It’s election season, which means voters are again being bombarded with mailers brimming with hollow bromides, misleading claims, half-truths and falsehoods.
Buena Park Mayor Connor Traut, candidate for Orange County Supervisor in the 4th District, recently sent a mailer to the Republicans in the district asking for their votes. On the flyer he claims his agenda is lower taxes. Not a bad message, considering lower taxes is universally popular with Republicans.
Along the same lines, the Association of Orange County Deputy Sheriffs (AOCDS), one of many labor unions supporting Traut’s candidacy, sent a mailer to voters stating “He fought to lower costs in Buena Park”:
There’s just one problem with these claims: they contradict the record.
At the July 23, 2024 Buena Park City Council meeting, they considered adding a 1% sales tax increase to the November 2024 ballot. Councilman Traut voted enthusiastically in favor of placing the sales tax increase on the ballot, saying it’s passage would lead to “funding a better future, one their children could be proud of.”
With all the polling indicating affordability and cost-of-living are top of mind with voters, a fair question is: did raising the sales tax make life more or less affordable for Traut’s constituents? Say what you will about the merits of the sales tax increase in Buena Park, it directly contradicts claims he “fought to lower costs in Buena Park” or his agenda is “lower taxes”.
Raising taxes is the exact opposite of lowering costs.
Making grand promises to voters right before an election is a time-honored tradition, but considering he was a champion for a sales tax increase a less than two years ago, perhaps Traut should just remain silent on the tax issue.
