California’s election watchdog is investigating Santa Clara County leaders over the campaign for a voter-approved sales tax increase, marketed as a way to shield the region’s public hospitals from massive federal spending cuts.
In a Tuesday letter, the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) informed two regional anti-tax groups it would probe the county over allegations of spending public funds on Measure A campaign mailers. A December complaint from the Silicon Valley Taxpayers Association and Libertarian Party of Santa Clara County said the mailers amounted to “political propaganda,” and argues the mailers skirted election laws and aimed to scare voters into approving the sales tax increase.
A spokesperson for the FPPC declined to comment.
“It’s illegal for a local government to take sides in an election and by spending public tax dollars to support Measure A, the county took sides,” Jason Bezis, an attorney for both anti-tax groups, told San José Spotlight.
Last year, a set of foreboding mailers under official county letterhead appeared in residents’ mailboxes ahead of the November election. The mailers didn’t explicitly endorse Measure A, but warned of life-threatening hospital closures and jeopardized health care access as a result of a budget crisis stemming from federal cuts. County officials placed Measure A on the ballot as a response to H.R. 1., the federal spending bill that guts the county’s largest source of hospital funding.
County leaders reject the complaint, arguing the mailers were purely informational and sent to all county residents, regardless of whether they were registered to vote.
“The county believes in transparency. The public has a right to know about the severe budgetary impacts associated with President Trump’s H.R. 1, which created a nearly $1 billion deficit and threatens the county’s health system and ability to provide safety net services,” County Counsel Tony LoPresti told San José Spotlight. “The county’s investment in informing the public about this crisis is entirely appropriate, and we are not concerned about the FPPC investigating those informational activities.”
Measure A is a general tax where spending is not restricted to a specific use. The county opted not to make it a special tax — which would have required 66.7% voter approval instead of a simple majority — that would have legally restricted funds to hospitals.
Maria Noel Fernandez, executive director of Working Partnerships USA, said accessible health care has been a top priority for Santa Clara County. She said residents knew what they were voting for when casting a ballot on Measure A.
“H.R. 1 blew a massive hole in the county budget, and a huge share of that fell on our public health system,” she told San José Spotlight. “Measure A was a direct response to that crisis, and voters understood what was at stake and they acted to save public services.”
County leaders have said the estimated annual $330 million in Measure A revenue would shore up hospital services against billions of dollars in losses under H.R. 1. District Attorney Jeff Rosen, San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan and unions representing county prosecutors and deputies with the Santa Clara County Sheriff’s Office initially refrained from endorsing Measure A. They questioned the county’s expansion of the hospital system while asking the district attorney and sheriff’s offices to make cuts.
Those qualms apparently subsided after law enforcement leaders said they gained assurances from the county they would see some Measure A revenue.
But when County Executive James Williams announced he would recommend a full allocation of Measure A revenue toward the health system after voters approved the increase, Rosen threatened an investigation into the county. He and the unions publicly questioned whether voters were deliberately misled. No DA investigation has been announced.
Representatives for Rosen’s office declined to comment on the FPPC investigation.
“The district attorney should be opening an investigation into James Williams and the resources used,” Bezis said. “Instead you have an entire county government establishment that supported this tax increase and all the checks and balances have failed at the local level.”
The FPPC previously informed Bezis in February that it would investigate a separate complaint he filed in October against a pro-Measure A campaign committee set up by the law enforcement unions. The complaint alleges the committee failed to timely report subvendor payments. Attorneys for the committee dismissed the complaint as baseless in a November response letter.
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This story was originally published by San José Spotlight and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
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