The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not necessarily represent the views of Crescent City Times.com By Carl DeMaio, Reform California – June 26, 2026 With your help, we collected more than 1.4 million signatures to qualify the Save Prop 13 Initiative for the November ballot. Now Gavin Newsom and Sacramento politicians are trying to stop voters from ever getting the chance to decide. Under California law, politicians can offer initiative proponents a "deal" in exchange for removing a measure from the ballot. That is exactly what is happening right now. And we have until 5 PM Thursday to decide whether to accept their offer or move forward to a vote. What The Save Prop 13 Initiative Does: Repeals costly Property Transfer Taxes Permanently bans future Property Transfer Taxes Restores the two-thirds vote requirement for local tax hikes Protects taxpayers through a constitutional amendment that politicians cannot easily undo What Newsom's Deal Does The proposal being offered would: Keep Property Transfer Taxes in place "Reduce" them from roughly 5-6% to 1.5-3% Allow local politicians to continue imposing taxes of $15,000-$30,000 on the average home sale Eliminate our effort to restore the two-thirds vote threshold for local tax hikes Create only a legislative statute that politicians can change laterWhile the proposal offers some tax relief, it leaves the core tax structure intact and abandons many of the reforms contained in Save Prop 13. We Need Your Input Some financial backers of the coalition are arguing we should take the deal.We believe voters should be allowed to decide the original Save Prop 13 Initiative for themselves in November. But pressure is building.That's why we need to demonstrate that grassroots supporters are prepared to fight and win! >> Contribute: Demand a Vote on the Save Prop 13 Initiative We are convening an emergency statewide Zoom briefing tomorrow to provide a full update on negotiations, explain the details of the proposal, and answer questions.Please attend and invite your friends.This decision could determine whether Californians get the opportunity to vote on one of the most important taxpayer protection measures in decades. RSVP: Save Prop 13 Zoom with Carl DeMaio TODAY at Noon >> Contribute: Demand a Vote on the Save Prop 13 Initiative