Subject : Why the California Crossing 2% CID Does NOT Burden Poor Shoppers – Here’s the Big-Picture Proof

Dear Brett Kell and Topeka City Council Members,

I appreciate Brad Cale raising concerns about the 2% CID placing an extra sales-tax burden on low-to-moderate income shoppers at the California Crossing Shopping Center — especially at the new Supermercado Nuestra Familia grocery store. However, when you look at the full picture (extended trade-area demographics, actual dollar impact, and the services now being delivered), that argument simply doesn't hold up. The CID is actually the tool that brings better goods, services, jobs, and long-term stability to East Topeka.

Here are three clear reasons why the "burden on the poor" claim is untrue in the big picture:

1. The extra cost is tiny, voluntary, and spread across a much broader customer base A typical grocery trip at Supermercado Nuestra Familia might run $150–$200. The 2% CID adds just $3–$4. For a household spending $400–$500/month on groceries, that's only $8–$10 extra — far less than the gas and time it used to cost residents to drive to other stores. Importantly, this tax is only paid by people who choose to shop there. And because the extended trade-area demographics you referenced are strong (ZIP 66605 median household income near the city average of ~$57,000), a large share of the sales (and therefore the tax) comes from moderate- and higher-income shoppers across southeast Topeka, not just the immediate neighborhood. It's effectively a user fee from the full market that supports the center.
2. The real burden on low-income families was the lack of investment — the new grocery store and CID fix that Before Supermercado Nuestra Familia opened in December 2025, East Topeka residents had limited fresh-food options. Now they have a full-service Hispanic grocery with bakery, produce, meats, and culturally relevant items right in the neighborhood. Community reaction has been overwhelmingly positive — packed parking lots at the grand opening, residents calling it "wonderful" and saying they "love it." The 2% CID funds the public improvements (parking repairs, lighting, sidewalks, landscaping) that keep the center attractive and safe so more tenants and services follow. Without full reimbursement capacity, the developer can't finish the upgrades quickly. That means fewer jobs, declining conditions, and residents left driving elsewhere — the true daily burden on low-income families.
3. It delivers permanent neighborhood uplift with zero net cost to the city or general taxpayers The CID is temporary (up to 22 years) and self-funding — paid only from sales at the center. It creates construction and retail jobs (many filled locally), raises property values, and grows the overall tax base for everyone. Kansas already removed the state sales tax on groceries, so the added 2% is even less impactful. Long-term, better-maintained retail, more choices, and a safer environment serve low-to-moderate income families far better than leaving the shopping center to deteriorate. This is exactly the targeted economic development East Topeka has needed, and the strong extended demographics prove it will succeed.

Bottom line: We're not shifting a burden onto poor shoppers — we're using a proven Kansas tool (already approved at 1.5% and working elsewhere in Topeka) to leverage private investment and bring real services where they're needed most. The alternative is stagnation. The numbers work, the grocery store is already delivering, and East Topeka families are benefiting. A full 2% CID simply ensures the momentum continues full speed.

Thank you for your leadership on this project. I'm happy to provide more details or attend a meeting to discuss.

Sincerely,

Henry McClure Topeka resident

@mcre1 on X

Watch "Ross Prot NAILED IT" on YouTube

https://youtube.com/shorts/G5tz1r5fBtg?si=ZQiOfmOKbwxm8Uj0

Henry McClure  
785.383.9994
sent from mobile 📱
time kills deals

waste of time and money

The Capital Improvement Project Summary (Project #2008000) outlines a major street reconstruction for SW Huntoon Street from Gage Road to Harrison Street in Shawnee County. Identified back in 2010 by the Joint Economic Development Organization (JEDCO), the project is funded entirely through the Countywide Sales Tax with an initial local budget of $185,000 and a total estimated cost reaching $18.5 million. The scope could range from a basic mill-and-overlay with patching to a full reconstruction that includes new curbing, lighting, sidewalks, bike lanes, and shared-use paths. An RFP is currently being developed to hire a consultant, with public engagement and conceptual planning slated for 2024, design in 2025, right-of-way and utility work in 2026, and construction stretching from 2027 through 2029.

Given where we are today with our local budgets and pressing priorities—tight revenues, rising inflation, and critical needs in core services like public safety, roads maintenance, and essential infrastructure repairs—this project simply makes no sense to be advancing right now. Pouring millions into what amounts to a luxury "quality-of-life" upgrade on one street, complete with bike lanes and tree trimming, feels wildly out of step when everyday roads are crumbling and taxpayers are already stretched thin. It's hard to justify moving forward with conceptual plans and consultant hiring in 2024 when so many other county responsibilities are falling behind.

Undeniable Soros Funding Pipeline to Loud Light Kansas: The IRS 990 Proof They Cannot Deny

Loud Light claims to be a homegrown, nonpartisan Kansas group just “turning up democracy” for young people. That story falls apart the moment you open the public IRS tax filings. Loud Light (EIN 81-0798700) and its 501(c)(4) political arm have taken more than one million dollars through a direct, documented chain that starts with George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and ends in their Topeka P.O. Box. Every number below comes straight from ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer and the organizations’ own IRS Form 990 Schedule I filings—records anyone can pull up and verify right now.

Here is the unbreakable chain:

Alliance for Youth Organizing (EIN 46-2465621) sent Loud Light $175,585 in a single recent tax year. The grant is listed word-for-word on Alliance for Youth Organizing’s own 990 filing: “LOUD LIGHT INC, PO BOX 4045, TOPEKA, KS 66604, EIN 81-0798700, 501(c)(3), 175,585.” That exact line appears in the public record on ProPublica.

From 2020 through 2024, the same Alliance for Youth Organizing sent Loud Light a total of $755,085. Loud Light’s own filings and CauseIQ summaries confirm the running total. Their 501(c)(4) arm, Loud Light Civic Action, pulled in an additional $267,490 from the related Alliance for Youth Action.

Loud Light is an official state affiliate of the Alliance for Youth Action network. They are listed on the national group’s own website and materials as one of their partner organizations. This is not a loose connection—it is a formal relationship.

Now the top of the pipeline: The Alliance for Youth Organizing and Alliance for Youth Action have received millions directly from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations and Soros-linked entities. Kansas researcher Earl F. Glynn (WatchDogLab Substack) tracked the upstream grants using the same public 990s and Open Society’s own grant database. Soros money flows Open Society Foundations → Alliance groups → Loud Light. Additional layers include the Tides Foundation (which sent Loud Light $115,000 in 2024 alone plus $302,500 cumulatively) and Arabella Advisors’ dark-money funds (Windward Fund, New Venture Fund, etc.), which poured at least $1.8 million into Kansas groups in 2024—including Loud Light’s share for voter work. Arabella entities themselves received tens of millions from Soros nonprofits in the years immediately before.

This is not speculation. These are the exact dollar amounts, EINs, and grant descriptions sitting in the IRS database today.

What does Loud Light do with the Soros-tied cash? They use it to:

• File lawsuits against Kansas election laws (co-plaintiff with Kansas Appleseed in the 2025 SB 4 mail-ballot deadline case)
• Attack Rep. Pat Proctor and other Republicans for pushing voter integrity bills
• Produce weekly legislative hit pieces that call conservative leaders “conspiracy peddlers”
• Run youth voter registration and turnout operations that target low-turnout districts while opposing every reform that makes elections more secure

The same organization that takes Soros money through these national pass-throughs then lectures Kansans about “foreign billionaires” having no place in our politics. The hypocrisy is on paper for anyone to see.

There is no direct wire from George Soros’ personal checking account to Loud Light’s account—that would be illegal for a 501(c)(3). Instead, Soros built the exact layered system we see here: Open Society Foundations funds the national alliances, the alliances fund the state groups, and the state groups do the political work. Every link in that chain is documented in public tax returns.

Loud Light cannot deny this. The grants are listed by name, address, and EIN in black and white on ProPublica. Earl F. Glynn’s WatchDogLab reports, the Kansas Informer coverage, and the organizations’ own filings all line up on the same numbers. If they want to prove it is false, they can release every grant they have received since 2018 with the original donor names and amounts. They will not do that—because the trail leads straight back to Soros.

This is the proof-positive connection. Soros money is in Loud Light’s bank account, funding their lawsuits, their attacks on Republican legislators, and their efforts to loosen Kansas election rules. The records do not lie. Real Kansans deserve to know exactly who is paying the bills when these groups show up at the Capitol or the courthouse. The paper trail is wide open.

Loud Light's Specific Soros Pipeline (Ongoing)

 Soros Funding in Kansas: The Dark Money Pipeline Targeting Elections, Voter Turnout, and Legislative Battles

Kansas conservatives, led by Rep. Pat Proctor, have long warned about the "Axis of Ballot Harvesting" — groups like Loud Light, Kansas Appleseed, and allied organizations that sue commonsense election reforms while hiding behind nonprofit status. The money trail confirms it: George Soros and his Open Society Foundations (OSF) don't write direct checks to most Kansas groups anymore, but their network funnels millions through dark-money intermediaries (Arabella Advisors funds, Tides Foundation, Alliance for Youth Organizing/Action). This cash powers voter mobilization, election lawsuits (like the 2025 fight to count mail ballots a week late), and progressive advocacy in a red state.

Here's the documented picture, drawn from IRS 990 filings analyzed by Kansas researcher Earl F. Glynn (WatchDogLab Substack) and reporting from Kansas Informer (updated through early 2026):

2024 Peak Inflows via Soros-Linked Dark Money Networks

• Arabella Advisors Ecosystem (New Venture Fund, Hopewell Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, North Fund, Windward Fund): At least $1.8 million flowed to 15 Kansas nonprofits. Soros' OSF and related entities poured over $43 million into these exact Arabella funds in 2023 alone (including $10M+ for "Free Election Fund" efforts). Key Kansas recipients and purposes:
  • Loud Light (and its Civic Action arm): Part of the haul for voter registration, turnout drives targeting youth/underrepresented voters, legislative monitoring, and lawsuits against voting reforms.
  • Kansas Civic Engagement Table: $138,000 – coordinates "inclusive democracy" advocacy and GOTV.
  • Blueprint Kansas (KSVotes.org): $62,500 – voter engagement focused on Democratic-leaning turnout.
  • Kansas Latino Community Network: $113,000+ – voter registration and civic empowerment.
  • Mainstream Civic Engagement: $108,000 – nonpartisan (in name) GOTV.
  • Abortion-focused: Aria Medical ($409k), Trust Women ($454k), Kansans for Constitutional Freedom ($50k).
  • Others: Bluestem Foundation, Kansas Interfaith Action.
• Tides Foundation & Tides Advocacy: $1 million across 8 grants to Kansas groups in 2024, explicitly tied to "Integrated Voter Engagement."
  • Loud Light: $115,000 – expanding voter access, challenging barriers, monitoring legislation.
  • Kansas Latino Community Network: $15,000 – voter education/turnout.
  • The Voter Network (Overland Park): $185,000 – relational organizing for GOTV.
  • Alacrity Institute: $500,000 – electoral reform advocacy (fusion voting).
  • Others for civic engagement in Wichita, Merriam, etc.

Loud Light's Specific Soros Pipeline (Ongoing)

Loud Light has received over $1 million in Soros-tied funding since 2020:

• $755,085 (2020–2024) from Alliance for Youth Organizing (heavily OSF-funded).
• $267,490 to Loud Light Civic Action from Alliance for Youth Action (another $2.6M+ direct from OSF entities).
• Additional $115,000 from Tides in 2024 alone, plus shares of the Arabella $1.8M wave. This directly supports their lawsuits (e.g., joining Appleseed in May 2025 to overturn SB 4's Election Day mail-ballot deadline) and weekly legislative recaps attacking GOP priorities.

Kansas Appleseed and Broader Election Lawfare

• Kansas Appleseed Center for Law and Justice: Direct $50,000 from Soros' Foundation to Promote Open Society + $155,950 from Tides. Uses "nutrition/public-health cover" for voter-turnout campaigns and co-sues over mail ballots and voter data access.
• These groups (with Disability Rights Center of Kansas) filed the 2025 lawsuit against Secretary of State Scott Schwab to reinstate a 7-day grace period for mail ballots — classic "ballot harvesting" protection funded by the same networks.

Funding Contraction in 2025–2026 (But the Pipeline Persists)

OSF underwent major upheaval under new leadership (Alex Soros). Nationwide:

• Grants dropped from 2,166 ($1.1B) in 2023 to just 839 ($670M) in 2024 — a 40%+ cut.
• Kansas Left groups like Loud Light and Appleseed saw fewer direct OSF wires, shifting more reliance to Arabella/Tides dark money and Alliance pass-throughs.
• Still, the 2024 inflows (pre-contraction) fueled ongoing 2025–2026 fights over voting rules, abortion amendments, and rural outreach via the Soros-backed Rural Democracy Initiative.

Bottom Line for Kansas Conservatives This isn't philanthropy — it's a coordinated effort to import out-of-state billionaire influence into Kansas elections. Rep. Pat Proctor was right: the "Axis of Ballot Harvesting" (Loud Light, Appleseed, ACLU Kansas allies) rakes in Soros-tied millions to sue every integrity reform we pass while claiming "nonpartisan" status. Kansas voters see the pattern — low-turnout rural and young voters get targeted, lawsuits tie up the Secretary of State's office, and progressive causes advance on foreign-influenced cash.

All figures are public in 990 filings (ProPublica, WatchDogLab analyses). The flow continues through layered nonprofits to obscure the source, but the impact hits Kansas ballots directly. If Loud Light and company want transparency, they should disclose every upstream dollar instead of attacking those who connect the dots. Real Kansans reject this dark money takeover of our democracy.