I’ve been involved in local, neighborhood politics for about ten years, serving on multiple neighborhood committees. It has given me a feeling for how my neighbors are doing and for the current budget problems the City of San Jose is facing.
For example, we worked for about six years to get upgrading a neighborhood street on the table and get the funding for the work to be done, only to have the project canceled do to the current financial crisis. I’ve also seen some good, hard working City employees laid off, again because of the current financial crisis.
Unfortunately, as you can see in the following table, everyone’s solution is to raise more taxes. That is not really acceptable, because none of the citizens in the street can afford to pay more taxes. Many are out of work or working part time. There are also a lot of empty, foreclosed houses around these days.
Let’s not push more people over the edge with quick fix taxes. Let’s look for more issues, such as those represented by measures W & V, to fix the fundamental problems with our current spending.
| Proposition Number | Official Title | Description | Reference Link | My Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Measure A Property Tax | Santa Clara County Children's Health Protetion | Adds a $29 annual parcel tax to each property for ten years | ballotpedia.org | Vote No - Too many taxes |
| Measure B Vehicle Tax | Traffic Congestion Relief and Road Improvement Act | Permanently adds a $10 fee to your automobile registration. | ballotpedia.org | Vote No - Too many taxes |
| Measure C Term Limits | Santa Clara Valley Water District Term Limits | Restrict board members to three consecutive four year terms, but allows them to return after a two year break. | ballotpedia.org | Vote No - Not a real limit |
| Measure E Property Tax | Foothill-De Anza Community College District Parcel Tax | Adds a $69 annual parcel tax to each property for six years | ballotpedia.org | Vote No - Too many taxes |
| Measure G Bond Measure Property Tax | San Jose City College/Evergreen College bond proposition | Adds a $9.60 tax for every $100K value of your property, for the life of the bonds, which isn't published. | ballotpedia.org | Vote No - Too many taxes |
| Measure U Sales Tax | San Jose Marijuana Tax | Places an additional 10% sales tax on all medical marijuana sold in the city of San Jose. | ballotpedia.org | Vote No - Too many taxes |
| Measure V Labor Arbitration | San Jose Repeal of Binding Arbitration | Repeal binding arbitration for negotiations with San Jose's police and firefighter unions. | ballotpedia.org | Vote Yes - Union costs are out of control |
| Measure W Pension Reform | San Jose Pension Reform proposition | Removes the current retirement age definition and pension fund payment requirements from the San Jose City charter. | ballotpedia.org | Vote Yes - Pension costs are out of control |
I hope you find this helpful.