Why I'm Asking You to Vote Yes on Measure A

This will be a short blog just to remind everybody that I am voting yes on Measure A in the upcoming election in Ventura. It's important to get the word out now because people are already voting. The absentee ballots arrived in people's mailboxes this week.

I won't go into detail about the Measure, because I've written about it a lot in the past. (Scroll down and find my much longer blog from July 22 on the "Ventura Covenant".) But here's a brief rundown:

Background:

We currently run our city on $85 million in the General Fund, of which $60 million is tax revenue. A half-cent sales tax would like to add another $10 million to our city treasury. This is money that Sacramento can’t take away from us, and money we can spend on our highest priorities. It’s not a permanent tax; it would last only four years, serving to carry us through to more prosperous times.


What It Will Go For:

In placing the sales tax on the ballot, the City Council has promised to spend the money only on vital public services, as follows:

-- 40% would go to public safety.
-- 35% would go to road paving, infrastructure, and transportation.
-- 15% would go to clean water and clean beaches, especially to improve our system of stormwater runoff.
-- 6% would go to keep Wright Library open
-- 4% would go to other community partnerships, allowing us to partner with community organizations to ensure that our dollars stretch as far as they can.

Thanks a lot!