San Diego voters approve charter overhaul and half-cent tax hike

Democrat-led San Diego County Board of Supervisors members are poised to gain substantial new powers and funding after voters backed two major ballot measures. Early returns show both measures leading with nearly 70% of ballots counted. The pair of initiatives would rewrite the county charter and raise the sales tax by half a cent.

Measure A, which restructures county government, held just above 52% of the vote as of late Friday. Measure B, the sales tax increase, tracked a nearly identical lead. With 390,000 ballots still to be tallied, political analyst Mason Herron of Edgewater Strategies said the measures are on their way to victory. He noted that support was strongest during in-person voting on Election Day.

The sales tax surcharge would generate between $400 million and $450 million annually. The revenue is designated for social services, childcare, public safety, and infrastructure projects. Specifically, more than $100 million per year would go toward addressing the sewage crisis in the Tijuana River Valley. The county plans to use these funds to issue up to $1 billion in bonds to build a new treatment plant.

Supervisor Paloma Aguirre, who has championed the sewage response, called the project a way to take the bull by the horns. The proposed plant would treat the entire river, unlike the current facility which handles only waste from Tijuana. The crisis has kept the Imperial Beach shoreline closed for years and costs the local economy up to $500 million annually.

Childcare advocates also celebrated the results. Nearly $100 million of the new revenue will go to the First 5 Commission to fund childcare programs, worker stipends, and family vouchers. Erin Hogeboom, a childcare advocate, described the change as transformational. She noted that 5,000 families are currently on a waitlist for state vouchers, up from 3,100 in June.

The charter rewrite grants supervisors the ability to confirm and remove more bureaucratic positions. It also allows supervisors to serve three terms instead of two. Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer, who authored the charter measure, said voters gave a resounding endorsement that government can make a difference. She declined to say if she will run for a third term, which would let her serve until 2032.

Support for the measures was highest in South County and lower-income central San Diego neighborhoods. In Nestor, 71% of voters backed the tax measure. In Imperial Beach, 62% supported it, even as voters re-elected a Republican mayor. The measures performed worst in rural areas and wealthy enclaves like Rancho Santa Fe. Herron noted the narrow leads suggest the results are not a sweeping mandate.

Implementation will not be immediate. The new tax will not hit rolls until April 1. The county must place the revenue in a dedicated fund and appoint an 11-member citizen oversight committee to monitor spending. A supervisor-appointed task force has two years to draft recommendations on the new charter structure, including the authority of new offices and an ethics commission.