Measure A Not OK issues victory statement after the tax increase goes down in flames
With yesterday’s vote tallies from Sacramento County, it became county voters would not approve apparent Measure A. The current vote tally has No on A with 181,992 votes for 55.32 percent, and Yes has 146,990 votes.
Even though the Yes side was well-funded and conducted a highly visible campaign, a disparate group of Measure A’s opponents effectively communicated their concerns about the 40-year sales tax increase.
Last night, one of the organizers of the opposition released a statement on the results. Below is the victory statement from Measure A Not OK.
Measure A Really Was Not Ok
Voters Reject Special Interest Transportation Tax Gambit
Opponents of the Sacramento Measure A initiative today praised voters for rejecting the $8.5 billion transportation sales tax measure.
“Sacramento County voters were not willing to raise their taxes by billions of dollars to subsidize the wealthy special interests that wrote and funded Measure A despite heavy spending and misleading claims by the proponents. It’s time to move past subsidizing these land speculators and to focus on issues that are more important to Sacramento voters,” commented Barbara Leary, Chair, Sacramento Sierra Club.
Measure A was placed on the ballot by mega-developers and other special interests who raised more than $3 million and ran a misleading ballot measure campaign claiming incorrectly that the measure would reduce climate change-causing greenhouse gas emissions despite independent analysis showing the opposite.
“Measure A was an abuse of the initiative process. Thank goodness voters saw through the expensive misinformation campaign and rejected this terrible proposal,” commented Bruce Lee, President, Sacramento Taxpayers Association.
“Measure A was couched as a citizens’ measure, however it was drafted without public participation or the transparency that good governance requires. Voters saw through this measure which asked them to pay more sales tax over 40 years to support interests that would defy local climate action plans,” observed Paula Lee, President, Sacramento League of Women Voters
Measure A was opposed by a broad coalition that crossed the political spectrum. The coalition included the League of Women Voters, the Sacramento Taxpayers Association, the Sierra Club, Save the American River Association, United Latinos, Sacramento Sister Circle, and dozens of organizations working to protect transit riders and fight climate change. For a complete list, see MeasureANotOK.org.
“The successful grassroots effort we built to defeat Measure A is a testament to the work and dedication of the volunteers on this campaign. Together, we took a stand against well-funded special interests, even when we thought the odds were against us. It’s a great reminder that people coming together have immense power,” reflected Nailah Pope-Harden, Executive Director of ClimatePlan.
