Voters appear to be approving Measure A, which will strip the hire-and-fire power of the first Black woman Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) of San Diego County, extend the terms of limit of supervisors from two four-years to three and bring in a raft of changes to the county’s charter.
Known as the San Diego County Transparent, Accountable, Modern County Government Measure, it is nearing victory as 52.07% of voters have voted “Yes” to 47.93% who have said “No.” About 30% of uncounted votes are remaining, according to the Friday evening’s returns from the Registrar of Voters.
Measure A needs a little over 50% of the votes to be voted into law.
District 3 and chair of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors, Terra Lawson-Remer, proposed the measure and was backed by two of her Democratic colleagues on the board to go on the ballot.
Backers of the charter reform, the first in nearly 50 years, say it will make budgeting and spending of the county’s $8 billion annual budget more efficient. In a statement to The San Diego Voice & Viewpoint last month, Lawson-Remer said “good reform should be strong enough to hold power accountable and responsive enough to listen when people raise concerns.”
The supposed “good reform” includes setting up an ethics commission, an independent budget analyst and independent auditor, all under the control of county supervisors.
Measure A has drawn controversy because it would extend how long supervisors can stay in office and give them the power to appoint and remove key county officials, including the CAO’s deputy and the head of the Health and Human Services Agency. For now, the CAO, Ebony Shelton, has the authority to hire and remove staff in these positions.
Republican supervisors Jim Desmond and Joel Anderson, who opposed its passing to the ballot, view the extension of supervisors’ maximum limits from 8 to 12 years as “self-selving.”
Half-cent sales tax could pass
The San Diego Health and Safety Act or Measure B that would impose a half-cent sales tax countywide is also advancing with a 52% to 48% vote so far.
It needs a simple majority to pass, just like Measure A.
If voted, the additional tax will generate between $400-450 million for the county to fund healthcare and familycare services, public safety and infrastructure and clean-up projects aimed at fixing sewage problems at the Tijuana River.
Labor groups, health advocates and nonprofits put the measure on the ballot in the wake of federal cuts to programs like Medicaid, Medi-Cal and CalFresh, which have placed a $300 million strain in the county’s budget.
“We have almost a million people that are signed up for Medi-Cal, that number is dwindling. And so we want to make sure people are taken care of,” District 4 supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe told KPBS last week. “Tijuana River Valley crisis, it has been a long time that folks have been dealing with…up and down the coast…have been dealing with those issues.”
Voters approve $3.5 billion bond for San Diego Unified
The bond measure also known as Measure M, which seeks to raise $3.5 billion for the San Diego Unified School District, received an overwhelming support at the ballot, racking up 65.67% of the “Yes” votes, nearly double the “No” ballots. It is the biggest bond measure on the ballot in the state this year, according to EdSource.
The measure will cost taxpayers $32 per $100,000 in assessed value. San Diego Unified wrote on its website that the money will be used to repair its educational facilities.
“Measure M would fund critical repairs, student safety and security improvements, and upgrades to classrooms, learning environments, and aging infrastructure, while maintaining the District’s current combined tax rate commitment,” the statement read.
Most of San Diego Unified’s more than 226 school facilities average 42 years old, and the depreciation cost is $461 million annually.
