End Redevelopment Agencies’ Abuse
Any day now, Republicans in the California State Assembly will be given the opportunity to score an historic victory for private property rights. Governor Jerry Brown has proposed eliminating the state’s more than 400 redevelopment agencies, which have abused their eminent domain powers to terrorize Golden State property owners for decades. Now is the time for GOP Assemblymen and Senators to seize the occasion by casting off partisan concerns and focusing on doing what is right to end the abuse of public power for private gain.
California Republicans must stand up for Carlos Barragan, Jr., whose Community Youth Athletic Center uses boxing to train at-risk kids how to succeed in the ring, in school and in life. The National City Community Development Commission declared Barragan’s gym—along with almost 700 nearby properties—a “blight” on the community. If the blight label is allowed to remain, each of these properties could be the subject to eminent domain for private development for years to come.
The GOP in California must stand up for Ahmad Mesdaq, who was forced to close the doors of his upscale cigar store and café after San Diego redevelopment officials decided it stood in the way of their preferred upscale development. Mesdaq’s shop was impressive enough to be featured in Cigar Aficionado magazine and included former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger among its clientele, but it was ultimately destroyed and turned into a parking lot.