Committee Formed for Public Safety Tax Renewal

A committee named “San Marino Residents for Measure S"--formed to campaign for renewal of the Measure S public safety tax on the November ballot--was announced at a press conference Monday, reported the Pasadena Star-News.

The committee will be co-chaired by Steven W. Huang, Wendell R. “Mort” Mortimer David D. Swarts and Andrew C. Yip.

“Measure S will not change the existing formula for the assessment," said Yip, a past president of the , in a committee statement. “It simply continues our support at the same levels. The assessment provides $2,577,719, or 13 percent of the City’s 2011-12 operating budget. Passage of Measure S is extremely important to our community.”

The public safety tax has been approved by voters seven consecutive times since 1980 and Mortimer said if the measure does not pass, San Marino could lose 26 percent of its and 28 percent of the , based on 2011-12 numbers.

Three city decisions that are currently stalled and awaiting the results of the public safety tax vote, as reported by Patch, are:

San Marino City Council candidates have been vocal of their support of Measure S, while it seems those opposed to continuing the tax haven’t made their arguments known or heard much yet.

“I wish I could vote for it many times over, but I guess I can only vote for it once,” . “I am confident that the residents of San Marino will recognize how important this is to … their own safety and safety of the members of the community.”

Other city council candidates David Foley and Eugene Sun also support the tax.

In addition to the four co-chairs, members of the committee include: Wayne Carter, Brent Chang, Chun-Yen Chen, Frank Chen, Doris Christensen, Greg Forgatch, Jerry Hawk, Robert Kral, Richard Pearson, Tom Santley and former mayor Rary Simmons.