Tax and bond measures put on the ballot around the Bay Area are running ahead in vote counts.
In Oakland, voters are supporting a $735 million bond measure to fund upgrades and repairs to Oakland Unified facilities. As of Wednesday afternoon, Measure Y was ahead with 77% of the vote.
In San Francisco, voters are backing Proposition J, a parcel tax estimated to bring in $48 million a year for the city’s school district, with 75% of the vote — well ahead of the two-thirds necessary for passage. The measure would replace a previously approved tax hung up in court.
In Marin, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Sonoma and Solano Counties, most school bonds and taxes also appear on track to pass.
But a statewide measure that would raise billions for schools and local governments, Proposition 15, was down by 400,000 votes as of Wednesday afternoon. The proposition aims to close a major loophole in Proposition 13, the landmark 1978 California antitax measure, which reduced property taxes on homes and businesses, allowing California’s corporations to keep their property taxes artificially low for decades.
— Vanessa Rancaño (@VanessaRancano), Kevin Stark (@starkkev)