One Initiative Is Out, While Another Gains A New Supporter

By Scott Lewis and Andrew Keatts, the Voice of San Diego

January 31, 2022

This post originally appeared in the Jan. 29 Politics Report. The Politics Report is a member-only newsletter. Join today to get it delivered straight to your inbox.

The San Diego Library Foundation and San Diego Parks Foundation had teamed up with the largest union of city workers, the Municipal Employees’ Association, to advocate for a parcel tax on the November ballot that could help address the city’s many physical and workforce needs at parks and libraries.

But now they will wait until 2024. The groups are still going to gather signatures so that they can be ready first for that ballot.

“Our group of volunteers are excited to announce that we are focusing our efforts on the November 2024 ballot. We only have one chance to gain voter approval to protect and increase funding for San Diego’s libraries and parks, and we feel a presidential election year gives us the best opportunity for success and empowers more San Diegans to participate,” said Patrick Stewart, CEO of the San Diego Public Library Foundation and Michel Anderson, chair of the San Diego Parks Foundation, in a written statement.

Background: We wrote about the sorry state of parks a couple months ago (more here) and then this week had an update on the city’s efforts to address chronic short-staffing situations.

Meanwhile, two weeks after a spokesperson for Mayor Todd Gloria told us he would not be “getting out in front of the various citizens initiatives that are still in the conceptual phase,” and that he would “evaluate each initiative carefully once they’ve qualified for the ballot,” Gloria instead signed the petition to help one of those citizens initiatives qualify for the ballot. IBEW, one of the groups behind the measure to increase sales taxes for regional transportation projects, promoted the mayor’s support in a Saturday Tweet.

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