San Diego, CA
As inflation spikes, San Diego politicians put 35 new tax hikes on countywide ballot
San Diego county already has one of the highest cost-of-living burdens in the nation and working families are being crushed by recent spikes in inflation.
Despite this, San Diego local politicians want to make things even more expensive by putting 35 separate tax hikes on the November 2024 ballot.
What’s worse, many of these tax hikes are hidden behind deceptive ballot titles that the politicians write to fool voters into approving them.
That’s why in each election, Reform California publishes a “Plain English” voter guide to flag all the tax hikes on the ballot and expose the deceptive word games being played on these measures.
In San Diego county, there is one county-wide sales tax hike on the ballot, 11 city sales tax hikes, and 23 local property tax hikes – mostly tied to bonds.
Measure G is a half-a-percent sales tax hike countywide that backers say will fix our roads. But not a single penny of Measure G is legally earmarked for roads.
Worse, the funds in Measure G will go to SANDAG – the same agency that raised your taxes in 1988 and 2004 promising to fix roads, but has repeatedly raided those road funds ever since. Recent SANDAG audits have also uncovered millions in waste, fraud and abuse at the agency.
Just like with Measure G, backers of city-specific sales tax hike measures also make false claims on where the funds from their tax hikes would go. Every city measure has been placed on the ballot claiming the funds will go to specific purposes – with the magic words of “police, fire, 911, road repairs, etc.” being used in almost every measure. Yet none of the city measures contain language legally earmarking the funds for these popular programs.
All of the city tax hike measures go into the general fund of the cities – and politicians can spend the money any way they want. In fact, the fiscal forecasts for each of these cities prove that a massive portion of funds are being diverted by city politicians to cover bloated and overly-generous pension payouts to city workers.
With the exception of a National City property tax hike for their general fund, the 23 property tax hikes on the ballot across the county are tied to bond measures that include parcel tax assessments.
These bonds are all being sold as improving school facilities – with all kinds of promotional language on improving academic outcomes.
The reality is these bonds and associated increases to your property taxes do nothing to improve the quality of instruction in our schools, but instead simply seek to build fancy new facilities.
What backers of these bonds do not tell you is we have a growing problem of underutilized facilities in school districts across the county. That’s because local public school enrollment has plummeted in the past five years – and is expected to drop even more in the coming years. Only a handful of our rural school districts have had stable or modest increases in enrollment.
Instead of building more facilities during a time of declining student enrollment, school districts should be required to do a comprehensive needs assessment of their existing facilities and right-size – using the proceeds from this process to invest in deferred maintenance and improvement of remaining facilities.
Several of these bonds are from school districts who have passed requirements that all of their contracts must be awarded using Project Labor Agreements (PLAs).
PLAs allow school districts to avoid fair and open competition on contracts in favor of union-only firms. In doing so, PLA’s discriminate against small and minority-owned businesses.
According to the Coalition for Fair Employment in Construction (CFEC), PLAs result in a 25-40% increase in the cost to taxpayers for projects while reducing the chance that hiring will benefit local workers.
Just who benefits from these discriminatory PLA contracts? School district politicians who receive campaign contributions from union political action committees funded by the dues generated by union-only projects.
So what will approving all 35 tax hikes on the San Diego County ballot cost you?
Our analysis shows the average San Diego household will be impacted by 2-3 of these tax hikes and will end up paying $200-300 more per year in higher cost-of-living. That’s simply too much for San Diegans who already are struggling with their finances.
Vote NO on all 35 tax hikes and tell San Diego county politicians to instead reform their wasteful spending!
Carl DeMaio is a former member of the San Diego City Council and a candidate for the California Assembly.
Gloria relents on December Nights, some community cuts in budget revise, but arts funds still on chopping block
by City News Service | Times of San Diego
Some library and recreation center hours and December Nights support were restored in Mayor Todd Gloria’s revised Fiscal Year 2027 Budget Wednesday, but city funding for the arts could still be gutted.
Gloria was joined by civic leaders Wednesday morning to announce changes to his initial proposed budget, released last month. He added “targeted protections” of certain neighborhood priorities and maintained police and fire service levels while arriving at a balanced budget.
Proposed additions include protecting rec center and library hours in Council Districts 4, 8 and 9, represented by Henry L. Foster III, Vivian Moreno and Sean Elo-Rivera, respectively.
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The Learning Curve: He’s San Diego Unified’s Next Trustee – No Race Needed
By Jakob McWhinney | Voice of San Diego
The primary is still nearly a month away. The general election is even further out. Still, it’s already clear that Hayden Gore will be San Diego Unified’s next trustee. That’s because he’s running unopposed to fill the seat left open by current Trustee Cody Petterson, who opted not to run for re-election.
Though he’s a political newcomer, Gore was the early choice of San Diego Unified’s union. In fact, he was recruited by the former president of the San Diego Education Association to run for the seat.
It’s not hard to see why. He’s an avowed progressive and a longtime educator who led the then-newly formed union at High Tech High to its first contract. Exactly the kind of resume that would have SDEA champing at the bit.
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Join Us Friday, July 17, 2026 for the 11th Annual USD School of Law – RJS LAW Tax Institute
By RJS Law
The Institute is the premier annual tax event in San Diego. The region’s top tax attorneys, enrolled agents (EAs), certified public accountants (CPAs), law and business school professors will discuss topics including government loan relief and abuses, challenges in cross-border transactions, and practical and realistic solutions in trust, estate planning, and tax matters.
DATE AND TIME
Friday, July 17, 2026 from 8:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m.
LOCATION
Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice, Theatre
5555 Marian Way, San Diego, CA 92110
EVENT STATUS
Open to the Public
Read More
SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – For many families, libraries are a safe space for kids after school and a place to study.
After community outcry, the city is scaling down some of its proposed budget cuts, bringing the original $6.3 million in cuts to libraries down to $4.8 million.
Patrick Stewart, CEO of Library Foundation SD, said the change is a step in the right direction.
“We are very pleased. I think this moves the needle in the right direction.”
Mayor Gloria’s revised budget proposal restores funding focused on youth-centered programs, which includes bringing back library hours in Council Districts 4, 8, and 9 — those in underserved communities.
“This is City Heights and San Isidro, Barrio Logan, and Oak Park, and traditionally, those are smaller branches. And the kids and the families in those communities frankly, they use their library very differently than in a lot of other communities, and it’s a lifeline to them,” said Stewart.
The City Heights library is among those included in the mayor’s revised budget to restore funding. While library officials say this is a good first step, there is still concern about long-term financial challenges.
In order to voice concerns about how deep the cuts go, the Library Foundation has created a way for supporters to express that through postcards. Thousands of cards have been mailed directly to Mayor Gloria and councilmembers.
Stewart said the effort is making an impact.
“They’re seeing that this is hundreds and hundreds of people that are taking this very seriously, so it helps them to know immediately what their community feels like when it comes to these proposed cuts,” he added.
The restored funding would also keep Monday hours at Carmel Valley Library and protect the North Clairemont Library branch from closure.
Library officials remain optimistic as the revised budget heads back to the City Council.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
A man suspected of a fatal shooting in Barrio Logan was arrested Tuesday.
Benito Garcia Jr., 31, was arrested in the 3600 block of Grand Avenue in San Marcos at about 1 p.m. Tuesday for allegedly gunning down 64-year-old Raul Torres near the east end of the Coronado Bridge, according to the San Diego Police Department.
Patrol officers responding to an anonymous report of a shooting found the mortally wounded victim on a sidewalk in the 2000 block of National Avenue, near Chicano Park, shortly after 10 p.m. last Tuesday. Torres died at the scene, SDPD Lt. Lou Maggi said.
Police have not disclosed a suspected motive for the slaying.
Garcia was booked into San Diego Central Jail on suspicion of first- degree murder. He was being held without bail pending arraignment, scheduled for Thursday afternoon.
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