Kenneth P Hahn

A surprise awaited County Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn as he took his place Sunday with other politicians participating in West Hollywood's annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade: As the dignitaries were introduced to the crowd, Hahn was "kind of flabbergasted" to hear himself described as "senior-most elected openly gay official in Los Angeles."

Re "Assessor jailed in bribe case," Oct. 18 If the charges are true regarding the corruption of Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, then quite simply he should resign. I personally know many of the honest clerical and professional employees within the department, who are the majority. They should not be judged by the actions of a few bad apples. Certainly, the assessor's office doesn't engender warm and fuzzy feelings from most county taxpayers, but the vast majority of the department's personnel are honest and dedicated to their job of accurately and fairly establishing a property's value.

In politics, there's nothing new about sore losers. But county Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn stands accused of being a sore winner. In a strange twist to his upset victory at the polls four years ago, Hahn is being sued by former Los Angeles County Assessor John Lynch, who says he has been repeatedly harassed with weird mailings since being unseated.

"Spotlight Is Cast on Paid Endorsements" (Oct. 11) hits the nail right on the head. As any candidate for office or elected official knows, money is the "mother's milk" of a successful campaign, and slate mailers can spell the difference between victory and defeat. When I first ran for office (L.A. County assessor) in 1990, I was inexperienced in the political arena. In large part, slate mailers and political tabloids on which I paid to be included contributed to my victory. Certainly, having the name Kenneth Hahn helped as well.

I found the June 26 editorial ("He Was Kind of Flabbergasted") regarding Kenneth P. Hahn's introduction at the 1991 Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade missed an important point. County Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn is an outstanding county assessor who is openly gay, a hero and a role model. Some gay or lesbian young person, who is three to six times more likely to commit suicide because of the "irrational anti-homosexual feelings" that remain, will see that someone can be openly gay and also achieve success.

Re "Rolling the Wrong Way," editorial, Aug. 18: Thank you for the excellent editorial! You have correctly characterized the declining property tax revenue problem for Los Angeles County and the nearly 900 property tax jurisdictions that are dependent upon this revenue source. It is true that new state and county funding could permit the hiring of staff needed to handle the mounting backlogs of unprocessed new construction, transfers and repaired earthquake damage. However, AB 906, the legislative vehicle that would provide such funding, is not yet through the legislative process.

Los Angeles County Assessor John J. Lynch conceded defeat to a mid-level employee in his office Thursday, even though more than 100,000 absentee ballots remained to be counted in his race with political novice Kenneth P. Hahn. With all precincts counted, Hahn had collected 720,614 votes for assessor to Lynch's 678,194 or 51.51% to 48.8%. Lynch conceded in a prepared statement that the 42,000-vote margin was too much to make up. He congratulated Hahn.

Re "Assessor jailed in bribe case," Oct. 18 If the charges are true regarding the corruption of Los Angeles County Assessor John Noguez, then quite simply he should resign. I personally know many of the honest clerical and professional employees within the department, who are the majority. They should not be judged by the actions of a few bad apples. Certainly, the assessor's office doesn't engender warm and fuzzy feelings from most county taxpayers, but the vast majority of the department's personnel are honest and dedicated to their job of accurately and fairly establishing a property's value.

"Spotlight Is Cast on Paid Endorsements" (Oct. 11) hits the nail right on the head. As any candidate for office or elected official knows, money is the "mother's milk" of a successful campaign, and slate mailers can spell the difference between victory and defeat. When I first ran for office (L.A. County assessor) in 1990, I was inexperienced in the political arena. In large part, slate mailers and political tabloids on which I paid to be included contributed to my victory. Certainly, having the name Kenneth Hahn helped as well.

"Re-Assessing When Home Prices Fall" by Jeanne Boyer (Feb. 3) was a mostly accurate and informative treatment of a complex issue. I want to clarify a few of the more elusive aspects of the article. If property owners believe the total assessed value on their current property tax bill is greater than what comparable properties are selling for in their neighborhoods, they should supply the Los Angeles County Assessor's Department with facts in writing. We'd appreciate at least three such examples.

A report that recommends ways to spark economic development in L.A.'s poor minority neighborhoods will serve as a launching point for a discussion today by the Los Angeles mayoral candidates, business executives and community leaders. The report, published by the nonprofit Operation Hope and UCLA's Anderson School, stemmed from Operation Hope's Inner-City Economic Summit held in South Los Angeles last year.

Re "Rolling the Wrong Way," editorial, Aug. 18: Thank you for the excellent editorial! You have correctly characterized the declining property tax revenue problem for Los Angeles County and the nearly 900 property tax jurisdictions that are dependent upon this revenue source. It is true that new state and county funding could permit the hiring of staff needed to handle the mounting backlogs of unprocessed new construction, transfers and repaired earthquake damage. However, AB 906, the legislative vehicle that would provide such funding, is not yet through the legislative process.

Sheriff Sherman Block and Los Angeles County Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn savored reelection victories Wednesday by advising the personnel in their departments that the votes for them amounted to a vote of confidence in the work the employees are doing. In a message to all 12,000 sheriff's deputies and non-sworn members of his agency, Block declared, "My reelection is not so much a personal victory as it is a reflection of how the people we serve view (your) performance."

Los Angeles City Councilman Zev Yaroslavsky built a commanding lead in early election returns Tuesday in his bid for a seat on the County Board of Supervisors, and Sheriff Sherman Block ran well ahead of his challengers. County Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn also took a comfortable lead over a field of 15 challengers in his bid for reelection.

Can lightning strike a third time? That's what 15 of 16 candidates for county assessor are hoping for in the June 7 primary election. After watching mid-level employees of the assessor's office win the powerful post in back-to-back election flukes, the hopefuls are running long-shot campaigns and waiting for another bolt to blast them out of obscurity and into the $151,000-a-year job.

In politics, there's nothing new about sore losers. But county Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn stands accused of being a sore winner. In a strange twist to his upset victory at the polls four years ago, Hahn is being sued by former Los Angeles County Assessor John Lynch, who says he has been repeatedly harassed with weird mailings since being unseated.

On the eve of today's filing deadline, a lively race is shaping up for the low-profile job of Los Angeles County assessor with incumbent John Lynch drawing six challengers, including his former secretary, the head of a taxpayers group and an assessor's employee named Kenneth P. Hahn. Hahn, the candidate, is no relation to veteran Los Angeles County Supervisor Kenneth Hahn, who has endorsed Lynch. Jay Curtis, president of the 350-member Los Angeles Taxpayers Assn.

He's a political novice, but one lucky enough to have a time-honored name in local politics. And now, Kenneth P. Hahn--no relation to the prominent, and popular, Los Angeles County supervisor of the same name--suddenly finds himself solidly in a runoff with incumbent John J. Lynch to be the next county assessor. "You're kidding?" Hahn asked when early election night results showed him running neck-and-neck with his boss at the sleepy assessor's office.

I found the June 26 editorial ("He Was Kind of Flabbergasted") regarding Kenneth P. Hahn's introduction at the 1991 Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade missed an important point. County Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn is an outstanding county assessor who is openly gay, a hero and a role model. Some gay or lesbian young person, who is three to six times more likely to commit suicide because of the "irrational anti-homosexual feelings" that remain, will see that someone can be openly gay and also achieve success.

A surprise awaited County Assessor Kenneth P. Hahn as he took his place Sunday with other politicians participating in West Hollywood's annual Gay and Lesbian Pride Parade: As the dignitaries were introduced to the crowd, Hahn was "kind of flabbergasted" to hear himself described as "senior-most elected openly gay official in Los Angeles."