DeMaio Warns San Diego Mayor Pursuing Illegal Attempt to Impose Tax Hike Rejected by Voters

In light of revelations that San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria and the City Council will seek to impose a hotel tax hike rejected by voters in the March 2020 election, the following statement is released from former San Diego City Councilman Carl DeMaio:

“San Diego politicians are seeking to illegally impose a massive tax hike that was rejected by voters. This desperate and dubious move is nothing short of an attempt to invalidate the outcome of the March 2020 election and thwart the will of the voters.

While sold with the window dressing of expanding the Convention Center and funding a number of popular programs, Measure C would actually have imposed a blank-check tax hike that would allow politicians to spend the money any way they pleased. Despite millions spent on this scam measure, voters wisely rejected it at the ballot box in March 2020.

City politicians are now claiming that an unrelated and unresolved legal theory regarding vote thresholds for approving tax hikes sponsored by citizens’ initiatives could somehow allow them to impose the Measure C tax hike despite its clear rejection by voters. This is simply untrue. In fact, city voters were explicitly told on their official ballot materials that Measure C would require a two-thirds vote. Period. No judge will now allow politicians to reverse in practice what voters were told on their ballots.

Make no mistake about it: Reform California and a broad-based coalition of opponents are prepared to oppose this reckless and illegal effort to impose this ‘Zombie Tax’ on San Diegans. Unfortunately, this doomed effort to create the ‘Zombie Tax’ will only end up costing taxpayers millions in legal fees for the negligence of our city politicians on this matter.”