A campaign mailer timed to arrive with the mail-in county
library tax ballot has been called misleading
– by those supporting the measure.
A campaign mailer timed to arrive with the mail-in county library tax ballot has been called misleading – by those supporting the measure.
A message on the oversized, blue and orange postcards arriving in Morgan Hill this week give the impression that the city library will close if two property tax measures are not successful.
“Keep the Morgan Hill Library open!” the card declares. “Don’t let the Morgan Hill Library close. Vote Yes on A and B.”
Gilroy residents received similar cards.
But as the mailer explains on the reverse side in smaller type, none of the nine libraries in the county system will close if the measures fail.
Councilman Steve Tate and member of the Santa Clara County Library District Joint Powers Authority, said he did not see the postcard before it was mailed, but said the committee should have revised the card.
“I don’t like giving people the impression the library will close permanently. That is not the intent of what we what we’re doing,” Tate said. “I know that’s not what was meant.”
The measures are the first all-mail election held in Santa Clara County.
It is being financed at a cost of $1.8 million by the JPA, which consists of representatives from the county and cities with system libraries and is financed largely through tax revenue.
Tate said the first of three mailers had two purposes: to remind people to expect their ballots this week and let them know that if the measures fail, county libraries will be forced to cut staff and operating hours.
Measure A would extend a current $33.66 parcel tax for 10 years. Measure B would levy an additional $12 tax per parcel for 10 years.
A two-thirds majority vote is required county-wide for either measure to pass; Measure A must pass for measure B to go into effect.
The current tax raises $5.4 million annually for the JPA’s budget or 21 percent of the budget.
Librarians say that revenue is ever more critical because libraries have lost some state funding and revenue from vehicle registration taxes.
Last year, a $1.1 million budget shortfall forced all nine libraries to close on Mondays.
Morgan Hill City Librarian Rosanne Macek has said that if the ballot measures fail, the local library will reduce open hours to 30 a week.
“We are currently open 46 hours and that’s a big change,” Macek said. “We will be laying off quite a few staff members throughout the library system, which would mean less staff in Morgan Hill to help people.
It would mean longer lines at circulation and reference desks and less money to buy materials. Less staff also means fewer programs such as Story Time.”
Cupertino City Councilwoman Dolly Sandoval, who is co-chairwoman of the campaign supporting the measures and approved the mailer, called the messages completely truthful.
“This is analogous to a newspaper headline,” she said. “We’re not trying to fool the voters. The entire story is there. You can’t make everything the headline.“
County Librarian Melinda Cervantes said she was concerned when she received the postcard at her Alum Rock home.
By law, Cervantes can not participate in the campaign effort and she was not asked to approve the mailer. She said two other Alum Rock residents called her Tuesday to ask if the library there will close.
“My concern is that the information be as accurate as possible,” Cervantes said. “ I agree with the information on the backside. I do think the headline could have been more accurate, but this is a campaign piece.”
Macek said the mailer’s wording was unfortunate.
“No one in the county library was required to review it,” Macek said. “We would have caught that. I’m sure the intention was good – to prevent us from closing more hours.”
Gilroy resident Mark Zappa, who is leading the local effort against the measures, called the mailer “totally misleading” and “a scare tactic.”
“It just goes to show that there’s not a lot of integrity with the people behind these measures,” Zappa said. “If the measures had any merit, they wouldn’t need to resort to these deceptive tactics.”
Zappa, who is opposed to the measures because he has a philosophical opposition to all tax measures, said he plans to picket the library and their fundraising events.
Ballots were to be mailed Monday and must be returned to the Registrar’s Office by May 3. The last day to register for the election is April 18.
The nine libraries are located in Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Milpitas, Los Altos, Saratoga, Cupertino, Monte Sereno, Campbell and Alum Rock.
Times staff writer Carol Holzgrafe contributed to this story.
Gilroy Dispatch reporter Matt King can be reached at 847-7240 or mk***@gi************.com.
