San Diego County Voters To Decide On Charter Reforms, Health And Safety Sales Tax

SAN DIEGO, CA — San Diego County voters will decide Nov. 3 on two ballot measures, one proposing county charter reforms, including longer supervisor term limits, and the other a sales tax increase that supporters say is needed to address public health and safety concerns.

Measure A calls for charter reforms, including an independent ethics commission, budget analyst and program auditor who would report to the Board of Supervisors, as well as consistent term limits across all county elected offices.

If approved, the measure would allow county supervisors to serve three terms instead of the current two. It would not change term limits for the sheriff, district attorney and other county elected officials, who currently have none.

The requirement that supervisors live in the districts they represent also would remain unchanged.

Supervisors Paloma Aguirre, Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe voted in May to place the measure on the November ballot, while colleagues Joel Anderson and Jim Desmond opposed it. Lawson-Remer, who proposed the measure last spring, said at the May meeting that the reforms were intended as a long-term effort to "build a stronger and more accountable county government for future generations," not to protect or attack whichever politicians hold office.

Desmond recently said he supports an ethics commission, program auditor and independent budget analyst, but called a possible three-term limit for supervisors "the worst form of politics and self-serving politicians."

Supervisors voted 3-2 to reject a counterproposal by Anderson that would have eliminated a provision allowing the board to confirm and remove senior staff hired by the county's chief executive, made oversight independent and protected against political machinations in the selection of contracts.

Anderson's proposal also would have eliminated the expansion of supervisors' term limits. Desmond moved to place both proposals on the November ballot, but that motion also failed 3-2.

The ballot question asks voters: "Shall the San Diego County Charter be amended to establish an Independent Ethics Commission, Independent Budget Analyst, Independent Program Auditor, confirmation of certain senior County leaders, and optional Board of Supervisors appointment of the Public Defender; increase term limits from two to three terms for the Board of Supervisors members; require public disclosure of spending and performance data; clarify non-interference provisions; and update terminology and structure?"

Supporters say Measure A would increase transparency and update outdated rules.

"Firefighters adapt as conditions change -- longer fire seasons, new risks, growing communities. County governance should adapt too. Clear accountability and modern oversight help ensure resources are used effectively to keep people safe," said John Clark, president of San Diego County Firefighters Cal-Fire Local 2881.

Mike O'Deane, president of the Deputy Sheriffs' Association, also voiced support for the proposed charter reforms.

"As sheriff's deputies, we know that public trust is essential to doing our jobs well," he said. "Increasing transparency, stability and oversight will be good for county operations, good for public trust, and good for the communities we serve."

Along with Anderson and Desmond, the conservative political organization Reform California formally opposes Measure A, according to KPBS.

Measure B, also known as the San Diego Health & Safety Act, would increase the county sales tax by 0.5%.

The measure also is intended to address a range of public health and safety issues. Its priorities include:

-- stopping toxic sewage pollution from the Tijuana River;

-- protecting access to affordable health care;

-- preventing deep cuts at local hospitals and clinics;

-- expanding child care and nutrition support for working families; and

-- strengthening 911 response and wildfire prevention.

In early May, a coalition of health care workers, first responders and union leaders submitted more than 151,000 signatures to qualify the measure for the ballot.

The ballot language reads: "To clean-up sewage pollution in Tijuana River Valley, improve wildfire prevention, emergency response, access to healthcare, food assistance, childhood development services, and authorized administrative expenses; shall the measure authorizing a half-cent sales tax raising an estimated $400,000,000 to $450,000,000 annually, requiring citizen oversight, public spending disclosure, and independent annual audits, and lasting until ended by voters, be adopted?"

Supporters say they want to take matters into their own hands after decades without state and federal leaders resolving the pollution problem.

"We've waited years for someone else to fix the sewage crisis, and little has changed," said Crystal Irving, president of Service Employees International Union Local 221, earlier this year.

"Raw sewage is still flowing, healthcare costs are still rising, and families are still being asked to do more with less," Irving said. "We are done waiting for someone else to fix it."

Assemblyman Carl DeMaio, R-San Diego, said earlier this year that proposing a tax increase while costs are rising was foolish.

"San Diegans are already getting crushed by a cost-of-living crisis -- and the last thing we need is a costly and unfair sales tax hike that will only add to their financial struggles," said DeMaio, chairman of Reform California. "That's why I'm pledging a $1 million campaign this fall to defeat this insane tax hike and hold the reckless politicians at the county accountable for eliminating wasteful spending."

Along with SEIU Local 221, organizations endorsing Measure B include Cal-Fire Local 2881, Children First San Diego, the Hospital Association of San Diego and Imperial Counties, the League of Women Voters of San Diego and Surfrider Foundation San Diego County.

— City News Service