Los Angeles prepares to vote on three county-wide ballot measures

As the nation prepares to elect a president Tuesday, the upcoming election also brings three prominent ballot measures to a vote in Los Angeles County. Residents of the nation’s most populous county will cast their vote on measures A, B and J on Tuesday.

Measure A would allow for an amendment to the Los Angeles County charter, permitting the appointment of the county tax assessor. The position of tax assessor is currently an elected office, and changing this to an appointment would also require an amendment to the California State Constitution.

This position has recently come under fire because of allegations of corruption. Current Assessor John Noguez recently faced felony charges stemming from his alleged role in a bribery scheme to reduce the property tax bills of his wealthy campaign contributors.

Supporters of Measure A hope it would help reduce misconduct, citing the idea that corruption among elected officials happens more often than among people who are appointed to their positions. Those who oppose the measure, however, worry about an appointed official’s lack of accountability to the public.

Camille Saucier, an undecided freshman who votes in Los Angeles County, said she wouldn’t vote yes on Measure A because appointing an assessor would not necessarily make the position less corrupt.

“It’s silly to switch the assessor from an elected office to an appointed one,” Saucier said.  “Such a process would not be very transparent. There would be even less transparency in the office than there is now and that could fuel more political corruption.”

Measure B would require producers of adult films to acquire a health permit from the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health to produce their films for sale, and would also require producers to pay a fee to the Health Department to offset the cost of the enforcement. The measure would also require that all adult performers use condoms.

Proponents of the measure argue that safer sex and regulatory practices need implementation in the adult film industry, while others insist that Measure B would hinder Los Angeles’ thriving pornography industry.

Measure J, the last of the major Los Angeles County ballot measures, would authorize the continuation of a sales tax imposed by a 2008 measure (Measure R) and proposed by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority. If Measure J passes, retail transactions in Los Angeles County would maintain an additional 0.5 percent sales tax for 30 more years than previously allotted, from 2039 to 2069.

Genevieve Giuliano, director of the METRANS Transportation Center and a professor at the Sol Price School of Public Policy, explained the measure could change how the county develops infrastructure.

“Until now, L.A. transportation has been funded with a ‘pay as you go’ plan. As the sales tax generates revenue, agencies figure out how much they can build,” Giuliano said. “However, with Measure J, we can do even more. It’s a way of generating a larger projected amount of money for this infrastructure.”

The current tax, if untouched by Measure J, would expire in 2039. The extension of the tax would benefit transit and road repair projects across Los Angeles County, although some believe that the legislation is poorly timed, unorganized and unnecessary in nature.

Giuliano also said that choosing how to vote on this legislation can be difficult for voters, as it requires them to decide how they want city government to fund infrastructrue projects.

“Should you borrow money to build infrastructure? Are the projects worth as much to us as the carrying cost would in the future?” Giuliano said. “The answer to this is less clear when discussing projects with less visibility.”

Most voters, however, tend to side with students, such as human biology major Briahna Hendey, who cited the lack of better public transportation in Los Angeles as a reason for passing Measure J.

“Los Angeles has a need for better public transportation,” Hendey said. “I think Measure J would help to improve our metro system and to make it easier to get around the city.”

Because of Measure J’s large base of support, experts such as Giuliano predict that the measure will be successful on Election Day.

“There is a good possibility that it will be passed. Measure J asks for a continuation of this tax so our current generation of voters is not going to be paying the sales tax primarily,” Giuliano said. “Thus, there is nothing to lose as a voter. They simply receive more infrastructure earlier.”