A former San Jose official is taking regional leaders to court over the wording of a $20 billion affordable housing bond, claiming it’s misleading voters.
Former San Jose Councilmember Johnny Khamis, along with 12 other registered voters across eight Bay Area counties, filed a lawsuit last Thursday against the Bay Area Housing Finance Authority (BAHFA) over discrepancies in the ballot language for Regional Measure 4, the $20 billion affordable housing bond going to voters in November. Among those discrepancies is the annual cost to taxpayers through 2077-78. It’s listed on the ballot as $670 million, but with interest the amount increases to about $910 million.
But it might not matter, because the housing finance authority will review the measure and statewide Proposition 5 at a special 9 a.m. meeting tomorrow, including the possibility of withdrawing the measure.
Khamis discovered the mathematical error while working on the measure’s rebuttal. He said the discrepancies he found were “not a confidence builder” for BAHFA.