Early signs point to slim voter enthusiasm for a Santa Clara County sales tax measure that could mean the difference between public hospital cuts and closures — and the opposition campaign is heating up.
A poll commissioned by the county’s public safety unions shows potential voters narrowly favoring Measure A, the five-eighth cent sales tax increase on the Nov. 4 special election ballot. Pollsters with J. Wallin Opinion Research say 58% of 400 respondents speaking English and Spanish indicated they would vote yes, with just one-third indicating they were a definite yes. The poll reports a roughly 5% margin of error.
The poll’s law enforcement funders initially voiced skepticism about Measure A, which county leaders have pushed as an emergency lifeline for their hospital system facing crushing federal cuts. The public safety unions, facing their own county department budget woes, questioned whether they too would get some of Measure A’s estimated $330 million in new revenue every year, if approved…