Written by Josh Ishimatsu, Deputy Director of Strategy
Think about what your community needs. More affordable housing. Better schools. Better roads. Libraries, fire stations, clinics… Whatever things that your community might need, most likely they cost money. Money, let’s say hypothetically, that you don’t have right now. You and most of your neighbors can come up with a plan to raise the funds, you can gather signatures to put your plan on the ballot, you can spend time and effort getting most of your neighbors to agree with the plan and to vote “Yes.” You can work hard and get +60% of the vote. A landslide in favor of the measure, under normal circumstances. You should be celebrating your victory.
BUT, if Proposition 43 passes, your measure will fail. Your hard work in rallying your neighbors will be for naught.
Proposition 43 rewrites the rules in California, by requiring a supermajority of 66.7% to pass citizen-led local special tax measures. Right now, when residents organize to pass grassroots ballot initiatives for designated community needs, a simple majority rules. Prop 43 hands just 33.4% of voters the power to overrule everyone else.
This is not democracy. This is minority rule.
But, according to pundits and some random people on the internet, protecting democracy is not a compelling enough message these days. So, here 3 more reasons why we all should vote against Prop 43:
- Prop 43 Will Undermine Affordable Housing Production: You could call this a self-interested argument, as we are an organization that advocates for more affordable housing. But, it feels objectively obvious that California’s housing crisis requires bold local action. Citizen initiatives are one of our most effective tools to generate dedicated funding for affordable housing development, preservation, emergency rental assistance, and homeless prevention. Raising the threshold to two thirds would make it nearly impossible for voters to approve funding for the homes needed by working families, seniors on fixed incomes, teachers, health care workers, on and on – the housing that our region so desperately is missing.
- Prop 43 Riggs the System for Corporate Special Interests: Okay, so this probably reads like a “protecting democracy” argument – of the kind I said I wouldn’t be making. But, this is less about theory/philosophy about protecting some pristine ideal of democracy and more about what happens when you take power away from everyday people. Prop 43 makes a “No” vote twice as valuable as a “Yes” vote. It means that the interests that benefit the most from the current status quo have more power than the everyday people who might want to change things. This unfair set-up benefits deep-pocketed special interest and corporate opposition campaigns, who only need to convince a fraction of the electorate to block the progress that most residents want.
- Prop 43 Stiffles Local Self-Reliance: Communities know their own needs best. Whether it is building affordable homes, maintaining neighborhood parks, or staffing local fire stations, Prop 43 ties the hands of local residents and cuts off local solutions. Prop 43 doesn’t cut anyone’s taxes or improve anybody’s local services. It simply strips away our voting power and locks local communities deeper into gridlock.