Appointed incumbent San Francisco Assessor Phil Ting, former Deputy Assessor Ron Chun and Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval debated at the League of Women Voters last week in their three-way race for the job to be decided Nov. 8, Election Day.
Mayor Gavin Newsom appointed Ting to succeed Mabel Teng, who resigned last May, and the campaign started immediately. Ting supervises an office, which employs the highest percentage of APAs in city government. Before Ting’s arrival, it has faced investigations of corruption and nepotism, lagging technology, and delays in its prime responsibility of valuing residential and commercial properties.
Despite those critiques, the department’s appraisals of private properties translate into more than $1 billion in property taxes collected for the city and state coffers. The office also archives public documents like deeds, marriage licenses and liens.
By charter, Ting is required to face voters on Nov. 8 before serving the remainder of Teng’s term ending in January 2007.
Ron Chun
BACKGROUND
Tax attorney/CPA, former chairman of the S.F. Assessment Appeals Board and former Deputy Assessor, who wrote the homeowners exemption policy for domestic partners.
EXPERIENCE
“Do we bring politics to this office or do we bring a true professional? I’m the only tax attorney/CPA running for this job.”
FIGHTING TAX FRAUD
“As the former chairman of the Assessment Appeals Board, I’m the only candidate running for this office that ever wrote the largest tax fraud decision [One Market Plaza] in California history that brought over $60 million to San Francisco. [The office] should be aggressive.”
ON SPLIT ROLL –– changing business property taxes
“How are [small neighborhood businesses] going to survive on 1% margins? … It’s easy and convenient to say ‘we want the money’ and there’s an understandable need for funding our schools and funding our government. … We have to be aware that split roll isn’t just an easy answer of ‘us versus them’ or ‘them versus us.’”
Gerardo Sandoval
BACKGROUND
Five-year District Supervisor representing southern S.F. neighborhoods that are nearly 50% APA. Fifteen years in government, including Public Defender and S.F. retirement board.
REAL ESTATE SPECULATION
“Use the bully pulpit [of the office] to change local law and state law wherever we can to discourage [real estate] speculation. … Maybe that property should be exempt from Proposition 13 and it should be assessed at different rates or more quickly.”
FIGHTING APPEALS
“We should never be outgunned. When a large commercial property business brings an assessment appeal, they got tens of millions of it riding on it. They therefore spend [a] half million or million dollars prosecuting that one appeal. By contrast, the Assessor -Recorder office’s entire budget for every single appeal it handles is $500,000.”
ON SPLIT ROLL
“When you hear Phil Ting say, ‘We have to take a look at it,’ that basically is code for let’s protect the very largest commercial property owners.”
Phil Ting
BACKGROUND
Turned around the nearly bankrupt Asian Law Caucus, and was a real estate consultant with Arthur Andersen. In three months, Ting says he has been updating assessment standards, collecting $2 million from billboard companies and clearing a four-year backlog of new construction that could net another $2 million.
ON TRANSLATING THE DEPT. WEBSITE AND OUTREACH
“‘People are penalized by coming into city hall if they don’t [speak English]. … I was shocked to find out in a limited outreach that we have up to 20 percent of the [Chinese American] homeowners [who] didn’t know they were owed the homeowners exemption.”
TING’S REAL ESTATE WATCHDOG LEGISLATION
“What it does is it mirrors an IRS program that if you know of people who have changed ownership and haven’t told us, we’re going to give you a reward.”
ON THE SPLIT ROLL
“I would take a look at the split roll option, whereas [what] I absolutely wouldn’t support is changing any of the [Prop. 13] laws around homeowners.”
WHAT’S AT STAKE
EVENT: Special and municipal elections including five APA candidates, including two for San Francisco Assessor-Recorder
BACKGROUND: California state propositions and San Francisco propositions, city attorney, assessor-recorder and treasurer/tax collector.
INTERESTING: San Francisco uses the ranked choice voting for candidate races for the first time citywide. The fate of APA candidates and turnout of APA voters may determine future of ranked choice voting in the city.
DETAILS: Election Day is Tuesday, November 8.