Morning Report: Three New Taxes on the Menu

San Diego politicos are testing the waters on three tax hikes that could hit local ballots next year.

We’ve previously reported on San Diego Councilmember Sean Elo-Rivera’s push for a city tax on vacation rentals and second homes.

Now Mariana Martínez Barba and Lisa Halverstadt have the details on two other potential measures in the works.

First up: Martínez Barba reveals that labor groups are drawing up language for a 1-cent city of San Diego sales tax increase they hope could appear on the November ballot after multiple rounds of polling. The proposed measure would pull in an estimated $400 million. They say it’ll be for infrastructure repairs, wildfire prevention, pipe repairs for clean water and more. 

Read Martínez Barba’s story here. 

That’s not all: After receiving a text message poll on a separate countywide sales-tax measure last week, Halverstadt pressed the coalition of labor and advocacy groups behind it for details. She found they are gauging support for a countywide half-cent sales tax hike that would bring in an estimated $360 million to shield the county from public safety and health care cuts and fund causes including expanded child care and solutions to the Tijuana River sewage crisis. 

Read Halverstadt’s story here.

Worth noting: Tax hikes have long been a tough sell in San Diego – and results of one of the city polls obtained by Voice of San Diego show the majority of city voters think both the city and the county are on the wrong track. Those responses suggest winning over even a simple majority of voters that would need to ultimately sign off on either citizens measure – if they make it to the ballot – won’t be easy.

Sacramento Report: Republicans Consider Impacts of Proposition 50

Proposition 50 could significantly reduce Republican’s voting power in San Diego County. The measure aims to give Democrats a boost with new House maps that connect San Diego’s rural and urban East County. 

Our Sacramento reporter, Nadia Lathan, spoke with Republicans to get their take on the consequential vote.

She also spoke with San Diego City Councilmember Marni Von Wilpert, one of the candidates running for District 48, on why she’s used to governing in purple areas. Von Wilpert also discussed why she thinks gerrymandering should be banned across the nation. 

Read the Sacramento Report here.

In Other News

• A few months ago, we reported the city was ready to engage in major enforcement operations to prevent people from camping in their RVs and other vehicles on public streets. Now, the Union-Tribune has a sobering update: A lot of people are getting tickets they can’t pay.
• A Navy police officer is charged with the murder of a La Mesa police officer, Lauren Craven, killed in a crash on I-8. The Navy officer, Antonio Alcantar, was allegedly under the influence when he struck and killed Craven. His bail is set at $1 million, reports NBC 7. 
• NBC 7 also reports the city installed stop signs to a San Carlos intersection after a boy was killed walking to school. For the last year, residents had filed multiple complaints about speeding cars at the intersection. 
• San Marcos is the fourth city in San Diego County to restrict children under the age of 12 from using e-bikes, reports the Union-Tribune.

The Morning Report was written by Mariana Martínez Barba and Lisa Halverstadt. It was edited by Andrea Sanchez-Villafaña and Scott Lewis. 

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