Dan Wall was an expert on local government finances who advocated for counties and readily engaged in debates over tax philosophy in a straightforward, congenial way. Our paths crossed many times serving on panels or discussing tax questions when he worked for both the California State Association of Counties (called the County Supervisors Association of California until 1991) and the County of Los Angeles. Wall passed away last week.
On one memorable occasion, Wall commented on the recently passed Proposition 218, the Right to Vote on Taxes Act, of which I was a proponent. The measure toughened the rules on passing taxes, something local government opposed. In fact, CSAC was one of the leading opponents of Proposition 218 during the election campaign.
But Wall was not discouraged. He said sometime after the election, “There were a number of clever people who devised Proposition 218. But there are an equal number of clever people who are going to try and interpret it.”
Such is the reality of policy and politics in California of which Wall was a master.
Dan Walters has more on Dan Wall here.