Proposition Pro & Con Analysis for State Ballot Measures, November 6, 2018 Election
Pros & Cons for the upcoming November Election can be found here as they're published and updated from LWV California.
Recommendations on State Ballot Measures, November 6, 2018 Election
Recommendations from California League can be found here.
Recommendations on Local Ballot Measures, November 6, 2018 Election
Measure A – Proposed Clean-up Amendments to San Diego County Charter - The Board of Supervisors placed this measure on the ballot. It would change the process for filling vacancies on the Board. They can fill vacancies on the Board by appointment within 30 days.
Comments: This is an exception to what is being promulgated in Measure D which would require that regardless of whether one candidate receives a majority of votes in the primary election, he or she must run in the general election. However, in this instance in order to fill a vacancy it would be warranted in order to fill it quickly and not deprive voters in a particular supervisorial district of a representative.
The Leagues of Women Voters of San Diego and of North San Diego County recommend voting YES.
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Measure B – Proposed Amendment to San Diego County Charter Entitled “Preserving Balanced Representation in Unincorporated Areas of San Diego County” – Measure B would do two things: 1) Require that after each census, two of the five supervisorial districts be redrawn to include predominately unincorporated areas; 2) Require that at least three districts must include unincorporated areas.
Comments: Since approximately 1/7th of the County is unincorporated, this measure put on the ballot by the County Board of Supervisors may facilitate gerrymandering to accomplish its goals. The LWV of California includes the following criteria for redistricting: substantially equal population, geographic contiguity, andrespect for boundaries of cities.
The Leagues of Women Voters of San Diego and of North San Diego County recommend a NO vote.
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Measure C – San Diego County Charter Amendment on “Protecting Good Government Through Sound Fiscal Practices” –Measure C would require that pension funds be used solely for pension related liabilities and would prohibit using long term obligations to fund current operational expenses or recurring needs.
The Leagues of Women Voters of San Diego and of North San Diego County have no position and not enough information to base a recommendation on this ballot measure.
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Measure D – County Charter Amendment Requiring All Elections for County Elective Offices to be Held at a General Election and Requiring Adoption of Local Regulations for Write-In Candidates for County Elective Office. This measure would require that the two candidates with the most votes in a primary election will advance to the General Election.
Comments: Allowing a candidate to be elected to office with a majority vote in a primary election subverts the democratic process because outcomes should be decided in general elections when turnout tends to be higher. The primary election narrows the field to the top two candidates. The courts ordered the County Board of Supervisors to put this measure on the ballot.
The Leagues of Women Voters of San Diego and North San Diego County recommend voting YES.
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Measure E – Soccer City – Measure E would authorize the City to lease the Qualcomm Stadium site and the former San Diego Chargers practice facility in Murphy Canyon to a private party for 99 years with an option to buy and adopt a Specific Plan allowing redevelopment of the stadium site to include a stadium, retail, office, residential, and a river park.
Comments: The Soccer City lease would not require City Council approval and the lease terms could not be amended without a public vote until 2033. Soccer City would not do a CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) review or have public input into the planning process. However, their website contains a lot of environmental analyses. Only the Mayor will approve the plans. Soccer City would generate significantly more traffic than SDSU West due to the higher amount of retail use (740,000 square feet vs. 95,000 square feet). Annual tax revenue to the City is estimated to be $1.9 million from SDSU West and $4 million from Soccer City.
The League of Women Voters of San Diego recommends a NO vote.
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Measure G - SDSU West - Measure G would authorize the sale of the stadium site to SDSU or any SDSU auxiliary organization, entity or affiliate to allow planning to redevelop the site for a stadium, recreational, educational, residential, office, hotel and a river park.
Comments: This initiative has a better planning process which includes public hearings to develop and discuss plan details, a full CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) review, and final approval by the City Council and the California State Board of Trustees. This plan makes good sense for expansion of SDSU which is sorely needed to improve San Diego's trained and educated workforce as well as stimulate the local economy over the decades. The region will also benefit from SDSU's plans to expand research.
The League of Women Voters of San Diego recommends a YES vote.
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Measure H- City Charter Amendment Setting Term Limits for San Diego Unified School District Members - It would set a lifetime limit of three four-year terms for San Diego Unified School District Board members starting in the 2020 elections.
Comment: The League of Women Voters opposes term limits and believes that the voters should control the time served by their elected officials when they vote.
The League of Women Voters of San Diego recommends a NO vote.
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Measure J – City Charter Amendment Regarding Mandatory Disclosure of Business Interests - It would require disclosure of names of people who own more than 10% of a company contracting with the City. Public agencies and publicly traded companies would be exempt.
Comments: The City Council placed it on the ballot. It replaces existing language in the City Charter which the City Attorney had deemed to be unenforceable. The LWV supports more transparency in government.
The League of Women Voters of San Diego recommends a YES vote.
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Measure K – City Charter Amendment Limiting Council Members to Serving Two Four-Year Terms - It would clarify that a City Council member may not serve on the Council for more than 8 years, after serving two four-year terms with a partial term of more than two years counting as a full term for purposes of the term limit provision.
Comments: The need for this measure arose because one Council member changed districts after redistricting and is now in her third term. Although the LWV opposes term limits, this is just a clarification of an existing system of limiting terms for Council members.
The League of Women Voters of San Diego recommends a YES vote.
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Measure L – City Charter Amendment Regarding Ethics and Compensation for Elected City Officers – Measure L would restrict benefits for elected City officers, restrict lobbying and campaign activities of elected City officers, and change the way their salaries are set so that they are a percentage of the salaries of California's Superior Court judges.
Comments: Currently, a Salary Setting Commission appointed by the Mayor recommends salaries to the City Council but they have not voted to raise their own since 2003 and are thus underpaid especially for the increased work load due to the adoption of a Strong Mayor form of government. The estimated fiscal effect is $558,000 starting in December 2020 and $837,000 starting in December 2022, but it may be higher if the state increases the salaries of the judges.
The League of Women Voters of San Diego recommends a YES vote.
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Measure M- City Charter Amendment Regarding Reappointment of Audit Committee Public Members - Measure M would allow the City Council to waive a requirement pertaining to appointment of public members to the City’s Audit Committee. Specifically, it would waive the requirement that at least two qualified applicants be found for each pubic member position on the Audit Committee when an incumbent reapplies for the position and is eligible for reappointment.
Comment: This measure aims to overcome the frequent difficulty of finding qualified applicants willing to serve. It is best to have a full membership on this committee.
The League of Women Voters of San Diego recommends a YES vote.
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Measure N – Municipal Code Amendment to Reinstate Industrial Retirement Benefit for Police Officers - It would restore a retirement benefit for police offers who suffer a violent attack at work resulting in great bodily harm. The benefit would be provided when the officer suffers a mental or nervous system disorder which prevents him or her from performing normal and customary duties.
Comment: This pension benefit was inadvertently removed from the pension negotiations in 2010.
The League of Women Voters has no position on which to make a recommendation on this ballot measure.
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Measure YY – San Diego Unified School District Bond Measure - It would authorize a $3.5 billion bond issue with a $60 / $100,000 of assessed valuation property tax increase. The funds would go for three things:
- Improving school security, emergency communications, controlled entry points, door locks.
- Upgrading classrooms/labs for vocational/career, science, technology, math education.
- Repairing foundations, bathrooms/plumbing
- Removing asbestos and lead in the drinking water.
Comments: There is still work to be done on projects listed in and funded by the previous bond measure and much of that money was spent on sports facilities. The SDUSD's website has detailed information on this bond measure and past ones. Although the LWV almost always supports education funding, we hesitate to burden taxpayers so soon after the last bond measure was approved.
The League of Women Voters of San Diego is remaining neutral on Measure YY because we have positions that both favor and oppose it.
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Measure W - National City Rent Control Ordinance - This measure is dependent on passage of State Proposition 10 in the November, 2018 election. Prop 10 would allow local governments to control rent increases. National City is proposing to tie the rent increases of existing buildings to the Consumer Price Index with a ceiling of 5% annually and establish a Rent Board to administer it. It was put on the ballot because it received a qualified number of signatures.
The League of Women Voters of San Diego has no position on rent control.