GPSCC Endorses Measure A with Reservations
The GPSCC endorses Measure A with reservations, with a decision made at the Party’s monthly membership meeting on Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025.
Measure A on the Nov 4 ballot, is meant to offset a third of the funding loss to Santa Clara County due to Federal bill H.R. 1 cuts. Unless Santa Clara County takes action, the cuts will mean a revenue loss of about $1.4 billion by FY2029. County’s hospitals and health clinics will be hit hardest, with further cuts to food assistance and SNAP, behavioral health care, homelessness services, and public safety programs. We do believe approving Measure A is essential to ensure critical services to our communities can be maintained.
However we express our reservations on the Measure being funded through a regressive sales tax that in turn harms the same low-income communities the funding is meant to help. Further, Measure A does not secure and designate funding for home and community based services that are essential for many people with disabilities.
Much better ways to address such a funding gap would have been wealth tax and property vacancy taxes, however Santa Clara County alone is not authorized to use these measures and would need state involvement to implement either of such taxes.
Still, there are other fees and assessments that the County IS authorized to use that could have been considered to fund Measure A, such as Transient occupancy tax (TOT), Documentary transfer tax on property transfers, and other fees levied on high-income, high-values properties.
None of these measures are a sure way to fund the gap but we must hold accountable those who continue to trickle down costs while protecting the wealthy in Santa Clara County from paying their fair share.
