A mailer regarding San Bernardino County’s Measure D, on the ballot in in November, has stirred up controversy.
Jon Coupal, the president of the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association has issued cease and desist letters over mailers sent in support of the measure, which they say contain misleading and even deceptive statements regarding the non-profit organization. Measure D was proposed by the County’s Board of Supervisors to reverse Measure K, the voter-approved initiative from 2020 that cut county supervisors annual compensation from a quarter million to just $60,000 and imposed a limit of one four-year term.
The scheme has Measure K tied up in the courts which has given county leaders the opportunity to dress up this year’s Measure D as taxpayer reform and bombard the public with deceptive mailers and calls.
“Yes on D to fix roads and create jobs” claims one mailer, but you’ll not find reference to either in the ballot measure. “Measure D will require voter approval for any tax increase” claims another ad, but that’s already state law.
“They are masking their self-serving measure with images of Howard Jarvis, Ronald Reagan, and claims that Measure D is a ‘new Prop 13…,’” Coupal said. “But Measure D isn’t a new Prop. 13, it’s a ploy by special interests and career politicians to stay in power longer,” he added.
A statement from the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association reports that Measure D doesn’t contain the taxpayer protections for which it claims credit. The association has issued one of two cease and desist letters to the Yes on Measure D campaign.
