☆ Gilroy City Council opposes Prop 5

Proposition 5 undermines protection against runaway taxes, said Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley, who cast the tie-breaking vote last week at the Gilroy City Council meeting to oppose Prop 5. Blankley said that Prop 5, which aims to reduce voter approval from two-thirds to 55%, would inflict hardship on working families. In a divided vote, the SJ City Council previously endorsed Prop 5, with CMs Doan and Batra voting “no.” An Opp Now exclusive.

During its September 9th meeting, Gilroy City Council voted 4–3 against a motion to draft a public letter supporting Proposition 5.

Gilroy Mayor Marie Blankley announced that she is personally opposed to Prop 5, prior to casting the final "no" vote.

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“Prop 5 undermines the only protection we have against runaway taxes,” Mayor Blankley said. “It proposes to lower the threshold for passing certain bond measures from two-thirds to 55%, a significant difference when it comes to already struggling California families burdened by tax measures that rightfully required two-thirds majority to pass.”

She continued: “Prop 5 is yet another attempt to bring hardship on working families in the name of helping working families.”

Councilmember Rebeca Armendáriz introduced the motion to write a public letter of support: “It behooves us to support efforts like Proposition 5,” she said, “especially in midterm elections because during those elections, it’s very difficult to get property bonds passed for critical stuff that Gilroy needs.”

Here are the results of the Gilroy City Council’s roll call vote:

Blankley, Marie: no

Bracco, Dion : no

Armendariz, Rebeca : yes

Marques, Carol : no

Hilton, Zach : aye

Cline, Tom : no

Tovar, Fred : yes

Ultimately, the Gilroy City Council voted 4–3 opposing a letter of support for Proposition 5.

Watch the September 9, 2024, Gilroy City Council meeting here.

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Related:

• Divided council vote on Prop 5 endorsement daylights concerns about lack of outreach re: city ballot endorsements

• CA tax expert slams Prop 5 as “deceptive,” a covert entryway to residents' paychecks

• Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association: Prop 5 would be an aggressive debt-making machine

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