Way back in February, we took a fairly thorough look into the things that make a transportation sales tax measure successful – and we pointed out why the agriculture industry’s insistence that even minimal rail funding be removed from Monterey County’s latest measure (which went on the November ballot as Measure Z) was almost certainly a fatal mistake. We later pointed out (more than once) how additional damage was being done to the measure’s chances of passage by misguided efforts to link it with regional development fees.
If Measure Z had been defeated overwhelmingly, these blunders might not have seemed like such a big deal. But as Measure Z gained 62.11% of the vote (two-thirds was needed), it sure looks like it would have passed if these mistakes had not been made. And with high turnout considered necessary for passage of transportation sales tax measures, tax proponents may just have blown the best chance at victory they’ll ever have.
Click here for complete Monterey County election results. Hey, at least we voted against Proposition 8.
Xasáuan Today 