2022 Election Analysis: San Diego Area Ballot Measures
The Nitty-Gritty Stuff We Voted On
Only two of the nineteen local ballot measures were rejected (so far) by voters this year.
Nineteen, you say? Yup. General elections are a good time to ask voters for stuff.
Big media noise in the pre-election period was mostly limited to the six items aimed at either County-wide, City of San Diego, or San Diego Unified School District. voters.
The rest of these questions were aimed at localities, so if you didn’t live in Escondido, for instance, then you are probably unaware that they raised the sales tax, imposed term limits, and reduced the compensation for the city treasurer.
I’ll start by peeling off the big six measures, and will include results from the rest further down in this post. Voting results are expressed as percentages because the actual number of votes will be outdated soon after I publish this piece. The ratios are a more stable measure for this sort of analysis.
I should note here the possibility of lead changes in San Diego’s B & C questions.** I’ll update as needed, though the updates will only show on the internet version of this newsletter.
SD County Measure A - Cannabis Business Tax
YES - 57.28%
NO - 42.72%
Taxes cannabis businesses in the unincorporated area on gross receipts at maximum 6% for retail, 3% for distribution, 2% for testing, cultivation at 3% or $10 (inflation adjustable) per canopy square foot, and 4% for other businesses, generating an estimated $2,930,000 to $5,600,000 annually
City of SD Measure B - Residential Trash Fees **
NO - 50.73%
YES - 49.27%
Would allow the City to recover its cost of providing trash pick up to eligible residential properties. City to provide additional services, such as weekly recycling, bulky item pickup, and curbside container replacement and delivery, at no extra charge.
The City has big holes in its upcoming budgets, including costs for recycling and composting mandated by state law. Don’t complain if your local library has to reduce its hours if this fails.
City of SD Measure C - Ending 30 foot height limit for Midway/Pacific Highway area **
YES - 50.24%
NO - 49.76%
Excludes the areas surrounding Sports Arena from the 30-foot height limit on buildings in the Coastal Zone. Does not mandate any construction per se; does set different parameters for redevelopment, some of which is required by state law to include affordable housing. Does not allow construction over 30 feet high in the vicinity of any beaches.
City of SD Measure D - Making Project Labor Agreements an option for construction contracts
YES - 56.79%
NO - 43.71%
Undoes a vindictive anti-union measure sold to San Diego voters in 2012 as part of a national campaign to weaken the political power of organized labor.
City of SD Measure H - Allow use of city parkland by childcare operators
YES - 66.94%
NO - 33.06%
In the San Diego region, over 74,000 children under the age of five lack access to licensed childcare. No formal opposition.
SD Unified School District - Measure U - Construction Bonds (55% required for passage)
YES - 62.59%
NO - 37.41%
Retires an earlier bond measure, so no property taxes are increased. Monies for improvements to mostly existing facilities. Opposed by Union-Tribune editorial board because of a sales pitch to voters emphasizing student safety measures; they say it was dishonest. The really Big Deal here is that some of the bond money should be used to construct low cost housing for local educators.
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Thanks to Voter’s Edge for information on content of measures. Opinions expressed are my own. If the headline description is adequate, no additional commentary is posted.
City of Carlsbad - Measure J -Monroe Street Pool Renovation **
YES - 50.46%
NO - 49.54%
A public vote is required on any real property improvements other than routine maintenance and repairs over $1 million. Cost estimates range from $22-24 million to be taken from the city operating budget over a number of years. ** Possible result changes as votes are counted.
City of Chula Vista - Measure K - Updating the City Charter to bring it into compliance with state laws.
YES - 62.98%
NO - 37.02%
City of El Cajon - Measure P - Adopt a one-cent sales tax
NO - 59.87%
YES - 40.13%
“Shall the measure to repeal Proposition J, a half-cent sales tax, and adopt a one-cent sales tax effective until repealed by the voters, controlled locally and with independent citizen oversight, providing approximately $24,000,000 annually to fund general city services, which could include adding police officers, abating homeless encampments, increasing funding for homeless intervention efforts, expanding fire services, ensuring rapid 911 emergency response, increasing funding for roads, and enhancing parks, be adopted?”
City of Encinitas - Measure L - Cannabis Business Tax
YES - 65.68%
NO - 34.32%
Tax cannabis and hemp businesses at annual rates of between 4% to 7% of gross receipts for retail cannabis businesses, 1% to 4% for non-retail cannabis businesses, and $2.00 to $10.00 per canopy square foot for cultivation; expected to generate an estimated $800,000 to $1,400,000 annually.
City of Escondido - Measure E - ¾ cent sales tax**
YES - 50.40%
NO - 49.60%
Money for general budget. If the measure were to pass, Escondido would join eight other cities in San Diego County with local sales tax above the 7.75% statewide standard.. ** Possible result changes as votes are counted.
City of Escondido - Measure F - Term Limits
YES - 82.44%
NO - 17.56%
Two terms for persons serving as Mayor, three terms for City Councilmembers and three terms for City Treasurer
City of Escondido - Measure G - Reduce City Treasurer Compensation
YES - 82.62%
NO - 17.38%
Reduce city treasurer compensation to the same level as a city councilmember and to standardize vacancy procedures for all City of Escondido elected officials
City of Imperial Beach - Measure R - Quality of Life
YES - 68.39%
NO - 31.61%
A very cleverly worded proposal to increase the transient occupancy tax (paid by hotel, motel, short-term rental guests) by 4%.
City of National City - Measure M - Appoint City Clerk
YES - 55.21%
NO - 44.79%
They tried make the switch in 2020, but 52% of voters rejected the move
City of National City - Measure N - Appoint City Treasurer
YES - 53.15%
NO - 46.85%
City of Solana Beach - Measure S - Establishing a 1 cent sales tax
YES - 65-63%
NO - 34.37%
For general budget purposes.
Lemon Grove Elementary School District - Measure Q - Bond Measure (55% required for approval)
YES - 67.83%
NO - 32.17%
Authorizing the District to issue and sell $27,000,000 in general obligation bonds for improvements. Formally opposed by SD GOP.
Lower Sweetwater Fire Protection District - Measure T - Increase Board Size
YES- 61.54%
NO - 38.46%
Shall the number of seats on the Lower Sweetwater Fire Protection District be increased from three to five at large seats? No formal opposition.
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NOTE: I’ll be posting more election analysis as fast as I can digest all the data, meaning that there will be extra stories into the weekend.
*****Next Up: City Councilcritters & More Freeway Lanes****
Email me at WritetoDougPorter@Gmail.com
Lead photo by Doug Porter