THE BALLOT QUESTION

Lawsuit was required to get an honest ballot question

When the Oxnard City Council (with a 6-1 vote, only Starr voted no) voted to place Measure E on the ballot, it approved using a deceptive ballot question.

All Measure E does is remove the expiration date from Measure O to make it permanent. It’s a tax increase starting on April 1, 2029 because otherwise our sales tax would decrease by 1/2%. The money from this sales tax could be used for ANY general governmental purpose, with no money guaranteed to be used for any particular program.

Before the city council voted, they were warned that the ballot question did not comply with state law which requires the ballot question to be true, impartial, and not prejudicial or argumentative…but the council majority approved it anyway. A local resident sued, and a judge ordered the ballot question changed.

BALLOT LANGUAGE

Here is the deceptive question that the city council majority TRIED to use:

CITY COUNCIL'S ORIGINAL VERSION
CITY OF OXNARD PUBLIC SAFETY, FINANCIAL STABILITY MEASURE (NO TAX RATE INCREASE). Shall the measure maintaining City of Oxnard’s services without raising current tax rates, including protecting public safety, maintaining 911 emergency response/fire protection; repairing streets/potholes; addressing homelessness; maintaining programs for vulnerable seniors; anti-gang/after-school programs; other general services, by renewing an existing 1/2₵ sales tax, providing $20,000,000 annually until ended by voters, requiring oversight, audits, public spending disclosure, all funds for Oxnard, be adopted?
COURT-ORDERED VERSION

Here is the question that the court ordered be used instead:

CITY OF OXNARD EXTENSION OF MEASURE O SALES TAX. Shall the measure renewing an existing ½ ₵ sales tax used for maintaining City of Oxnard’s general governmental services, providing $20,000,000 annually until ended by voters, requiring oversight, audits, public spending disclosure, all funds for Oxnard, be adopted?

NEXT: CITY MONEY & COMPENSATION →

Paid for by Starr Coalition for Moving Oxnard Forward Opposing Measure E. FPPC ID 1379154.