By: Publisher Updated 24 May 2022, 2: 45 am EDT
The Los Angeles County Assessor (assessor is in charge of appraising property and assets newly built, acquired, or improved commercial properties for the purpose of determining the property tax that owners must pay each year.
The incumbent is Jeffrey Prang, who after eight years in office is running for a third four-year term.
Real America News considers that Prang has done a commendable job in that period and that he surpasses the other candidates for the post, and invites its readers to vote for his re-election.
This is one of only three elected positions in county administration. The other two are the Sheriff and the district attorney. The office has 1,200 employees in seven centers, with an annual budget of more than 200 millions of dollars. It is the largest in the country; your jurisdiction encompasses 88 cities and 81 school districts, and 11 millions of inhabitants.
Last year there were 2.6 million properties with a total value of 1.8 billion dollars (trillions in English).
To clarify, the collection of Taxes are the responsibility of the County Tax Collector, and the allocation of the same corresponds to the Auditor-Controller. The appraiser calculates the values.
Three other candidates are vying for the job: Mike Campbell and Sandy Sun, both deputy advisers in Prang’s office with no supervisory experience, and Anthony Lopez who has no campaign.
The primary elections will be on June 7 and the general elections on November 8.
Perhaps Prang’s most important task at the start of his term was to restore staff and public confidence in the department, after his predecessor was accused of bribery. Prang arrived at a failing apartment and patiently rebuilt it.
But also updated the computer system with its millions of records, and undertook the digitization of all relevant county records. Upon arrival, he was still using paper documents.
In addition to having been a member of the West Hollywood City Council for 17 years and its mayor. Prang has served in administrative assignments, including Senior Advisor to the County Sheriff, Assistant City Manager for Pico Rivera, and Director of Public Information for the Los Angeles Department of Animal Services.
Respect to his office’s contact with the Latino community, says Prange in response to written questions from Real America News:
“As a progressive Democrat, I have supported the Latino community on the issues that affect them the most. As a West Hollywood City Councilmember, I supported resolutions supporting driver’s licenses for undocumented immigrants, access to education, health care, and public assistance. As an appraiser, I have appointed many senior staff members who are Latino and people of color to senior positions.”
He adds, “The best thing I can do to support Latinos in Los Angeles County is to provide the highest level of public information and support to Latino homeowners.”
The Opinion considers that Jeffrey Prang is clearly the most suitable candidate for the position and that he deserves re-election. So on June 7, vote Jeffrey Prang for Los Angeles County Assessor!