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President's Message, April 2004
By Gordon P. Gitlen, Esq., Action President

Our March meeting was well-attended despite heavy rains, with approximately 100 members listening to our guest speaker Kris Vosburgh, Executive Director of the Harold Jarvis Taxpayers Association, who spoke on the upcoming election and propositions 55, 56, 57 and 58. Our thanks to Mr. Vosburgh for his informative talk. The following is a recap of the results for those initiatives. Proposition 55, an education bond, passed with a slight majority. Proposition 56, which would have allowed passing a state budget with 55% of legislature instead of two-thirds, failed by a sizeable margin. Proposition 57, the $15 billion Economic Recovery Bond, passed. Its companion, Proposition 58’s Balanced State Budget, was added to the California State Constitution after an overwhelming 71% voted for it.

I do want to take this opportunity to thank Bill Teachworth and Ted Heldman in particular for their generous contributions to ACTION and encourage other members to do the same. Our organization exists because of your interest and because of the need for an apartment association to educate Santa Monica apartment owners about changes in state laws, changes in local laws, and recent court cases affecting your business. Your monetary support allows us to help you. Please support ACTION.

In the near future we would like to have some fun fundraisers. If you have ideas or an interest in serving on the Board of Directors, please contact the ACTION office.

Finally, the Rent Control Board is actively conducting hearings regarding Regulation 3304, which may raise your tenant’s rent if it is not the tenant’s primary place of residence. Please do not forget this important program especially if your tenants are using the rental unit for an office or storage facility or just to have an apartment once a year during Christmas time.

We will not be having a meeting in April, so we’ll see you on May 3.