Supreme Court Ruling 'Incredibly Huge News For Walnut Creek': Mayor

WALNUT CREEK, CA — Walnut Creek was among cities, school districts and special districts applauding the California Supreme Court's unanimous decision Thursday to block the measure known as the Taxpayer Protection and Government Accountability Act from appearing on the November ballot.

The state's high court ruled that the proposed measure amounted to an illegal constitutional revision.

"This is incredibly huge news for the City of Walnut Creek," Mayor Loella Haskew said in a news release. "Not only would this have made it difficult to deal directly with our voters to make decisions impacting our City funds, but it would also have been retroactive to January of 2022. The initiative would have invalidated our voter-approved Measure O, which passed in November 2022 with 65 percent of Walnut Creek voters supporting it. We look forward to continuing to have the resources needed to deliver exceptional services to our community."

Measure O, a 10-year half-cent sales tax increase, has already been funding key programs and projects, including the addition of five police officers dedicated to downtown patrol, school crossing guards, expanded library hours, contributions to the CORE team supporting homeless services, planned synthetic turf on two ballfields at Heather Farm Park, and lights for the Tice Valley soccer fields. Further, the replacement of the aging aquatic and community center at Heather Park Farm would not have been possible without Measure O, city officials said.

The proposed initiative would have changed the threshold for general local tax initiatives to a two-thirds vote rather than a simple majority; restricted how officials can calculate the cost of fees that fund public services and programs; and reclassified some of those charges as taxes.

The California Supreme Court unanimously agreed that only the Legislature has the constitutional authority to put a proposed revision on the ballot.

Proponents introduced the initiative to crack down on what they contend are loopholes created by legislators and court rulings that weakened previous voter-approved tax accountability measures and allowed an unelected administrative bureaucracy to flourish. It was heavily supported by the real estate industry and a private ambulance company, which frequently battled local governments over taxes, fees and assessments to fund public services, according to a report Thursday from Cal Matters.

Critics Question Court's Intentions: Report

Proponents of the business-community-backed initiative slammed the ruling as a travesty and a "gut-punch to direct democracy in California," the report from Cal Matters said. Some called into question the intentions of the seven-member court — six of whom were appointed by Democratic governors, including three by Gov. Gavin Newsom.

"Clearly, the state Supreme Court has now sent a signal that they are part of the progressive agenda in California, that we are a one-party state in California and there is no independent judiciary in California anymore," Rob Lapsley, president of the California Business Roundtable, said at a news conference.

Lapsley accused Newsom and the Legislature of supporting democracy "only on their terms, when they think it’s in their best interest."

Newsom: 'Initiative Process Is Sacred Part Of Our Democracy'

A spokesperson for Newsom said in a statement that "the Governor believes the initiative process is a sacred part of our democracy, but as the Court's decision affirmed today, that process does not allow for an illegal constitutional revision."

State Senate President pro-Tempore Mike McGuire, D-North Coast, also released a statement about the ruling: "Today’s unanimous Supreme Court decision protects Californians and our ability to provide law enforcement, fire protection, and vital services that communities rely upon. This Court worked long and hard on this decision, which clearly stated that the initiative process can't be weaponized to undermine the basic functions of government prescribed by our constitution."

Ruling 'Silenced More 1.4 Million Voters'

Yet Republicans slammed the ruling as partisan politics that silenced more than 1.4 million voters who signed the petition to place the initiative on the ballot.

"I’m disgusted," Senate Minority Leader Brian Jones, a San Diego Republican, said in a statement. "The court has failed in its duty to the people of California and our democratic system and instead simply caved to pressure from the governor and legislative Democrats."

Read the complete ruling here.