Measure A Sends the Money to the General Fund — Not a Dedicated Housing Fund

City Hall politicians want voters to believe Measure A is all about housing.

They say it will tax “empty homes.” They say it will help with housing affordability. They say it will raise money for city services like housing and infrastructure.

But voters should ask one simple question:

If Measure A is really about housing, why doesn’t the ordinance require the money to be spent on housing?

The answer is simple.

Because Measure A is not about housing at all.

It is a new tax to bail out the politicians' mismanagement of the budget.

Read the Fine Print

Measure A’s own language says the funds from Measure A go into the City’s General Fund to fund general municipal services.

That is the key phrase: General Fund.

The General Fund is not a dedicated affordable housing fund. It is not a protected rental assistance fund. It is not a locked box for new housing construction.

It is the City’s general budget account.

In fact, the City tried to claim in official ballot materials that the funds would go to housing and infrastructure, and were caught in that lie by a judge and ordered to change that.

Just Another Broken Promise from City Hall

If City Hall wanted Measure A to guarantee new money for affordable housing, they could have written that into the measure.

They did not.

They could have required every dollar to go into a special housing fund.

They did not.

They could have guaranteed the tax would create new affordable homes.

They did not.

Instead, they wrote Measure A so the money can go into the City’s General Fund.

Even the City’s Own Budget Report Says It

The City’s own Independent Budget Analyst described Measure A as having this goal: increasing the City’s General Fund revenue.

That should tell voters something important.

This is not a housing policy.

It is a revenue measure.

And because the City is facing budget problems, voters have every reason to worry that Measure A is really a City Hall budget bailout dressed up as a housing solution.

San Diegans Deserve Accountability

San Diego has a real housing affordability crisis. Families are struggling. Renters are squeezed. Young people are being priced out.

But Measure A does not guarantee lower rents.

It does not guarantee new affordable homes.

It does not guarantee new money for homelessness programs.

It creates a new tax, gives City Hall the money, and lets politicians decide later how to spend it.

That is not accountability.

That is a blank check.

A Housing Crisis Should Not Be Used as an Excuse for a Bad Tax

Voters should not be fooled by political promises.

The question is not whether San Diego has a housing problem. It does.

The question is whether Measure A actually solves that problem.

When the money is not locked into housing, when the City keeps control of how it is spent, and when the measure creates a new tax bureaucracy without guaranteeing new housing, the answer is clear.

Measure A is a City Hall budget bailout — not a housing solution.

Vote No on Measure A.

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