Los Gatos Weekly-Times

EDITORIALS

Traffic measures are clever--and necessary

You can't say Proposition 13 hasn't put creativity to the test. Last week, the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to fight traffic congestion by putting on the ballot a half-cent sales tax to raise funds for--oh, let's say--whatever. That's Measure B.

Passage of Measure B will require a simple majority because it's a general tax, not one specifically intended to--oh, let's say--reduce traffic congestion.

But since what everyone really wants from the half-cent sales tax is relief from traffic congestion, a second measure--one might call it a companion proposal--has also been placed on the ballot. That's Measure A.

Measure B is what we pass to authorize collection of the half-cent sales tax for nine years; Measure A is an advisory vote that indicates that the money raised by Measure B should be spent on traffic congestion and safety improvements.

Why, when a majority of voters in the county clearly want relief from traffic congestion, must taxing ourselves to get that relief be so complicated?

One of the more bizarre stipulations of Proposition 13, later reinforced by Proposition 62, is that a general tax requires a simple majority for passage, while a special tax, one designated for a specific purpose, must pass by a two-thirds majority.

It's hard to fathom why those who advocate tax relief would make it so much more difficult for voters to tax themselves when they know exactly where the money is going.

But that's the way it is, as Santa Clara County voters learned last fall when the state Supreme Court invalidated Measure A. Although voters passed that measure with a simple majority in 1992, the state's highest court said it violated Proposition 62.

The ruling indicated that because Measure A was a tax raised for a specific purpose, it was a special tax and required a two-thirds vote for passage.

Some will argue that putting dual measures on the ballot amounts to an end-run around Proposition 13.

The way we see it, the court's rejection of Measure A last year was a challenge: If the majority of the people want to do something about traffic, let them figure a way to do it. Measure A and Measure B may be clumsy, but the concept is creative.

And if that's what it takes to comply with laws that aim to strangle the voice of the majority, so be it.

Welcome Back

The Fiesta de Artes makes a welcome return Aug. 24 and 25, thanks to the Los Gatos Kiwanis Club. When the former Chamber of Commerce died two years ago, the Fiesta went with it. The festival had been more than an attraction for visitors to Los Gatos; it was also a traditional summer gathering for locals as well.

The new location in the Los Gatos Shopping Center should showcase an important part of the community that too often seems to be cast in the shadows.

It's unfortunate timing that the Lions Club's annual Town Picnic is scheduled for Aug. 25, but then, those who really care about Los Gatos' small-town character couldn't do better than to dedicate that weekend to both events.