at the end of his term a year from now. Had he waited for the end of his term, the office of assessor would have appeared on next year's ballot along with many other races. Instead, by leaving now, he's creating a single-office, small turnout race, with the person he endorsed having a head start over outside candidates."
"Rishi Kumar, a former Saratoga City Councilman and perennial Congressional candidate, initially claimed that as assessor, he would exempt anyone over 60 from paying property taxes. If elected, he wouldn't have the authority to do that. The job doesn't involve setting tax rates. The job of assessor is to identify all taxable property for assessment purposes and send a list of those properties (called the roll) to the tax collector."
Larry Stone, who served as county assessor for 30 years, resigned before his term ended, creating a single-office, low-turnout race that advantages his endorsed candidate. That timing constitutes political gamesmanship that fuels voter cynicism. Rishi Kumar initially claimed he would exempt anyone over 60 from property taxes, a promise beyond an assessor's authority. The assessor's role is limited to identifying taxable property and producing the property roll for the tax collector, not setting tax rates. Kumar later said he would pursue a statewide ballot proposition to exempt seniors. Neysa Fligor is presented as the qualified candidate with prior experience as an assessor's office attorney and special assistant to Stone; the job pays about $300,000 annually and has no term limits.
Read at Padailypost
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]