During his previous three terms, Prang prioritized modernizing the assessor’s office through a $130-million investment in new technology. He said it’s been paying dividends, and recent successes include new software that tracks down previously unassessed aircraft, as well as a new system that took less than 90 days to reassess thousands of homes destroyed in last year’s fires, delivering tax relief to victims.
He would continue that effort, replacing outdated systems, improving efficiency and simplifying the assessment process for property owners. Prang said fairness is a top priority: closing loopholes to make every property owner pay their fair share while also expanding access to tax relief programs to help seniors, veterans and nonprofits.
Sun is prioritizing tax savings for homeowners. There have been multiple efforts to reform Proposition 13 over the years, and Sun said it’s vital to stop such reforms and preserve the law in order to protect homeowners and seniors from being excessively taxed and forced out of their homes.
Her second priority is pushing legislators to increase the amount of the homeowner exemption, a tax break that allows homeowners to lower their property assessment by $7,000 on their taxes, bringing a savings of $70. The $7,000 figure was established in 1974, and Sun said it’s long overdue for an increase.
As a longtime veteran of the office, she also wants to reduce the backload of assessment appeals by fully staffing the assessor’s office and providing proper training to employees.
Adamus said the role of assessor should be apolitical and claimed the current administration gives favorable treatment to taxpayers with wealth or influence. His campaign is built around removing “waste and mismanagement of public funds.”
Adamus also is focused on tax savings for homeowners. He wants to protect Proposition 13 and advocate to increase the homeowner exemption and for a new ballot initiative to revive Proposition 58, the tax law that allowed parents to pass properties on to their children with no reassessment. The proposition was replaced in 2021 by Proposition 19, which places limits on such transfers.
Newland envisions a new responsibility for the assessor’s office: data analysis. He said the office holds one of the largest property datasets in the country, and the information can reveal patterns about land use, vacancy and redevelopment opportunities.
His main priority is making private aggregated data public. One example would be using vacancy maps to identify areas to redevelop. Another would be using homeowner exemption records to reveal who is using their home as a primary residence and who isn’t, which could crack down on illegal short-term rentals and bring them back to the market.
Palty doesn’t have a website yet but said his campaign is built around reducing the tax burden for residents and eliminating waste and fraud in the assessor’s office.
