More than 11,000 voters have cast ballots in west Sonoma County special election

Voters in west Sonoma County will decide two tax measures to fund schools and fire districts in a special election Tuesday that features mostly mail-in ballots but also some polling places for day-of voting.

Just over 11,000 mail ballots had been received by Monday afternoon, according to Sonoma County Registrar of Voters Deva Proto. There are more than 37,000 registered voters in the areas eligible for the election — encompassing the sprawling West Sonoma County Union High School District and the Bodega Bay Fire Protection District.

The number of ballots received so far “doesn’t seem too far off from where we’d expect it to be at this point,” Proto said.

She expected 50-60% of eligible voters might cast a ballot in the election. Special elections usually see lower voter turnout, she said.

The two special tax proposals each need a two-thirds majority to pass.

Measure B has been the more publicly disputed issue. It would increase the lodging tax in west county by 4 percentage points, raising it from 12% to 16%. If passed, the measure is expected to raise a total of $2.7 million a year for fire and emergency services and public schools in the area, including funding to temporarily stave off campus closures.

Opposing campaigns squared off in the wake of the Board of Supervisors’ December decision to advance the measure to the ballot. Proponents, including fire officials and school funding advocates, say tourists should pay more for firefighting and emergency medical calls and other struggling public services in the region.

Supervisor Lynda Hopkins, who represents the west county, helped spearhead the initial push for Measure B and is a principle backer of both measures.

Opponents, including some owners and operators of area hotels, restaurants and other tourist-dependent businesses, argue the tax increase will drive travelers elsewhere. The extra charge, they’ve said, is especially worrisome on the heels of a pandemic that has devastated the hospitality industry.

The smaller tax, Measure A, would levy an additional $48 per-year parcel tax on property owners in the west county school district to fund arts and career technical programming, small class sizes and other services. The measure would raise about $1.2 million a year and would remain in effect for three years, starting in July. Property owners currently pay a $79 annual parcel tax to support the district.

Supporters of the measure say unstable state support is driving the need for “bridge funding” to protect school programming while the district evaluates its future options. “Reluctantly, we must reevaluate the manner in which students and our community are served,” proponents, including Hopkins, wrote in ballot summary materials.

Dan Drummond, executive director of the Sonoma County Taxpayers Association, argued against the measure. Passing it would only delay inevitable choices about school facilities that are driven by declining student enrollment and flat or dwindling state funding.

“Either we raise taxes to maintain facilities no longer needed and further increase the cost of housing as we do so, or we tell the District trustees to do the job for which they were elected,“ Drummond wrote. ”It’s time to trim surplus facilities from the balance sheet and cut expenses.“

Drummond also criticized Measure B, saying a tax hike on tourism business had been improperly hitched to school funding, beyond the more clearly impacted fire and emergency services.

County officials will post the first batch of results just after the end of voting at 8 p.m. Tuesday night, Proto said. Her office will periodically update the tally in the hours and days that follow. Mail ballots that come in after the election can be counted provided they are postmarked on or before March 2.

There are 28 polling places for the special election that will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. tomorrow, Proto said. A list of polling places is posted to the registrar’s website. Residents who don’t have a mail-in ballot at this point should plan to vote in person, Proto said.

The county has 30 days to certify the election, but Proto did not anticipate officials taking that long.

You can reach Staff Writer Andrew Graham at 707-526-8667 or andrew.graham@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @AndrewGraham88