Ballot Breakdown: Measure B

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[upbeat music] Hey there, San Diego, it's Andrew Bracken in for Jade Hindmon. In our latest midterm ballot breakdown, we hear more about San Diego County Measure B. This is KPBS Midday Edition, connecting our communities through conversation. [upbeat music] Today in our ballot breakdown, we're turning to San Diego County Measure B. The sales tax increase would generate funding for everything from healthcare to addressing the Tijuana River sewage crisis, which we were just talking about. Joining me to talk more is KPBS environment reporter Tammy Murga. Hey, Tammy, great to see you again.

Hi, Andrew.

So let's, you know, walk us through how Measure B would work. Where would this funding go exactly?

Yes. So it's a citizen-led proposal, and if voters approve it, the, uh, the county would impose a half-cent sales tax increase, and that, uh, really means that the county sales tax would jump from 7.75% to 8.25%, and it would really only need a simple majority to pass. Um, and as you mentioned a little bit earlier, right, the funds would ge- uh, that would be generated would go toward healthcare, childcare, uh, food security, public safety issues, and local solutions to the ongoing Tijuana River sewage crisis.

And any sense of, like, how that funding would actually break down?

Yeah, so it's estimated that the, the, the sales tax would generate about f- up to $450 million a year, and 60% of that, uh, would go toward healthcare, childcare, food security, and other services for families. 22.5% would go toward fixes for the sewage crisis, and about 17.5% for public safety, like, uh, wildfire prevention and, uh, other emergency responses.

Got it. So, um, you paid a visit to the county registrar voters earlier this year, um, when labor unions and advocates, uh, unloaded a truckload of boxes of signatures supporting this measure. What was that scene like? Take us back to that-

Yeah

... that moment.

Yeah, that was back in May, and as you mentioned, there was a truckload of boxes literally just put, p- you know, bringing them out and bring, delivering them to the county that day. And, uh, Crystal Irving, uh, she's the, uh, president of the SEIU Local 221, and she said they had enough signatures that day. That's what we saw. And so organizers submitted more than 160,000 signatures that day, which is more than the required, uh, 103,000 signatures to make it on the ballot, and here's what she said that day.

People stepped up, signed their names, and said clearly, "We are not going to wait for Washington or Sacramento to protect us. San Diego is going to protect San Diego."

So that was what helped get it on the ballot that we now have coming to our mailboxes this week. What, um, what types of solutions could this measure support for the, the sewage crisis?

Yeah. You know, that's something that a lot of us were asking, uh, early on. The language in the filing document isn't super specific. It's