Editor,
Thanks to councilmembers Grocott and Grasilli, who voted not to override protests of residents, San Carlos avoided an election which would have allowed a simple majority of voters to turn sensitive parkland, in a predominantly senior residential area, into a school site (“Council votes against plan for land swap” in the July 1 edition of the Daily Journal).
Supermajority votes by public agencies have provided a means for allowing such elections, where a simple majority of voters can pass measures which normally would require a two-thirds vote. In 1992, San Mateo County lobbied for legislation which allowed the supermajority vote of the Board of Supervisors to place a one half percent sales tax measure on the ballot, which needed only a simple majority to pass. Fortunately, the measure, also known as the Best Schools Proposal, was defeated. One need only look at the enormous bonded indebtedness incurred by school districts in the wake of the replacement of the two-thrids vote requirement with a 55 percent threshold. Supermajority votes of the public should be restored for all tax measures.
Jack Hickey
Emerald Hills
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