By Debbie Weinstein
City of Oakland Ballot Measure | League Recommendation | Election Results |
MM: Wildfire Prevention Zone | Support | Passed |
NN: Violence Prevention Services | Support | Passed |
OO: Public Ethics Commission | Support | Passed |
The LWVO supported all three of the City of Oakland Ballot Measures and the voters agreed. Below is a re-cap of each of the Oakland Measures, their fiscal impact, and the League’s rationale for supporting them.
Measure MM, the Wildfire Prevention Zone measure, secured funding for wildfire prevention by applying a special parcel tax to property owners in the “Wildfire Prevention Zone.” The tax will fund a 20 year plan for vegetation management and maintenance of evacuation routes. The annual tax only applies to properties in the Wildfire Prevention Zone. The tax is $99 for single family dwellings and $65 for each unit in residential properties, with some exemptions for persons with very low incomes or for qualified seniors. The tax is expected to raise $2.67 million in the first year, beginning July 2025.
Although some opponents were critical of this measure since they believed that wildfire prevention should be fully funded by the City’s general fund, the League supported it since the most effective way to prevent wildfires is to implement a comprehensive “Vegetation Management Plan” like Oakland’s. The League supports this funding for the implementation of that plan in order to address the significant and growing risk of wildfires, which could start in the Wildfire Prevention Zone and go on to impact the wider community.
Measure NN, the Violence Prevention Measure, will extend for 9 more years and increase the current parcel and parking lot taxes from Measure Z, which expired in 2024. Revenues will support reducing homicides, robberies, carjackings and other violence, improving 911 emergency call response rates, and reducing human trafficking. 60% of revenues will go to the Oakland Police Department, 40% to the Department of Violence Prevention (75% of its share of the revenue will fund grants to community-based organizations), and $3 million per year to the Fire Department.
The fiscal impact includes a tax for single family homes: $133.45 to $198; and multi-unit dwellings: from $91.17 to $132.00 per unit. Parking lot taxes would increase from 8.5% to 10%. Annual increases are permitted. Seniors, people living in affordable housing projects, and people with very low incomes would not have to pay the tax. The Auditor estimates the first year revenue of $47.4 million.
Ten years ago, the League recommended voting for Measure Z, the renewal of a parcel tax and parking fees to support police, fire and violence prevention services. We hoped for a coordinated public safety effort that documented the effectiveness of its strategies. Those hopes were not realized, but we acknowledge that challenges arose from the COVID pandemic, new forms of criminality, and struggles to effectively staff and deploy Oakland’s police forces.
Once again, the League recommended voting for a renewal of this tax in hopes that lessons learned, stricter requirements for data driven investments, and a mandate of four-year plans coordinating city-wide efforts will yield the desired results. The League recommendation also took into account that loss of these tax revenues would have serious impacts given Oakland’s current budgetary challenges. The revenues are needed to enhance public safety by funding critical violence prevention programs, for police and firefighters, and to provide resources to improve the 911 system.
That said, the League does have concerns. Bringing this measure to the ballot as an initiative may have been strategic because it lowered the bar for passage to 50%+1. We deeply regret that this strategy foreclosed public input and legislative debate. Further, the measure imposes a significant tax increase while leaving unspecified what the particulars of the four year public safety plans will be.
Measure OO supports the Public Ethics Commission. The PEC is a small department of City employees who serve the 7 volunteer commissioners who insure compliance with Oakland's government ethics, campaign finance, transparency, and lobbyist registration laws. The investigative workload has increased significantly, exceeds current staffing capacity, and half of the Commission’s investigative workload has been on hold. This measure will update the governance and quorum rules and staffing classifications to streamline Commission operation, add one ethics investigator, and lower the maximum gift limit to $50 for any elected City officeholder, candidate or member of their immediate family. Hiring an additional ethics investigator effective July 2026 is estimated to cost $241,784 for salary and benefits.
The League believes that in order to be effective, the Commission must have the resources needed to manage its actual workload and should regularly update its governance in light of current professional standards. In addition, stricter ethics rules, such as the limitation of gifts from lobbyists to public officials and candidates for public offices, are desirable. Therefore, the League supported Measure OO.
Given the current fiscal situation in Oakland, it’s uncertain if the will of the voters will be implemented in the hiring of an additional ethics investigator.
Here is a chart of State Proposition League Recommendations and Outcomes:
California Proposition | League Recommendation | Election Results |
Prop 2: School Bond | Support | Passed |
Prop 3: Marriage Equality | Support | Passed |
Prop 4: Water & Climate Bond | Support | Passed |
Prop 5: Local bond approval/Housing Votes | Support | Failed |
Prop 6: Eliminate Forced Prison Labor | Support | Failed |
Prop 32: Raises Minimum Wage | Support | Failed |
Prop 33: Rent Control | Neutral | Failed |
Prop 34: Prescription Drug Spending | No Position | Passed |
Prop 35: Health Care Tax | Oppose | Passed |
Prop 36: Increase Criminal Penalties | Oppose | Passed |
For more details, click here and scroll to page 10 for summaries of the State ballot measures and rationales for League recommendations. You can find details about the election results here from CalMatters.