Joseph Jay Pastoriza was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, on January 8, 1857, to immigrants from Barcelona, Spain.

[2][3] He successfully advocated for downtown Houston businesses to close at 6pm, a measure to control retail employees' work hours.

[3] Late in 1901, Pastoriza mounted a petition drive in favor of municipal ownership of utilities, collecting 800–1000 signatures.

He waited only eight years to find a buyer to make an offer to exceed Pastoriza's target price.

[2] The log cabin object-lesson had been intended to illustrate a Georgist principle supporting the single land tax.

[2] From 1906 to 1910, Pastoriza visited cities in Europe and the United States with an interest in understanding various municipal reforms.

He returned with a report on his experience, and the City Council approved both the Somers System and the broader Houston Plan of Taxation in early 1912.

"[2] Property assessment in Houston by the Somers method increased valuations by $19 million in 1912, the first year of the program.

Houston Mayor Horace Baldwin Rice characterized the new method as, "a very efficient system, just and equitable for all.

[2] Many critics of the Houston Plan claimed that it violated a clause of the Texas Constitution that required that all property be taxed in a uniform way.

The other major mayoral candidate, Ben Campbell, voiced public approval of Pastoriza as commissioner, but did not endorse him.

Campbell was elected mayor and Pastoriza was re-elected for one of the commissioner positions, leading the field of fourteen candidates.

[2] An organized opposition to the Houston Plan arose in 1914 in the form of the Harris County Taxpayers Association (HCTA).

The group included a defeated candidate for mayor, Milt Gieselman, and counted among its leaders such Houston elites as Joseph F. Baker, Harry F. Cohen, Samuel Rosenberg, and Jules Settegast.

On January 11, 1915, HCTA petitioned Houston City Council to modify its tax assessment practices.

The Bocock campaign emphasized the constitutionality of its position on property taxes, which was consistent with that of the HCTA and the lawsuit filed by Joseph F. Baker.

[2] Single tax advocates campaigned unsuccessfully for a constitutional amendment allowing for unequal valuations and an appeals court affirmed Judge Read's decision.

These two rulings against the Houston Plan compelled Mayor Campbell and Commissioner Pastoriza to create a new scheme in order to comply with the law.

Bank deposits and cash were taxed to comply with Read's order, but the local residents did not abide.