Despite a year of planning, focus groups, and a full court press to get out the vote by public school czars, Measure D failed to receive the two-thirds vote it needed to pass a $99 per parcel school tax.
With 132 of 133 precincts reporting (semi-official), Measure D got 24,207 votes or just 58.63% of the vote; far short of the two-thirds required.
The failure of Measure D in Contra Costa County mirrors the statewide results, where five of six Propositions—gimmicks favored by California’s putz Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger and useless members of the Assembly in Sacramento—were drubbed by voters almost 2-1. Proposition 1F, a ballot measure to restrict pay increases for the California Legislature in lean years, was winning handily early.
Measure D was supported by a host of local elected and unelected politicians, bureaucrats, PTA nags, gadflys, uncritical local bloggers, and union leaders hoping to dupe voters one last time by promising that Measure D dollars would go to keep programs and improve facilities among a host of other promises. Despite the hard spin and hand wringing and “sky is falling” warnings of doom if Measure D did not pass, enough voters understood that the parcel tax would have no good affect on the troubled district; which would for once have to face facts and clean house.
Many voters had good reason to suspect that monies raised would just be paid to backfill teacher salaries and boost benefits at a time when Mt Diablo School Unified School District is already in debt up to its eyeballs in unfunded liabilities for current employee retirement benefits, poor performance and incompetence.
{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }
You give me too much credit. Thank the more accurate crowd sourcing of the readers. Anyways 59+43 add up to 102% so…RECOUNT!
Your Measure D poll was surprisingly accurate at 59-43. Did you plan that?
I hope whoever wrote this catches on fire out of nowhere.
Spontaneous combustion for the win!
The failure of Measure D, was most likely more a symbol of the wave of anti proposition sentiment. However, it is also a symbol of the greater problem wherein it was what would be normally described as having a large majority support of those that actually voted but failing because of the 2/3 rule that has plagued this state.
The low turnout was also a major embarrassment for the State setting an all time low and again bring in focus the whole issue of the proposition system where when you have such low turn out the concept of direct democracy is shamed.
We need to over haul the system so we do not have such an oddity as a majority rule on social issues relating to rights perceived or actual, but a 2/3 majority to have revenue issues and budgets resolved.
~ EDITOR REPLIES — You may be right, I may indeed be a dumbass.
Still, thank you for leaving comments # 3955 and 3956 on 5/20/09 at 6:01 p.m. PST from
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I am sure Comcast can thank you personally.
whoever wrote this article is ridiculously stupid.
whoever wrote this is a fucking idiot.
Prop 1A did not win a single county in California.