Acquanetta Warren for Assembly

In The News

It's Still A Tax

Source: San Bernardino Sun Newspaper

It’s still a tax, stupid…no matter how you hide it.

Acquanetta Warren, Vice Mayor of Fontana and Republican Candidate for AD 63

Halloween is over, but the fright is just beginning. At a time when taxpayers are struggling with a faltering economy, plummeting home values, declining retirement investments and education savings, salary cuts or jobs losses, and reduced public safety services, the state is there to help by adding to the burden. Talk about dumb.

It shouldn’t be allowed to happen, but it is – and at the worst possible time. I’m talking about a triple whammy tax increase: a quarter percent income tax increase and a reduction in the dependent tax credit coupled with a 10% tax increase.

I know bureaucrats are claiming it’s not really a tax increase, just an accelerated collection. But misleading government jargon aside, the tax-man will take 10% more from your paycheck – saying (wink, wink) that you’ll get it back when you file your taxes. But in my book, when the state takes your money – there is a reason it’s call confiscatory power – it’s a tax increase no matter what fancy name they slap on it.

Years ago, I worked as VP for a bank; and I seem to recall that when someone borrowed money, there was a little condition on the loan… oh, yeah – interest. But the tax-man won’t be paying you any interest. And if you don’t pay up, he’ll take it from you anyway. Al Capone would be proud.

A flack for the tax collector says its no big deal and not very much money anyway, claiming that if you make $17,000 a year and have 10 dependents, you’ll only see a few dollars increase per month. That’s just another example of how out of touch bureaucrats are – because if you’re making $17,000 a year and have 10 kids, you probably need those dollars.

Here’s my message to the state: It is a lot of money! This tax increase will allow California government to spend an extra $1.7 billion – on credit. Meanwhile Legislators avoid making needed cuts and rack up even more debt.

Small businesses and families who are already struggling to make ends meet are going to be the hardest hit by this reckless and irresponsible tax increase. It’s time to stop.

Compare the state’s lack of responsibility to local governments. As a City Council, we’ve rolled taxes BACK – we eliminated the utility tax, cut fees on businesses and development to help put people back to work, and reduced city staff to ensure we were living within our means. Don’t even get me started about the state swiping local property taxes and redevelopment funds to pay for their bloated pensions, benefits and other perks…

Women in politics: ideology is more important than gender or ethnicity

Source: San Bernardino County RWF Newsletter
by

Acquanetta Warren, Vice Mayor of Fontana and Former Vice-Chair (Inland Empire) of the California Republican Party

Much has been said over the last few years about the “gender gap” and there are enough studies about minority outreach to paper every office in the State Capitol building. While we are struggling to attract more women and minority voters to the Republican party, we cannot succeed by abandoning our principles.

And, unlike some political pundits, I don’t think we win by acting or sounding more like Democrats.

I speak from experience. I grew up in South Central LA, where everyone was a Democrat. I watched as a the Democrat party machine maintained absolute control, and yet failed to reduce crime, increase opportunity or strengthen families. I became a Republican – not because they talked like the Democrats, but because the GOP was a genuine alternative.

Our shared Republican values of preserving freedom through lower taxes, less government, more personal responsibility and strong public safety are winning issues – but we need to a better job explaining those values to voters.

We need to demonstrate how Republican values will make their lives better and we must do more to show them that if they share our values, they are welcome in the Republican Party.

For those who think we need to sound like Democrats to expand our own Party, I would remind them of what the Democrats are saying and doing:

Democrat Speaker Karen Bass said that getting rid of waste or cutting program shouldn’t be part of the budget (San Francisco Chronicle, 7/3/09)
Democrat Assemblywoman Lori Saldana said waste, fraud an abuse “might be there” but called the waste of tax dollars “minor,” (Assembly Floor Speech, 7/1/09)
Democrat President Obama said that paying higher taxes was patriotic and stated they want to “spread the wealth around a bit,” – which is code for massive government expansion and taking money from the most productive members of society to support the least.

Becoming more like Democrats means abandoning families, abdicating personal responsibility and supporting massive government expansion – it is not a road to electoral victory, it is a road to extinction.

The latest budget is a perfect example. While acting like a Democrat and giving up his GOP ideals, the Governor’s approval rating among voters had reached an all-time low. Today, after standing up to say “no” to higher taxes – his approval rating are skyrocketing.

And make no mistake, the budget was passed, but it has not been “solved.”

The Governor stood up for taxpayers this time, but the Legislature still used accounting gimmicks, borrowed money and hidden taxes to close the budget gap.

Among the tricks is a 10% “acceleration” of taxes – meaning you’ll be forced to pay 10% more than you owe. Legislators say that you’ll get it back at the end of the year, but short of a miraculous economic recovery, we’ll have another budget crisis next year, so might not get your money back – you’ll get an IOU.

That’s why we need to emphasize, not abandon, our Republican principles – because without the GOP, the Golden State will be replaced by the Tax State. Because even if we’re vilified by the liberal press, we are the only thing standing between homeowners and runaway taxes that will force them out of that home; between fulfilling the California dream of working hard to create a business to build a better life for your family and a government controlled economy where bureaucrats decide how much you can make and what you can spend.

We need to better job recruiting GOP women and minority candidates, but we should not ever abandon our Republican values.

Our principles and ideals are important – they can help build a better, freer California for everyone – including women and minorities. Perhaps that’s the message we should be sending.

CA Republican Party Leadership Conference A Huge Success

Source: http://www.blackvoicenews.com/content/view/42497/4/

Recently, at the Burbank Marriott Hotel an extraordinary event was held by the California Republican Party.

Billed as California Republican Party Leadership Conference, hosted by the California African American Republican Coalition, the theme was "Building Strong Leadership through Positive Change."

PANEL: (l-r) Joe Hicks, Joseph Phillips, Wilbert Smith, Shannon Reeves, Walt Allen, Acquanetta Warren and Lynn Swann.

Black Republican leaders from around California gathered there for a day long leadership conference focused on growing the number and effectiveness of African American Republican activists throughout our state.

Ron Nehring, CRP leader stated, "It's one of the most extraordinary events I've seen in my 20 years in Republican politics".

Lynn Swann

Fontana Councilmember (and CRP regional Vice Chair) Acquanetta Warren, CPUC Commissioner Timothy Simon, Southern California Edison's Tommy Ross, Bobby McDonald of Orange County's Black Chamber of Commerce, Shannon Reeves of the RNC (and former CRP Secretary), and many others.

Among the participants, panelist and speakers were: Lynn Swann, the former NFL player and former Republican nominee for Pennsylvania governor, along with California African American Republican leaders like Covina Mayor Pro Tem Walt Allen, Assembly candidate and San Ramon, Mayor Abram Wilson, The morning session consisted of a panel discussion entitled: "Vision for Building Black Republican Leadership" and the panel also included Joe Hicks, radio talk show host; Joseph Phillips, actor and author; and Wilbert Smith, a former gubernatorial appointee and business owner, along with Reeves, Warren, Allen and Swann.

This event was an organizational focal point for a sustained effort to maximize the number and the effectiveness of African American Republican activists to help increase the benefits of Republican leadership and principles to even more California communities. "We know that our Republican ideas of entrepreneurship, strong families, promoting personal responsibility work wherever they're implemented and many African-Americans in the state share Republican values," stated Bobby McDonald. He continued: "Several TV crews covered the event, with the program focused on leadership and political training, networking, and mapping out the next steps for building the Republican Party in California's African American communities." With the number and quality of the participants that were in attendance, the group is off to a great start.

Warren Named Delegate to the Republican National Convention

Source: http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=VDBB&p_theme=vdbb&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=122EA84A57D55950&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM

FONTANA - Keep an eye on the crowd at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn., this week.

This city will be represented there, perhaps in the form of a logo, more than likely resting on the head of Councilwoman Acquanetta Warren, a delegate.

She was ecstatic when Jim Brulte, the former state Assemblyman and Senator, appointed her as a delegate to the Republican National Convention.

Warren named to Republican Party Executive Committee

Source: http://www.redcounty.com/sandiego/2007/07/crp-chairman-nehring-announces/

From Red County Blog:

(Sacramento) - California Republican Party Chairman Ron Nehring today announced the membership of two key committees in the nation's largest state Republican Party: the Executive Committee, and the Platform Committee.

With a maximum of 100 members, the Executive Committee has the same authority as the full committee, and can exercise that authority when speedy action on critical issues is necessary. It represents a broad-cross section of the party.

The Executive Committee consists of delegates who are automatically members of the committee by virtue of positions they hold, plus several dozen members appointed by the Chairman and confirmed by the Board of Directors.

The Executive Committee members for this term are listed below.

The Platform Committee is elected by the full state committee membership and is responsible for proposing a new, four year platform for the California Republican Party. The Platform Committee members in turn elect a drafting committee charged with the actual writing of the platform. Chairman Nehring serves as Chairman of the Platform Committee.The Platform Committee members for this term are listed here.