Richard Rider

Richard Rider
Location
San Diego, California, USA
Birthday
August 24
Title
Chairman
Company
San Diego Tax Fighters
Bio
Biography of Richard Rider (Updated July, 2011) San Diego, CA 92131 E-mail: RRider@san.rr.com * AGE: 66 * EDUCATION: B.A. Economics, University of North Carolina, 1968 * MILITARY SERVICE: Commander, Supply Corps, U. S. Naval Reserve, retired after 26 years (four years active, the rest in the reserve). ** OCCUPATION: Retired stockbroker and financial planner. Lifetime member of the International Association of Financial Planners. Former business owner. * AFFILIATION: • Chairman, San Diego Tax Fighters • National Taxpayers Union • Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association • San Diego County Taxpayers Association * POLITICAL ACTIVITIES: • Successfully sued the county of San Diego (Rider vs. County of San Diego) to force a rollback of an illegal 1/2-cent jails sales tax, a precedent that saved California taxpayers over fourteen billion dollars, including $3.5 billion for San Diego taxpayers. • Actively supported a variety of tax-cutting ballot initiatives including Proposition 13. Has written ballot arguments against numerous county and state tax increase initiatives. • County co-chair of both California term limit initiatives (Prop 140 and Prop 164). • Libertarian Party candidate for governor in 1994. • Candidate for the 3rd District County Supervisor in 1992 (third place among six candidates with about 20% of the vote). • 1993 – appointed to (and then elected chair of) the San Diego County Social Services Advisory Board. • 1996 – appointed as a Commissioner on the California Constitution Revision Commission by state Assembly Speaker Kurt Pringle. • Has been involved in legal actions against City of San Diego to force a public vote on issuing bonds for Qualcomm stadium expansion, convention center, baseball ballpark and other projects. • 2005 – Unsuccessful candidate for Mayor of San Diego, though his reform ideas have since taken hold. • 2007 – Columnist for NORTH COUNTY TIMES and SAN DIEGO DAILY TRANSCRIPT • 2009 - The Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association's "California Tax Fighter of the Year" * FAMILY: Married. Wife, Diane, is a retired public high school teacher. Two sons, ages 32 and 27.

MY RECENT POSTS

MY RECENT COMMENTS

Richard Rider's Links

Rider's Reads
JANUARY 6, 2012 6:30PM

Peer group report condemns CA HSR. Yet it lurches on.

Rate: 0 Flag

 

This week the peer review group studying the California High Speed Rail plan (as amended and/or exposed) came out with their report.  Even though they as individuals probably were mildly supportive of the core HSR option, their report has nothing but scathing criticism for this "plan."

 http://www.cahsrprg.com/files/CommentsonCHSRA2010FundingPlan.pdf

I made a quick search of CA newspapers referencing this report.  I could not find a single paper still supportive of the HSR boondoggle.  Most castigated the whole operation. 

Here's the link to an excellent SAN JOSE MERCURY NEWS editorial, which was fairly typical: 

http://www.mercurynews.com/opinion/ci_19675945

Of course, stake after stake has been pounded into the chest of the HSR beast, yet the damn thing won't die.  But now even some Democrat state legislators are raising serious objections to continuing this madness. Sadly, Governor Brown apparently continues to suffer from the adverse after-effects of unwise drug ingestion during his younger years. 

But then, there is one positive aspect in all this resistance to killing off Frankenstein's lurching HSR monster.  Two, actually:

1.  HSR will be the "poster child" we need to defeat the MANY state tax increase props currently planned for a vote for November.  No one can seriously argue for a tax increase while this madness continues.

2.  By doggedly supporting HSR, Democrats firmly establish themselves as the profligate nut-ball party.  Voters now oppose HSR by a 2-1 margin, and that's without a publicity campaign to expose the public to this nonsense -- and in spite of millions spent by proponents to sell this white elephant. No, the GOP will not take the state legislature (not even close) -- but a couple competitive seats swinging to the GOP would be enough to retain some veto power in the State Assembly and State Senate.

Stay the course, dopey Democrats.  Your union straitjacket (mandating pro-HSR positions) is perhaps our best hope this election year.  Wear it proudly.

 

Author tags:

high speed rail, hsr

Your tags:

TIP:

Enter the amount, and click "Tip" to submit!
Recipient's email address:
Personal message (optional):

Your email address:
Cancel

Comments

Type your comment below:
Cancel
Comments are now closed.

Richard Rider's Favorites

  1. No relations made yet.