Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee made Measure E a key part of her plan to stabilize Oakland’s finances, make progress on lowering crime and improve city services.
Now, with the parcel tax trailing in early returns, Lee may be forced to govern without the $34 million a year that the measure was expected to raise to help pay for new fire engines, recruiting police officers and reopening homeless beds.
With under half of votes counted as of Wednesday, Measure E faced an uphill battle, with 54% of voters opposing it. To stand a chance of passing, 54% of the remaining votes would need to be in support of the measure, assuming turnout resembles Oakland’s past two June elections…