The DeMaio Report family is mourning the loss of Ace the Cat – the pet of Carl DeMaio and his partner Johnathan Hale. Ace was a loving pure-breed Bengal cat who was very talkative. Ace took after his daddy in that he was also a taxpayer advocate.
In 2010, Ace helped defeat the “Cat Tax” in San Diego that city politicians were trying to impose. The Cat Tax would have charged every resident with a cat $25 per year for the “privilege” of owning a cat. The money would have been used to fill the deficit in the city’s budget.
Ace appeared at a press conference opposing the idea and instantaneously became a national celebrity, with the press conference being covered on national news programs in addition to San Diego news programs.
Watch KUSI’s coverage of the issue – and Ace the Cat – below: