Realtor UpTick

Any guidance on whom specifically we should be contacting right now? The Ticks new radio effort feels like an act of desperation.

I know we probably already have one on here somewhere. Ashamed to say I don't even know who my rep/sen are right now. I forgot to look them up. Is there a particular committee or do we need to contact everyone?

Robin Hayes lied. Nobody died, but thousands of folks lost their jobs.

If I knew the exact answer I probably wouldn't be posting. :)

I never like form letter systems but here's one the Partnership has set up:

Contact Your Legislators

Act Now for North Carolina's Future

Legislators are in the final days of negotiations on budget issues, and so far no concrete solution has been found for dealing with our state’s infrastructure needs. As a part of the ongoing discussions, legislative leaders are considering whether or not to give local communities an opportunity to vote on a real estate transfer tax to help address these growing needs. If approved by the legislature, people in each county would have an opportunity to vote on the issue, which could provide additional funding to invest in local infrastructure needs and hold down rising property taxes.

The proposal has currently stalled and members of the Senate and House need to hear from you. Contact your legislators today and urge them to give local communities the right to vote on this important issue.

Please email your legislators today and them to support giving local communities the right to vote on a real estate transfer tax.

Contact Your Legislators

I've been all over the State and some of my most vivid memories are not the high growth counties like Wake and Union but sparsely populated counties like Bertie and Hyde with declining, aging populations. They can't run their counties on property tax alone without a downward spiral. They need other options to maintain their services and grow even a little.

 
Stop the NC Association of Realtors

Polluting our State Legislature with money.

From a Press Release in my inbox:

DAVIDSON CANDIDATE for MAYOR ENDORSES TRANSFER TAX on REALTY TRANSACTIONS

William E. "Bill" Jackson, Jr., candidate for mayor in Davidson's November
election, today became the first north Mecklenburg candidate to endorse
legislation before the General Assembly that would permit local governments
to hold a referendum over imposing a tax on sales of real estate--or "land
transfer" tax:

"As I have often said, towns and counties must learn to stand up to the
all-powerful lobby of developers and their allies represented by the REBIC
lobby. Like Gov. Mike Easley and Mecklenburg County Commission Chair
Jennifer Roberts, I stand with the taxpayers who are tired of paying for
infrastructure costs associated with the building and sale of real estate.
This is one way to check runaway growth, and yet encourage that additional
taxes--other than property--be used to pay for schools," Jackson said.

Jackson added:

"The land transfer tax option would empower counties and municipalities to
address head on the issues of runaway growth, overcrowded schools,
and--indirectly--traffic congestion."

"The property tax option can be squeezed too often to raise taxes. And,
especially for the small college town of Davidson, the land transfer tax is
far superior to promoting yet more commercial growth under the heading of
broadening the tax base."

The transfer tax proposal in the new state budget would not force a tax; it
gives counties the option to hold a referendum on it.

William E. Jackson, Jr.
Davidson

1 Thessalonians 5:21: But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good.

If you're wondering why State Legislators are not responding to your emails you might want to thank Rep. Dan Blue, Sen. Richard Stevens and Ken Eudy of Capstrat. They are members of the Board of Advisors of NewMedia which is running the online component of the Stop The NC Home Tax campaign. Their software system is responsible for sending 40,000 emails from 40,000 realtors to members of the House and Senate.

They are spamming the legislators into ignoring their email? I assume they didn't have the permission of the 40,000 realtors they simply "acted on their behalf"?

One of the pitfalls of childhood is that one doesn't have to understand something to feel it. - Carlos Ruiz Zafon

In his defense, he has been very involved in the pro-transfer tax vote campaign.

Now NewMedia Campaigns is a bit more chameleon-like. I know some of the people who run it and they don't have any ideological standards.They work for Democrats and Republicans. They worked for the latest pro-bond campaign in Wake County and now the anti-transfer tax campaign. Brad Crone must like their work.

The bloodsucking?

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/648581.html

Transfer tax holdouts in 'swing' districts
Democrats who don't want the option in budget face Realtors' ads in their contested districts

State Sen. Joe Sam Queen knows about the campaign clout of Realtors. Their political action committee gave his opponent $3,000 in the last election and, a month after Queen defeated him, the PAC sent a $3,000 check to Queen's campaign.
But that's not the reason, Queen said, that he is among several Senate Democrats -- many of whom represent politically competitive districts -- who do not want to see language in the state budget that would let local voters decide whether to adopt a land transfer tax in their county. Queen said he looks at home equity as one of the three keys to prosperity. The other two are a good job and a sound education.

"That's a formula for entering the middle class," said Queen, a Haywood County Democrat.

Senate leader Marc Basnight, a Manteo Democrat, said last week that about seven or eight Democrats in his chamber said they would not vote for it as part of the budget.

He did not identify the senators, but interviews with Queen and others show that those who are in contested "swing" districts are reluctant to vote for a budget that includes the transfer tax option. Their districts are being hit with ads funded by the Realtors that tell residents to "Fight the Home Tax."

"I think it would be nice if we had a separate bill where that could be debated," said Sen. Walter Dalton, a Rutherfordton Democrat who received $8,500 from the Realtors' PAC in 2006, according to campaign finance reports. He is not running for re-election, but he has set his sights on the lieutenant governor's office.

The battle over the proposal is not one-sided. Advocates for the transfer tax, which include municipal associations, road builders and general contractors, are spending six figures on lobbying and media campaigns.

Easley said Friday that the Realtors might have intimidated legislators into opposing the land transfer tax option. But Senate Democrats who don't like the idea say they are not intimidated. They say they worry that it might hurt homeowners and depress construction.

"We've had two plant closings in my county and a plant closing in Graham County," said Sen. John Snow, a Cherokee County Democrat. "A lot of the slack in the economy has been taken up by the Realtors and home builders."

Snow received $3,250 from the Realtors' PAC in the last election, according to campaign finance reports.

Follow the money...

He did not identify the senators, but interviews with Queen and others show that those who are in contested "swing" districts are reluctant to vote for a budget that includes the transfer tax option. Their districts are being hit with ads funded by the Realtors that tell residents to "Fight the Home Tax."

Fight Fair or Run Scared - which is it?

We the People Need to Know

are Queen, Snow, and Dalton, if I read the article correctly. We can start with them.

Compiling

 
Stop the NC Association of Realtors

Polluting our State Legislature with money.

Queen, Snow, and Dalton

What's Dalton afraid of?
Maybe he should check his email sometime.

I swear I'm not making this up:

Here’s a general overview of just a few of the key principles REALTORS® willingly agree to under the Code:

· REALTORS® avoid practices, which may harm the public.

· REALTORS® do not exaggerate, misrepresent or conceal facts related to property or transactions.

· REALTORS® protect and promote their clients’ interests and treat all parties fairly.

· REALTORS® represent themselves truthfully in advertising and other public forums.

 
Stop the NC Association of Realtors

Polluting our State Legislature with money.