Why did Richard Sloan vote to cut a local $1.3 million non-profit's parcel tax by 80%

As I mentioned in one of my Wednesday blogs, Richard Sloan claimed at the candidates debate that the District "zero control over revenues" with the exception of parcel taxes.

That's quite an important exception.

On 3/17/09 Richard proposed voting to cut the parcel tax obligation from 5 to 1 lots for the controversial local environmental organization SPAWN. A week later, on 3/24/09, he was the only trustee to vote to approve this huge discount. Luckily, it was not approved.

There are several crucial questions that Richard needs to answer.

1.Why did he propose cutting more than $1000 in much needed taxes for our schools when the board is slashing teachers, instructional aides, and staff? Is that what he meant Wednesday night by not needing to be "anxious" about our revenue crisis?
2. How much has SPAWN's executive director, family and staff contributed to his campaign? The executive director (Todd Steiner) and his wife (Lynette McLamb) are listed as endorsers of Richard's candidacy.
3. Why did Richard think that a local non-profit whose parent organization indicates in its 2010 IRS 990 that it has an annual budget of about $1.3 million needs to have a parcel tax cut?
4. What other political favors has Richard made to this and other donors?

While $1000 is nowhere near the millions showered on Sacramento and Congress in our rampant "pay to play" politics it demonstrates that what Richard does and says do not jive with one another.

Full disclosure: I worked for the Sea Turtle Restoration Project which is run by SPAWN's parent organization Turtle Island Restoration Network (which has the same executive director) for 3 and 1/2 years from 2003 to 2006. Although I loved the work protecting our ocean and its creatures from being driven to extinction I left to take a management position with Humane Society International, a DC based wildlife conservation non-profit. I also received a $45.00 donation from SPAWN's executive director but returned it several weeks ago without cashing it. This will be updated in my campaign filings. I wholeheartedly support SPAWN's long efforts to preserve our local watershed and assist local property owners restoration of their properties. But I do not think that means the organization now somehow gets to pay less than its full share of our local taxes and shortchange our schools—which the two children of SPAWN's founder attended—out of much needed resources.