San Jose Voters Back Sales Tax, Reject Easing Medical Marijuana Rules
SAN JOSE (CBS SF) – Voters in San Jose backed a sales tax to fund city services, but rejected easing regulations on the city's medical marijuana dispensaries.
Almost 62 percent of voters in the Bay Area's largest city supported Measure B, a quarter-cent sales tax to help fund essential city services such as police and fire response, street repairs and increasing efforts to deter gang activity.
Measure B will inject an estimated $40 million on an annual basis for 15 years and needed a majority vote to pass.
San Jose voters appear to have rejected Measure C, which would've eased regulations on medical marijuana clubs but came in with almost 65 percent no votes.
Former San Jose Mayor Chuck Reed, one of the measure's dissenters, was in office when the city passed strict rules two years ago limiting dispensaries' hours and locations and raised violation fees. The new regulations led to a downfall in collectives and currently only 16 collectives registered with the city have met the guidelines.
Meanwhile, three of five San Jose City Council races appear to be headed towards a runoff after candidates failed to gain more than 50 percent of the vote.
A less than 1 percent margin separated security consultant Steve Brown and Santa Clara County Public Defender's Office investigator Sergio Jimenez. Both men gained the top two spots and are vying to replace District 2 City Councilman Ash Kalra.
Kalra finished second in the race for state Assembly District 27 behind former San Jose Vice Mayor Madison Nguyen and will go to a runoff for that seat.
City Councilman Manh Nguyen fought to keep his District 4 seat with a little over 50 percent of the vote in a tight race with civil legal aid attorney Lan Diep, who came in behind with 49 percent.
Education researcher Devora "Dev" Davis and Helen Chapman, a retired resource director from the San Jose Unified School District, were the leaders in the District 6 contest, the most crowded of the five council races with eight candidates.
Davis and Chapman are looking to replace City Councilman Pierluigi Oliverio. Davis led with almost 21 percent while Chapman trailed behind with nearly 20 percent.
Vice Mayor Rose Herrera will be succeeded by either attorney Jimmy Nguyen, with almost 25 percent of votes, or Evergreen School District Board trustee Sylvia Arenas, who had 22 percent of votes, for the District 8 seat.
City Councilman Johnny Khamis was re-elected to his District 10 chair with 76 percent over opponent J. Michael Sodergren, a network services executive who spent no money and took no donations for his campaign.
"Thank You to district 10 voters my volunteers, friends, and family for giving me the opportunity to serve our community for the next four years," Khamis wrote on his Facebook page early Wednesday morning.
Voters throughout Santa Clara County approved Measure A with 77 percent of the vote, easily exceeding the two-thirds majority needed to pass. Measure A continues a 1.5 percent parcel tax to protect more than 50,000 acres of open space.
In Santa Clara County District 5, which covers Cupertino, Los Altos, Mountain View and Palo Alto, County Supervisor Joe Simitian avoided a runoff by winning 89 percent of the vote against challenger John Mumy.
TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Bay City News Service contributed to this report.