Ballot Measures

BALLOT MEASURES—State of California

Proposition 81—Library Bonds | YES

Proposition 81 would allow the state to issue $600 million in bonds to build, upgrade, and improve public libraries. That could be the best investment opportunity of the year.

Proposition 82—Universal Preschool Education | YES

Hollywood good-guy Rob Reiner is pushing Prop 82, which will make preschool available to all California 4-year-olds. This is a terrific idea, and will make a big difference to generations—this help will be given to kids at a time in their lives when it will benefit them greatly.  

Prop. 82 will be funded by a 1.7 percent tax on individuals making more than $400,000 and couples making more than $800,000. That is a return to the kind of progressive taxation that was in place back in the days when the state’s schools were well-funded.

BALLOT MEASURES—Monterey County

Measure A—Transportation Authority of Monterey County | YES

In general, transportation plans like this one can be wrong-headed, because highways cause sprawl, and sprawl is our worst enemy. In this case, we are convinced that most of these projects are designed to alleviate real problems—bumper-to-bumper traffic on 156 and 68 practically every day; a situation on Highway 101 in Prunedale that really is dangerous; bottlenecks on Carmel Hill; etc. Nevertheless, if this were a highway bond only, we might not support it. What really sells it for us is that it does put several crucial mass-transit pieces in place as well. And we know TAMC is serious about making this happen, because they already have the foundation in place to take advantage of the new money. (All the plans are approved; the right-of-ways are all already owned by TAMC, etc.)

Bruce Babbitt, the former Secretary of the Interior, has suggested that plans like this one require the passage of a solid general plan that locks in smart land-use planning. We would have definitely preferred that. But ultimately, they really are two separate issues. We believe the smart play here is to support measure A and then fight like hell for good planning.

Measure D—Pacific Grove Unified School District | YES

Despite Mayor Jim Costello’s misgivings that student enrollment is too low to justify the measure, we support this $42 million bond measure to improve Pacific Grove’s crumbling schools. Pacific Grove’s newest school is nearly 50 years old, while others are 80 to 100 years old. The money is needed to repair cracked foundations, broken windows and holes in classroom ceilings.

Measure N—Aromas/San Juan Unified School  | YES

A 55 percent yes vote on Measure N will allow the district to issue $23,500,000 of bonds, which the schools need to improve safety conditions, replace portable classrooms and upgrade facilities.