Seyarto urged voters to vote “Yes” on both Propositions 39 and 43, saying Proposition 43 would help prevent tax increases while Proposition 39 would strengthen election integrity.
“Eighty percent of the problems we face in California have nothing to do with partisan politics,” Seyarto said, pointing to water resources, energy and transportation as real issues that need to be addressed.
Seyarto said voters should be able to ensure that legitimate American citizens are participating in elections. He said those who plan to raise their families in California, pay taxes, hold legal status and genuinely care about their communities should have a voice at the ballot box, rather than allowing what he described as “ghost voters” to influence elections.
He also criticized California’s state budget, which exceeds $300 billion, saying that some policymakers cannot even balance their own checkbooks yet are making financial decisions for taxpayers.
Seyarto argued that the state’s current approach to increasing government revenue is to continue taxing the people who remain in California. But, he said, the more heavily California taxes its residents, the fewer people will be willing or able to remain in the state, leaving the government to impose even higher taxes on those who stay.
Instead, he said, California should focus on economic growth and make the state more attractive to people willing to take risks, start businesses and invest in the California economy.
“Cost of living starts with energy costs,” Seyarto said, adding that higher energy prices affect virtually every other aspect of life. Everything in California, including housing, has become increasingly expensive.
Seyarto said all three of his daughters have moved out of state because they could only afford the cost of living elsewhere.
He added that for Asian Americans in particular, people work hard, save money and aspire to purchase homes and additional property. Unfair or unreasonable tax increases, he said, could make those future plans increasingly difficult.
Liu said Proposition 39 clearly establishes that only U.S. citizens should be allowed to vote and argued that voter identity should be verified at the polls.
“Voting only has meaning if we can verify who is actually voting,” Liu said.
Regarding Proposition 43, Liu said that without a higher voting threshold, the state government could potentially raise taxes with only a simple majority. For Chinese Americans, he said, “no matter how many jobs you work, you simply cannot keep up with the pace of tax increases.”
Assemblymember Phillip Chen said Republicans in the state legislature have repeatedly blocked what they consider unreasonable proposals. One example, he said, involves increasing property taxes, arguing that such increases should require approval by a specified percentage of voters. For seniors and people with little or no income, he said, being taxed according to current market values could create an unbearable financial burden.
He also cited Republican opposition to AB 742, which would restrict the use of police dogs in arrests, and AB 93, which would limit police questioning and the ability of officers to request consent to conduct searches.
Assemblymember Phillip Chen argued that preventing police from using police dogs to apprehend suspects would effectively tie officers’ hands and give criminals greater protections than law enforcement.
“If police officers are not even allowed to ask questions, how can they solve crimes and catch criminals?” he said.
