Verbica Makes Top Two Featured as CCR Headliner
Additional Information
Shake It up: CCR-Endorsed Candidates Advance
by CCR | Jul 26, 2022 | President's News
By Mark Hershey, President
California Congress of Republicans
Republican candidates endorsed by the California Congress of Republicans turned in a solid performance in the June 2022 Primary. More than 85% of the 70 candidates we endorsed advanced to the Top Two for the November 8th General Election. This is a remarkable feat given that Californian Republican registration stands at just ~24%. But perceptions are changing in the Golden State, especially as inflation and poor governance assault hard-working taxpayers. To succeed, Republicans need to continue to increase voter registrations and convince No Party Preference and moderate, free-thinking Democrats to vote for commonsense, GOP candidates. Republican values, such as fiscal prudence, are time-tested and must be communicated to voters — even with the tough challenge of a one-party tyranny. It’s time to shake up the makeup of our elected and appointed public offices.
I would like to spotlight Peter Coe Verbica (also known as “The Equalizer”) – one of these successful Top Two candidates. Peter is running for Board of Equalization District 2 which encompasses 19 counties. Peter’s background in real estate, law and finance makes him the most qualified for the position. He served as President of our California Congress of Republicans for four years and President of one of our most active chapters, the South Peninsula Area Republican Coalition (“SPARC”). Peter was an outstanding and energetic force for our organization. He is a brilliant, honest, and ethical leader, as well as a loving family man with four remarkable daughters, one of whom served in the US Navy. After receiving his bachelor’s degree, Peter earned a Master’s degree from Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a J.D. from Santa Clara University (impressive). He is passionate about creating good paying jobs for California’s workers, bringing safety back to our neighborhoods, reducing governmental overreach, and making affordable housing possible for our teachers and first responders. When elected, Peter will champion lower taxes, an end to government waste, better water infrastructure, and a curbing of rampant CEQA abuses. When you meet Peter in person, you want him to be your friend for life. I cannot think of a more thoughtful, qualified, and deserving person to serve California as one of its elected. He would make California a better place to live.
Soon, many more Republicans will step up for their community and register as candidates for their local water board, school board, and City council positions. The campaign trail is a marathon which tests our candidates’ will and endurance. As members of the California Congress of Republicans, we are a volunteer, grassroots army which works hard for these candidates. Our candidates will be ridiculed, lied about, attacked, and unfairly treated in the press and social media over the next several months. Please display the same courage and energy to support our candidates and let’s be part of a “Red Wave” in November.
One man’s thoughts. Let’s shake it up!
https://www.ccr-gop.com/shake-it-upccr-endorsed-candidates-advance/
*Keep scrolling down for more information*
Joe Friday weighs in ...
Just the Facts...
“Just the Facts, Ma’am,” is Detective Joe Friday’s famous one-liner.
In this spirit, please accept the following summary regarding our Board of Equalization ’22 campaign.
1. Why vote for Peter Coe Verbica for Board of Equalization, District 2?
* Fiscally conservative candidate
* Endorsed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association PAC
* Training in law (JD, Santa Clara University School of Law)
* Training in real estate (MS, Real Estate Development, MIT)
* Training in finance (CFP® and former Adjunct Economics Professor).
2. What does the Board of Equalization (“BOE”) do exactly?
“The BOE oversees the assessment practices of the state’s 58 County Assessors, who are charged with establishing values for over 13 million assessments each year. The BOE is additionally responsible for:
• Assessing the property of regulated railroads and specific public utilities.
• Assessing and collecting the Private Railroad Car Tax.
• Assessing taxes on insurers.
• Assessing and collecting excise taxes on the manufacture, importation, and sale of alcoholic beverages.”
(Publication 306, California State Board of Equalization 2020-21 Annual Report)
3. What could the BOE do to improve?
* Help the California County Tax Assessors get through their thousands of backlogs and relieve taxpayers of the burden of uncertainty
* Ensure that California Taxpayers receive due process in their appeals -- whether the appeal is remotely heard via videoconference or in person
* Help California County Tax Assessors properly interpret and apply Proposition 19 in the most taxpayer-friendly way possible -- within the letter of the law
* Encourage other tax-gathering arms under the control of the Governor to develop and enhance their own Taxpayers' Rights Advocate offices, where the obligation is to the taxpayer rather than garnering revenues for the sovereign
Verbica Endorsed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association
Verbica Wins Endorsement of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association PAC
Silicon Valley, CA
Peter Coe Verbica, Candidate for the California State Board of Equalization (“BOE”), District 2, 2022, wins the endorsement of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association Political Action Committee (“HJTA PAC”) for the current election cycle.
Jon Coupal, the Chairman of the HJTA PAC, affirms that the organization appreciates Peter Coe Verbica’s “strong and constant support for Proposition 13” and his “excellent service to taxpayers.”
Verbica signed the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association’s pledge early in his campaign. He affirmed his support of Proposition 13, the right for taxpayers to vote on all tax increases, support of the two-thirds vote requirement by the electorate requirement for local bonds that must be repaid by property owners, and the “Right to Vote on Taxes Act” (Proposition 218).
With a training in business, law and real estate, and as a Certified Financial Planner®, Verbica believes that he is ideally suited to serve on the BOE. Verbica is a fifth-generation California native who works as a Managing Director at Silicon Private Wealth.
For more information on his campaign: www.peterverbica.com
Verbica punches back with the Hard Left.
Peter Coe Verbica's Response to the Mercury News Opinion Piece on the Board of Equalization
"Absent from the article on the Board of Equalization ("BOE") are the past and present reasons for its existence –as a protection for California taxpayers. Its original intent when first established in 1879 was to ensure that county assessors would treat property owners fairly. The BOE is unique in that it has a “Taxpayers Rights Advocate Office.” Though the power of the BOE has diminished, this ebb benefits California's bureaucrats rather than the taxpayer. County tax assessors reportedly have thousands of backlogged appeals and the burden of interpreting a poorly written Proposition 19 (with its sneaky death tax). While the State may have a paper surplus due to how its pension liabilities are calculated, spendthrift California will continue to aggressively seek tax revenues. As a candidate endorsed by the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association PAC, I argue that the BOE’s existence has never been so important as now."
New Yorker Magazine-style Cartoon Debuts
Renter Education Cartoon by Pete Verbica and Andythinks
Silicon Valley, California
March 15, 2022
Renter Education Cartoon by Pete Verbica and Andythinks
Peter Coe Verbica, Republican Candidate for Board of Equalization, District 2, 2022, collaborates with Andythinks to develop and debut a New Yorker Magazine-style cartoon. The piece shows a store window with bare shelves and criticizes 50+ years of Democrat policies which have directly driven up the cost of housing for both renters and owners.
Verbica BOE D2 Campaign Supports the People of Ukraine
Verbica BOE D2 Campaign Supports the People of Ukraine
Silicon Valley, CA
March 18, 2022
The Peter Coe Verbica for Board of Equalization, District 2, 2022 Campaign announces contributions to the American Red Cross, Navy-Marine Corps Relief Society, and USO in support of Ukraine and US active service members. California’s relationship with the people of Ukraine is long-standing.
In a recent speech to a crowd at the State Capitol steps, California Guard Brig. Gen. Peter B. Cross, Commander of California Military Department’s Youth and Community Task Force, explained the State Partnership Program the California National Guard with Ukraine. Verbica’s Campaign cites the following from the Grizzly Magazine, published by the California Military Department:
- “We have been partnered with Ukraine for 30 years,” said California State Guard Brig. Gen. Peter B. Cross, commander of Youth and Community Programs task force for the California Military Department, during a rally March 6 on the steps of the state capitol in support of Ukraine. “Not just last year. Not just this week. For 30 years.”
- The Ukrainian American House sponsored event brought together lawmakers, military leaders, community members, and all walks of life to focus on the conflict invading every corner of Ukraine.
- “We have been training with our Ukraine military counterparts,” said Cross. “We have friends in Ukraine. This is personal for us.”
“For those of us who have lost loved ones in conflicts between liberty and tyranny, this hits home,” states Peter Coe Verbica. “Now isn’t the time to stand on the sidelines.” Verbica is the former Chair of the Rotary Club of San Jose’s Military Care Committee, which provided hundreds of care packages to US active service members.
Peter Coe Verbica's Letter to the NYT
Since the NYT will undoubtedly not publish ...
Dear NYT,
Thank you for your pledge to encourage diversity of thought. Some on the Right side of the aisle argue that your authors habitually use straw men in their arguments which are easy to lampoon and castigate.
It’s important for us as a nation to be vigilant against insurrection, despite the argument that the January 6th throng was armed with no more than spitballs, brooms, rubber bands, and naïve bravado. William Barr is a legitimate, respected, and articulate voice.
But what of the more insidious forms of insurrection (the critique of such uniformly absent from the pages of the NYT), such as:
* ad hoc and relativistic interpretations of the Constitution (including the upending of Freedom of Speech and the Right to Bear Arms),
* a blind eye to our sovereign’s porous borders (while selectively heralding the sanctity of other nations’),
* the assault on an independent SCOTUS (by encouraging one party’s resurrected attempts to upend the current number of justices),
* efforts to change the status of Puerto Rico and DC (as a means to ensure immutable single party dominance),
* the absence of honest and rigorous analyses of the current POTUS’ cognitive inabilities,
* how increased regulations unfairly advantage large cap corporations (and hinder small business),
* the sunsetting of meritocracy in public schools (despite the harsh realities of global competition and the importance of grammar, logic, and math skills in order for graduates to succeed),
* the cartoonish amplification of virtue signaling and pandering to the alleged marginalized (while not addressing the lasting societal impacts of fatherless households),
* how the Singaporean model for health care which encourages competition and transparency could be a far better alternative (versus “universal,” Socialistic models),
* how Draconian zoning and environmental laws have eroded fee simple land rights (resulting in less housing inventory, correspondingly driving up housing costs, and creating a nation of heavily-indebted and disenfranchised serfs),
* the role of the Fed with respect to inflation (an exponential rise in the M1 and the national debt, which punishes savers, wage earners and pensioners while perversely rewarding speculators, equity stakeholders and debtors, and will demand a dramatic reset),
* the Orwellian obfuscation of initiative titling by a state Attorney General as a disingenuous means to influence elections, such as repealing a gas tax,
* the nefarious control of social media platforms which strip away alternative terms such as “conservative” or “Republican” from advertisement parameters,
* the meta-tagging of personal data by big Tech and the Fed as a means to surveil, enhance Artificial Intelligence, and manipulate spending, thought patterns, and behavior,
* the conspiracy of silence as to how $300 million was spent on the US election process by the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation,
* the overwhelmingly disproportionate number of Left-leaning journalists and college professors which are guided by the ideals of Socialism rather than those of a Democratic Republic, and
* the importance of energy independence of the West, and why fossil fuels and nuclear energy are still important elements to our nation’s welfare.
Sedition comes cloaked in many forms; yes, there were the rabble rousers at the steps which fell under legacy media’s spotlights, but are the camouflaged Communists within the Capitol (and writing for the NYT) the more present and arguably truer danger?
Such is my Opinion.
Sincerely,
Peter Coe Verbica
(Drawing of Peter Coe Verbica, courtesy of the candidate. All rights reserved.)
Peter Coe Verbica Interviewed by SF Chronicle
Verbica's Pre-Interview Email to the SF Chronicle
April 14, 2022
Zeba Khan
Deputy Editor, Opinion
Harry Mok Assistant Editor, Opinion
Matthew Fleischer Editorial Page Editor
matt.fleischer@sfchronicle.com
San Francisco Chronicle Editorial Staff
Dear Zeba, Matt and Harry,
Thank you for inviting me to the Board of Equalization Candidates' Roundtable today.
I'm pleased to be a candidate who stands unabashedly for the California taxpayer and is a fiscal conservative. With inflation hitting everyone's pocketbooks, Californians are wising up to the entrenched tax-and-spend attitudes in Sacramento. I'm proud to have the endorsement of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association PAC.
Californians, like the newscaster in the movie Network, have an opportunity, through the voting booth, to yell, "I'm as mad as hell and I'm not going to take this anymore!"
Both sides of the aisle have many shared goals -- the encouragement of Democratic Republics, affordable housing, a stable currency and low inflation, safe schools, streets and beaches -- to name just a few.
Most Americans witnessing the death of a democracy in Eastern Europe are in mourning and disbelief. (Many are unaware of the long standing, "close working relationship" between Ukraine and the California Air National Guard.) Before the most recent Russian invasion, I featured former US Ambassador Steve Pifer as my guest on a speaker series which I host.
In preparation for today's meeting, I thought you might appreciate some opinion pieces I wrote when I was President of the California Congress of Republicans:
On true heroism, when the #1 striker from Communist China spoke out against the CCP: https://www.ccr-gop.com/take-a-knee-for-hao-haidong/
On how the dearth of housing inventory for over half of a Century is the true influencer of California politics: https://www.ccr-gop.com/gloves-off-why-california-politics-have-changed/
On how currency devaluation connects to inflation and influences behavior: https://www.ccr-gop.com/the-balancing-of-rocks/
The California GOP continues to become more diverse and inclusive, though these trends may not be cited by traditional media.
* The Chairwoman of the SMGOP, the Vice Chair of the CAGOP, a CAGOP candidate for California Superintendent of Public Instruction, by way of example, are all Chinese-Americans.
* The Chairwoman of the CAGOP is a Latina. I personally encouraged the former Chair of the Econ Department at San Jose State University (Lydia Ortega, Ph.D.) to run for Lt. Governor in 2018. (I was an Adjunct Professor in the Econ Dept. at SJSU.) Peter Hernandez, the dynamic US Congressional candidate for District 18 is a Latino.
* Larry Elder and Condoleezza Rice, Black Americans, continue to influence the thinking of California Republicans.
* Harmeet Dhillon, the influential Republican National Committeewoman and political spokesperson was born in India and a Sikh.
These individuals bring not only diversity of ethnicity or gender, but most importantly, they bring diversity of thought, so absent in a California enduring the burden of a Democrat supramajority.
Whether cited in traditional media or not, modern California certainly is noteworthy -- albeit for the wrong reasons:
* The number #1 boondoggle in US history: the "high speed" rail (Quentin Kopp points out that this isn't a high speed rail due to the desire to have the same RR gauge as traditional trains) has a reported price tag of $100 Billion Dollars
* The highest gasoline prices in the Nation (due to high taxes and reformulated gas policies) Businesses continue to move their corporate headquarters out of the State: Oracle, HP, and Tesla to name just a few
* Californians, tired of high vehicle registration fees, high income taxes, and high sales taxes continue to migrate to other states
* Despite California public school's having near-bottom ranking, this state's governor and legislature seeks to throttle the most viable cure -- charter schools -- by passing anti-school charter legislation, including AB1505
I'm sending you this correspondence as a trail marker. Why?
Because much of what California Republicans witness in print gets wordsmithed to fit one particular agenda. George Orwell writes most prophetically about the upending of language and culture in 1984. Academic research going back to 2003 cites the overwhelming media bias of major media outlets. Other studies unveil the overwhelming political bias in academia (according to Dr. Bergman: "In anthropology departments, the Democrat to Republican ratio was 133 to 1, and in the social science departments the ratio was 133 to 0!")
It's my hope that as a Republican candidate, I will bring diversity of thought to the Board of Equalization if I am elected.
Thank you, in advance, for your attention and interest.
Warmest regards,
Peter Coe Verbica
Republican Candidate
Board of Equalization, Dist. 2, 2022
(Photograph courtesy of Peter Verbica.)
Verbica's Comments to the Mercury News/Bay Area News Group
Verbica's Comments to Bay Area News Group
[Email to Daniel Borenstein, Editorial Page Editor and Ed Clendaniel, Editorial Page Editor]
Dear Dan and Ed,
Thank you for talking with me this evening.
Giving space and pause to think about your questions (and your leaning towards the shuttering of the BOE), here are a few of my thoughts are as follows with respect to the BOE’s importance:
1. Help and Guidance. With tens of thousands of backlogs on taxpayers, county tax assessors need the assistance and guidance that the BOE, at its best, can provide, including navigating the complexities of Proposition 19.
2. Efficiency Shouldn’t Override Due Process. The goal of improved efficiency should not override equitable due process. It’s important, especially during these times of COVID that taxpayers are given due process, and if their matters are being heard remotely, that the due process is on the same level as to what one would experience in person. The BOE can help ensure that this best practice is implemented.
3. Loss of the BOE Taxpayer Advocate Hurts the California Taxpayer. Closing the BOE would change the nature of taxpayer advocacy; the BOE taxpayer advocate doesn’t place revenues for the sovereign as its priority. Should the function of taxpayer redress be migrated to another department, that “judge” may place revenue collections rather than taxpayer fairness as his or her priority.
My thinking is continuing to evolve, and, as I mentioned, I would seek the mentorship of Ted Gaines, the Republican BOE Board Member who serves District 1.
Warmest regards,
Peter Coe Verbica
408.832.3030
[Republican Candidate for the Board of Equalization, Dist. 2, 2022]
Latest email to Californians
Underestimating the Ordinary Citizen
Underestimating the Ordinary Citizen
by Peter Coe Verbica, Fiscal Conservative,
Candidate for Board of Equalization, District 2, 2022
There’s a supposition cherished by the Hard Left elitists. They cling to it like the threadbare end of a child’s favorite blanket. And traditional media underwrites the conclusion with an unwavering fealty.
It’s the assumption that only the political intelligentsia are fit to serve. They underestimate the ordinary citizen. And this is to their peril. If you need unshakeable proof of this, simply look to a singular statistic: the anemic and shrinking subscriber base of traditional media.
You see, in the closed loop way if thinking, an Average American, let’s say someone from the world of business or a home schooler, is ill-suited to serve in politics. Those with open minds and odd ways of thinking, say those who want less regulations or lower taxes, those with un-foreclosed opinions, are to be treated with disdain.
When the Ordinary Citizen arrives, stamps the plough dust off of his or her boots, all the seats at the table have been spoken for. The door to the tavern of politics is shut. The huddled elitists’ backs are turned. In California, the Average American, no matter what color, creed, gender or lifestyle, is shunned.
Rather than admiring the skills learned in business — such as husbanding capital, being nimble, being lean, or listening to customers — these traits are discounted from the onset. And in Kooky Kalifornia there’s one customer who has been conveniently forgotten — the taxpayer. It’s time government returns to listening to its ignored customer, the California taxpayer.
When a candidate states that he or she seeks to learn on the job, and seeks counsel from trusted mentors, this is seen as a misdirection or a dodge.
In contrast, there is the Ordinary Citizen, the Average American, who bravely admits to not having all the answers. Who wants to learn, a priori, to get his or her feet wet by experience. By the sweat of the brow. By committing the inexcusable — the sin of wanting to listen first and talk second.
But it’s this candid admission of not having a foreclosed mind which raises the ire of the droopy-eyed, hand-on-your-knee Hard Left Liberal.
For if there’s one thing Marxists and Modern Progressives despise, it’s the Average American who admits to not having the Five Year, top-down plan of a Communist, but rather candidly admits to the unforgivable sin of having an open mind, of being teachable.
For those in search of the Holy Grail of “government efficiency,” for those in search of a debate-less society, for those in search of power consolidation — of say a Governor’s authority and the obliteration of Taxpayer Advocacy — look to the enchanted shores of Cuba or Venezuela.
Look to tyrannies. Look to tyrants.
"There is a principle which is a bar against all information, which is proof against all argument, and which cannot fail to keep a man in everlasting ignorance. This principle is, contempt prior to examination." (Rev. Wm. H. Poole; attributed later to Herbert Spencer)
Verbica for BOE Supports the Siena House
Verbica for BOE Supports the Siena House
Siena House Vision
"We’ve been helping the most vulnerable for 21 years. Founded by a group of Holy Cross parishioners, Siena House is fully dedicated to providing a safe and nurturing home where children can thrive. Wayne Shaffer was one of the original founders and remains a significant part of the Siena House legacy. His tireless work has positively impacted the lives of countless women and children over the years. We provide an environment of health, stability, and support to mothers and their babies so that new families can start off on the right foot. Our residents have access to resources and programs that put them on the path to, self-sufficiency, spiritual well-being, and independence."
(Source of baby photograph: www.sienahouse.org.)
