Imagine tackling the city of San Diego’s budget crisis through a one-cent sales tax with a ballot initiative written by the people and for the people.
This quixotic thought crossed my mind as civic opposition to Mayor Todd Gloria’s 2026-27 budget proposal hits a fever pitch. To me, it seems the fiscal blueprint’s draconian cuts to neighborhood libraries, parks, recreation centers and arts-and-culture programs are driven by his misplaced anger at the voters who opposed his 2024 Penny for Progress ballot proposition.
What elected official wouldn’t be infatuated with the idea of a $400 million infusion of taxpayer money into the city’s general fund each year? Poof! The city’s yawning $146 million budget shortfall would be erased, and our strong mayor and malleable city councilmembers would be handed a nearly half-a-billion-dollar piggy bank. Such ready access to non-discretionary taxpayer revenue is irresistible to the high-rolling political donors, lobbyists and city hall insiders who would be certain to come calling, self-serving project wish lists in hand…