KTVU covers Khamis' call for SJ Council to void RM4 endorsement, based on admission of false and misleading info in ballot language
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Former SJ CM and fiscal responsibility leader Johnny Khamis spoke with local TV regarding the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) admission that it wildly lowballed (by more than $240 million) annual costs to taxpayers in the mammoth, misguided regional housing bond.
"RM4 is the fiscal equivalent of giving a pre-teen the keys to a 18-wheeler--it's a pileup waiting to happen."
That's former CM Johnny Khamis in a formal statement, released last Friday, regarding how the newly-created Bay Area Housing Finance Authority lacks the professionalism and expertise to manage the mammoth $48bn housing bond they're presenting to regional voters this November.
Khamis' concern was based upon revelations that the BAHFA-draft ballot measure was full of mistakes and misrepresentations--most notably understating the cost to taxpayers by more than $240m per year.
As a result, Khamis is calling for the San Jose City Council, which endorsed RM4 in May, to void their endorsement as it was based upon false data.
Local tv KTVU interviewed Khamis, in which he said:
"When the city council voted to support the BAHFA tax, they where told the average cost to taxpayers was $200 annually, now it's closer to $300. BAHFA is either dishonest or unqualified to manage $48 billion in taxes."
In his Friday statements, Khamis also said:
The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority is a brand-new taxing authority with no record on fiscal management. And its lack of professional expertise is on full display in this whopping public blunder.
Perhaps more disconcerting, there is no direct method for taxpayers to hold BAHFA accountable for the implementation of this bond, should it pass, as the BAHFA board is appointed, not elected," Khamis said.
Khamis also noted that the San Jose City Council--and other city councils that have endorsed the flawed measure--need to void their endorsements of RM4, as they were made based upon false information which hugely understated the cost of the initiative for their constituents.
"SJ City Council endorsed an initiative that doesn't exist--one that costs $240 million a year less than the real, more expensive bond measure voters are facing. Basic fiscal prudence requires the Council to void its previous endorsement, and review the new ballot language and consider its hugely increased costs to the people of San Jose," Khamis said.
"The cost of living in San Jose and the Bay Area continues to soar, and this misguided and falsely marketed tax is just going to make it worse for almost everybody--for decades to come. SJ Council should take advantage of this moment to look out for the citizens of San Jose because it's clear that This new agency can’t be trusted to do math," Khamis concluded.
Khamis is the Santa Clara County plaintiff in an ongoing lawsuit against BAHFA.
Full text of Khamis press release:
Khamis calls for SJ City Council to void endorsement of RM4 after BAHFA admits ballot language wildly understated cost to South Bay taxpayers
Former SJ Councilperson says Council's endorsement of mammoth, $48 Billion regional housing tax was made under false pretenses and based upon misinformation; calls RM4 "the biggest tax scandal in his lifetime," made by a "governing body that is the most unaccountable in local government history."
San Jose, CA. August 9, 2024: Former SJ City councilperson and long-time advocate for fiscal responsibility Johnny Khamis called for the SJ City Council to walk back its May, 2024 endorsement of RM4, now that it has become clear that the ballot language upon which that endorsement was made was false and shot full of misinformation.
Yesterday, the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority, the entity that created RM4-- the nine-Bay-Area-county housing bond--admitted that the true annual cost of RM4 is nearly 36% higher than the amount shown in the ballot question. Specifically, BAHFA agreed "to correct the Ballot Question for Regional Measure 4 by deleting “$670,000,000” from the Ballot Question and replacing it with “$910,976,423”."
Translated, that means that the original ballot language understated the true cost to taxpayers by more than a whopping $240,000,000 per year. BAHFA officials claimed the $240 million mistake was "a mathematical error."
Plaintiffs from all nine Bay Area counties are continuing with a lawsuit that asserts that the ballot question is slanted to prejudice residents to vote in favor of the measure, and that the ballot question contains a series of phrases that are not found in the language of the measure.
Khamis is the Santa Clara County plaintiff in the ongoing lawsuit.
"The Bay Area Housing Finance Authority is a brand-new taxing authority with no record on fiscal management, " said Khamis. "And its lack of professional expertise is on full display in this whopping public blunder."
"RM4 is the fiscal equivalent of giving a pre-teen the keys to a 18-wheeler--it's a pileup waiting to happen," Khamis said.
"Perhaps more disconcerting, there is no direct method for taxpayers to hold BAHFA accountable for the implementation of this bond, should it pass, as the BAHFA board is appointed, not elected," Khamis said.
Khamis said that the San Jose City Council--and other city councils that have endorsed the flawed measure--need to void their endorsements of RM4, as they were made based upon false information which hugely understated the cost of the initiative for their constituents.
"SJ City Council endorsed an initiative that doesn't exist--one that costs $240 million a year less than the real, more expensive bond measure voters are facing. Basic fiscal prudence requires the Council to void its previous endorsement, and review the new ballot language and consider its hugely increased costs to the people of San Jose.
"The cost of living in San Jose and the Bay Area continues to soar, and this misguided and falsely marketed tax is just going to make it worse for almost everybody--for decades to come. SJ Council should take advantage of this moment to look out for the citizens of San Jose because it's clear that This new agency can’t be trusted to do math." Khamis concluded
The No on RM4 press release, cited above.
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