Although new election results have narrowed the gap in vote totals for a half-cent countywide sales tax hike since election night, it is still falling short of the majority it needs to pass.
Prospects also look dim in the city of San Diego for a full-cent sales tax increase, which lost ground in three consecutive vote updates after election night and posted only a small gain Monday evening.
Measure G — the proposed county hike that would generate an estimated $350 million a year for transportation projects — was trailing by 30,558 votes in the election totals posted Monday evening.
That’s smaller than the 41,000-vote deficit posted on election night, the 33,138-vote gap posted Thursday and the 32,980-vote gap posted Saturday. But supporters acknowledged it still didn’t look good.
Measure E — the proposed city hike that would generate about $400 million a year for general city expenses – was trailing by 9,195 votes Monday night.
That’s closer than the 9,526-vote gap on Saturday night, but larger than the 5,262 margin from Election Day and the gaps of 7,032 posted Thursday and 8,410 Friday.
Supporters say Measure G would not only fund essential transportation infrastructure improvements to ease commutes but also protect the environment by preserving habitat and keeping pollution out of waterways.
“I think the results right now are disappointing,” said Lisa Ross, chair of the San Diego chapter of the Sierra Club, which endorsed the Yes on G campaign. “San Diego is a biodiversity hotspot … so we were really looking forward to having a funding stream for the acquisition and protection of endangered habitats, wildlife and open space.”
The measure currently trails 51.21% to 48.79%.
With an estimated 140,000 ballots left to be counted, supporters say they are still hopeful the measure could gain ground in this week’s updates and close the gap needed for approval.
But Mary Davis, organizer of the campaign opposing Measure G, said last week she still expects it to fail.
“It goes back to public trust,” Davis said, nodding to critics’ worry that it would steer more money to the San Diego Association of Governments — already facing scrutiny for its management — by doubling the TransNet sales tax first approved in 1987 and extended in 2004. One previous such effort was rejected in 2016.
“They have not been good stewards of past money,” Davis added. “We cannot be just blindly handing over more money (to SANDAG) until they have proven that they will handle what we give them responsibly.”
Opponents of the tax also argued that not enough of the revenue would go toward building roads and worried the lion’s share could go to projects in the city of San Diego, leaving suburbs with less than they find fair.
County Supervisor Jim Desmond, one of the measure’s most vocal opponents, was also encouraged by early vote totals.
“It appears that voters are seeing through the smoke and mirrors of Measure G,” he said last week. “For too long, SANDAG has bordered on corruption and incompetence, and I’m hopeful that San Diegans will make it clear that they won’t foot the bill for more broken promises.”
Campaign contributions in support of the measure drastically outpaced those in opposition.
The labor- and business-backed committee that supported the measure raised nearly $2.6 million this year, while the campaign opposing it, Stop the SANDAG Tax, raised only $148,000 in the same time period.
Even so, supporters acknowledged last week that it may not have been the best year to put the measure on the ballot, when 10 local cities were deciding on local sales tax hikes of their own.
