The following letter has been mailed to Assembly District 19 Republicans. Click here to download printable PDF document…
Dear Fellow Republican,
Some people have asked why I’m mailing you these AnnieGram letters for my Assembly District 19 campaign instead of the traditional postcards that candidates usually send out.
Fair question. Here’s why…
Most politicians think the average voter is either dumb or disinterested. So their consultants tell them to just send out postcards with headlines that are often plainly false or, at best, half-truths.
But the post-COVID 19 issues our Legislature will be dealing with next year are important and complex.
So while mailing you these letters is more expensive, it just seems to me that I’d be insulting your intelligence if all I did was scream “Chris Edwards is a Tax Hiker!” on a postcard without proving it or explaining it.
That’s not how I want to be represented, and I hope that’s not what you want either. Onward…
Now, one of the biggest complaints I hear from Republicans is that candidates say one thing on the campaign trail…and then do the exact opposite after they get elected.
That describes my opponent, Assemblyman Chris Edwards, perfectly. Especially when it comes to taxes and spending. But don’t take my word for it. Just look at his record.
TAX HIKES
In a recent campaign mailer, Chris claimed he was “the only legislator that has consistently come up with a plan to balance the state budget without increasing taxes on Nevadans.”
If only that was true!
If you remember back in 2015, the Legislature passed the largest tax hike in Nevada history. And as you may remember, there were two parts to it…
The first bill (SB252) was Gov. Sandoval’s new “Commerce Tax” – a business income tax similar to the one on the ballot in 2014 that voters rejected 80-20%.
The second part was a bill (AB464) to make 2009’s “temporary” hike in the employee tax permanent – a “revenue enhancement” of just under $400 million.
What legislators did at the end of the 2015 session was combine both of those tax hike bills into one omnibus “Frankenstein” bill (SB483).
And although Chris voted against the “Frankenstein” tax bill, here’s what he said on the floor of the Legislature on May 31st (we have it on video) just before the vote…
“I would gladly have supported AB 464.”
So he was for the $400 million tax hike before he was against it! Very John Kerry-like. Trying to have it both ways by telling you only half the story.
Like a typical politician, he’s talking out of both sides of his mouth and hoping you won’t catch him.
Worse, that wasn’t the only tax hike he supported.
In fact, Chris ended up voting for 26 out of 32 proposed tax hikes in 2015 alone – not counting 2017 and 2019.
And here’s why you should be worried…
The Legislature is going to come up with all kinds of sneaky little sleight-of-hand tricks and schemes to raise taxes next session.
Chris has voted often to raise your taxes in the past, and is likely to do so again. That’s why he refuses to sign the Taxpayer Protection Pledge.
I won’t. Period. You have my word. IN WRITING.
SPENDING
Here’s what Chris *says* on his campaign website…
- “Chris Edwards is a fiscal conservative.”
- “It is now even more important to continue to rein in our states’ wasteful spending.”
That’s his rhetoric. Now here’s the reality…
- In 2015 he voted to increase the state’s general fund budget by $1.2 billion
- In 2017 he voted to increase the state’s general fund budget by $1.03 billion
- In 2019 he voted to increase the state’s general fund budget by $946 million
THREE successive billion-dollar government spending increases. Do you think that’s fiscally conservative? Do you think that’s reining in wasteful spending? I know I sure don’t.
TAX CUTS
To rescue the Nevada economy from the devastation of the #SisolakShutdown, it’s not enough to simply not raise taxes. We need to CUT them.
And Chris Edwards is NOT a tax cutter. In fact, in a floor speech delivered on May 31, 2015, Assemblyman Edwards specifically declared…
“When I was running for office, I did not run on a campaign to give people a tax break.”
On the other hand, as noted in my last AnnieGram, here are five tax CUTS that I will sponsor, co-sponsor or support if you elect me to represent you in Carson City…
- Cut the statewide sales tax
- Cut your car registration fee to a flat $50 per vehicle
- Repeal the job-killing Commerce Tax
- Repeal the job-killing Modified Business Tax
- Repeal the state business license fee
And if you think there are others we should consider, please send your suggestions to: [email protected]. Until next time…
Conservatively yours,
Annie Black
P.S. Do you have a question or concern? Call me on my cell at (702) 872-2222. Or send an email to: [email protected]
P.P.S. You can also follow me on Twitter: @realannieblack
Annie Black is Republican candidate for Nevada State Assembly District 19. Paid for by Friends of Annie Black. You can get more information by visiting www.ElectAnnieBlack.com.
Click here to download printable PDF
