September 1992 Home   Newsletters

October 1992

November-December 1992

President's Message (Arlene Ellis)
Testimony before the Planning Commission 9/2/92 (Arlene Ellis)
League Recommendations on Proposed Charter Amendments
Viewpoint
Statement on Policy and the Environment - 1 (Astrid Monson)
Statement on Policy and the Environment - 2 (Jean Aoki)
Statement on Policy and the Environment - 3 (Arlene Ellis)
Testimony on Bill 122, Excise Tax Surcharge (Arlene Ellis)
Testimony on Bill 122, Excise Tax Surcharge - 2 (Astrid Monson)
Rail Opponents Challenged to Find Alternatives (Astrid Monson)
Letters to the Editor - 1 (Arlene Ellis)
Letters to the Editor - 2 (Muriel R. Roberts)
Letters to the Editor - 3 (Katherine Kocel (P.K.A. Loew) & Susan MacKinnon)
Letters to the Editor - 4 (Barbara Farwell)
Membership

Testimony on Bill 122, Excise Tax Surcharge - 1

September 30, 1992

Last Tuesday's Council vote was a shot in the arm for all of us who still believe in democracy and representative government. To see the Council withstand the masses of rail propaganda, the political and economic pressures, and the spoken and unspoken threats of reprisal, was an inspiration to all of us who opposed rail.

There is plenty of kudos to go around -- to Arnold Morgado, who, early on, saw the fatal flaws in the proposal and provided the leadership which gave us the incentive to fight for what seemed, two years ago, to be a lost cause.

To John Henry Felix, who systematically analyzed the many illusions rail proponents seemed to be suffering from and doggedly pointed to the realties involved.

To John de Soto, who understood from the beginning that low-income families would gain little or nothing from the project and that, as in San Francisco, it would be "the rich that ride and the poor that pay."

To Steve Holmes, who saw the regressivity of the tax and the only marginal benefits rail would confer in relation to its enormous financial and environmental costs.

To Rene Mansho, who better than any of us understood the fiscal nightmare that could result from an incomplete and flawed financial plan, and had the courage to say "no." Who among us can ever forget that moment?

Our gratitude and admiration to all five of you. Please hold fast to your decision and say it again, today. Thank you.

Arlene Kim Ellis
President

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