FRAMING CRUCIAL FOR LOCAL BALLOT MEASURES

A proposed parcel tax to provide $250 million in long-term funding to upgrade aging parks and libraries in the city of San Diego — already delayed from a planned November 2022 vote to November 2024 — now may be dead entirely. An analysis by the Registrar of Voters projected that only 72,285 of the 110,000-plus submitted signatures were valid, well short of the threshold of 10 percent of registered city voters — 82,566 — needed to make the ballot.

The San Diego Library Foundation and its allies may gear up for another signature-gathering campaign, at a possible cost of $1 million, to get the measure before voters. But the failure of the relatively small parcel tax — which would have added property taxes of 2 cents per square foot, up to a maximum of 1 acre, for 30 years, with exemptions for agricultural lots and those held by property owners who make less than 80 percent of the area median income — may mean voters feel besieged by inflation and are skeptical new tax dollars would be used well.

A new guide in The San Diego Union-Tribune about all the free resources and services local libraries offer shows just some of the reasons to value them. And many users would welcome better parks.

Eventual support could hinge on the context and framing of the question. November’s city election results suggest direct democracy is less likely to work unless voters are actively deceived about ballot measures. But that tactic can only succeed a few times before more voters see through it. If library and park advocates land their measure on the ballot, they should try to make their case by the book.