Cupertino Mayor Liangfang Chao and the City Council called out Santa Clara County’s “suspicious special-election timing,” says Purissima Hills Water District Director Brian Holtz. By voting to oppose the sales tax hike, Cupertino demonstrated “true leadership” says County Assessor candidate Rishi Kumar. Silicon Valley Business Alliance Treasurer Pat Waite commends the “principled stance against Measure A.” An Opportunity Now exclusive commentary.
Read MoreThe county Measure A campaign reveals deeply unethical impulses informing our local political ecosystem. Citizens need to demand better, or risk becoming enablers. Our Weekend Reading unpacks the issues in this Opp Now exclusive.
Read MoreThe County of Santa Clara bought two hospitals and has created a budget issue by overspending, says Saratoga Vice Mayor Chuck Page. To make up for their indiscretions, the county is again turning to the taxpayer for a bailout: problem is, he says, the regressive Measure A sales tax will only hurt the people it’s supposed to help. And Opportunity Now exclusive commentary.
Read MoreIt “seems odd,” says SVTA Board Member Elizabeth Brierly, that the DA would predict cuts to law enforcement if Measure A doesn’t pass. The feds already increased public safety spending, but now Santa Clara County supes want residents to pay even more? In this Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal to comments in the Merc, Brierly says the massive county tax precludes cities from raising their own sales tax rates. Is San Jose’s leadership confident there won’t be a deficit in the next five years?
Read MoreEven if there were oversight for Measure A, it should be set up before election day, not after, says SVTA’s Elizabeth Brierly. But such a committee would likely be packed with insiders, she says, and provide no real accountability. In Part 2 of this Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal to Silicon Vallely Leadership Group's (SVLG) endorsement, Brierly calls out the false choice about trauma care: there’s no reason a private hospital wouldn’t do just as good a job.
Read More“Cities should stay in their lane,” says Santa Clara CM Karen Hardy, who is “horribly uncomfortable” with the city’s 4-1 decision to put a resolution on the agenda to endorse Measure A. Voters should make up their own minds, she says, while pointing out the threat of federal spending cuts is speculative. She adds that SC County made a dubious decision to buy up more hospitals: now the regressive sales tax could hurt those it claims to help. An Opportunity Now exclusive commentary.
Read MoreThe tech companies who have endorsed Measure A wouldn’t treat their own money this way. So says SVTA’s Elizabeth Brierly: while Santa Clara County sinks billions into a misguided public hospital project, it fails to show the math to justify charging taxpayers another $1.65 billion, or more. In this Opportunity Now exclusive rebuttal, Brierly slams Silicon Valley Leadership Group’s (SVLG) support for the regressive, 500 percent increase to the county’s general sales tax rates, being imposed on working families, seniors, and small businesses.
Read MoreThere’s no guarantee Measure A will “save the hospitals” says South County Biz Alliance board member Matt Wendt. He says the general sales tax could be siphoned off to overspending in other areas, like Santa Clara County’s new fire department contract which is vastly more expensive than CalFire. The county should learn to budget, he says, or sell off the hospitals now and cut its losses. An Opportunity Now exclusive commentary.
Read MoreFormer Palo Alto Mayor Lydia Kou says that even if Measure A passes, the county could still cut public health services: There’s talk of spending the sales tax money on police, DA, and unnamed services. Meanwhile, former Monte Sereno Councilmember Liz Lawler calls out the SC County supes for failing to trim the budgetary fat. Instead, they treat the taxpayer “like an ATM.” An exclusive commentary.
Read MoreA sales tax is unfair to renters and working families, says Cupertino Mayor Liangfang Chao, and Measure A will “double the burden” for residents who already pay into the El Camino Hospital District. Meantime, it siphons fundraising power out of Milpitas, and other cities facing deficits. Before asking taxpayers to “throw more money into a broken system,” one that costs twice more per resident than LA County, she says Santa Clara County should provide a credible plan for health spending. An exclusive commentary.
Read MoreMeasure A money can be spent on anything. But even if it does get sunk into SC County’s health system, well, why? SVTA Board Member Elizabeth Brierly asks why the county overleveraged into failing facilities when 94% of CA hospitals are private. There’s a market if the Supes wanted to trim the fat. Instead, they recently rejected an offer on O’Connor. An Opp Now exclusive Q&A.
Read MoreEverybody knows that SJUSD public schools will start to shutter soon, as alternative schooling and a crashing birth rate drag down enrollment. So says John Muir Middle School SSC member Shane Lewis in an Opp Now exclusive Q&A: rather than hike taxes for “self-preservation,” the district might learn a thing or two from charter schools about accountability and healthy competition.
Read More
