Berkeley ❤️ tax measures

More than half of Alameda County's ballot measures this fall hail from Berkeley and Albany; East Bay candidate addresses DNC; Hollywood actors donate to local State Senate candidate

ELECTION 2024

77 days to Election Day

BALLOT MEASURES

—JUST TAXES, BABY!—It’s long been known Berkeley voters have rarely met a bond or tax-generating ballot measure they didn’t like. Although, Berkeley voters turned away a $650 million affordable housing bond measure two years ago.

—But Berkeley is back! Six of Berkeley’s county-high 12 ballot measures involve tax increases:

• Measure W: Real estate transfer tax rate increase

• Measure X: Parcel tax for Berkeley public libraries.

• Measure Y: Parcel tax for city parks, trees, landscaping.

• Measure EE: Parcel tax for streets and sidewalks (sunsets in 12 years).

• Measure FF: Parcel tax for streets and sidewalks (sunsets in 14 years).

• Measure GG: Natural gas tax on buildings larger than 15,000 sq. ft.

—A seventh, Measure Z, would remove the 2027 sunset date on Berkeley’s existing sugary drink tax.

COUNTY MEASURES BY THE NUMBERS

• 19: Number of Alameda County’s 34 total ballot measures from Berkeley (12) and Albany (7).

• 4: School bond measures (Albany, Fremont, Newark, San Lorenzo.

• $1.38 billion: Total amount of school infrastructure improvement bond measures.

• 7: Parcel taxes (Albany, Berkeley, Piedmont, Oakland)

• 2: Sales-tax increases—Hayward (renewal), Pleasanton.

• 1: Ballot measures to prohibit chicken farms (Berkeley).

—YOUTH VOTING—Four years ago, Albany joined its neighbors in the use of ranked choice voting. Now, Albany voters will decided whether to embrace another of its neighbors more radical ideas—youth voting.

—Albany voters will decide this fall whether to allow 16- and 17-year olds to vote not only in school board election, but also city council races.

—Measure V goes further than similar youth voting initiatives approved by voters in Berkeley and Oakland.

—Youth voting is scheduled to make its debut in Berkeley and Oakland school board election this November, despite ballot measures being approved in 2016 and 2020, respectively.

—411 ON THE 510—Become an East Bay Insiders subscriber today and get full access to the inside scoop every weekday morning at 6 a.m. It’s what the insiders read.

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• East Bay gets some love at Democratic National Convention

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• Campaign finance data