Join us in protecting our local economy, in requiring equitable
public transportation that benefits the entire county, and in
demanding that elected officials only ask for what they need, not
more.
As sample and absentee ballots begin to arrive in mailboxes across South County, we’re moved to remind readers of the reasons why we’re urging a no vote on Measure A in June.
Measure A, if approved by a simple majority, would increase Santa Clara County’s sales tax by one-half cent. It’s not even a close call. There are lots of good reasons to recommend a no vote:
The county only needs a quarter-cent sales tax increase to resolve its current budget shortfall in two years. Asking for double what it needs is a suspicious move that leaves us questioning motives.
Suspicion arises because the county’s half-cent measure came right after the Valley Transportation Authority gave up on its plans to seek a quarter-cent sales tax increase to fund the BART-to-San Jose extension. That measure would have needed a two-thirds majority for approval, and polling showed it would fail.
Although most county supervisors say there is no back-room deal to funnel money to BART, Supervisor Blanca Alvarado has acknowledged “an underlying feeling out there that this proposal is a way to circumvent the two-thirds vote requirement,” called the events “deceptive” and urged her fellow supervisors to “tell it like it really is.”
BART is not good for South County in particular, and given the track records of VTA and BART on inaccurate cost and ridership projections, not good for the county as a whole.
The proceeds from the sales tax are earmarked for the county’s general fund, meaning they can be spent on anything. While South County has Don Gage watching out for its interests now, he’s only one vote, and he only has four years left in office. This tax, if approved, would last for decades. His replacement might not even be from South County.
A higher sales tax – with or without increasing gasoline prices – means less disposable income available for consumers to spend in Gilroy and lower revenue for city coffers. That’s one of the reasons the Gilroy Chamber of Commerce has also recommended a no vote on Measure A.
Do we really want to have the highest sales tax rate in the state? Of course that’s a list we do not want to top.
Join us in protecting our local economy, in requiring equitable public transportation that benefits the entire county, and in demanding that elected officials only ask for what they need, not more. Vote no on Measure A.
