Silencing the Voting Majority : Two L.A. measures pass decisively, but that’s not good enough

Once again the majority has spoken at the polls but its will has been thwarted.

More than 62% of Los Angeles voters approved Proposition C, a $200-million bond measure that would have increased property taxes slightly to pay for major improvements and renovations at local community colleges. Despite significant support at the polls, the measure failed because general obligation bonds require a two-thirds majority for approval.

Community colleges weren’t the only losers on Tuesday because of the burdensome constitutional restriction imposed by Proposition 13 more than a decade ago. Nearly 60% of the voters also approved Proposition 1, a $235-million bond measure that would have financed an expansion of the overloaded 911 emergency system. It, too, required more than a simple majority to pass.

Is this democracy?

Local governments strapped by exploding demands and shrinking federal and state funds sometimes need to raise revenues. A majority vote is certainly a reasonable indication of the will of the people and should be sufficient to increase property taxes to finance critical needs.

Gov. Pete Wilson understands the difficult dilemma that local governments face. In his budget proposal, he acknowledges that “based on the inherent difficulty of securing this (two-thirds) approval, infrastructure needs are often neglected even though a majority of voters in a given community might support and be willing to pay for the construction of new facilities.” That is exactly the case in Los Angeles.

To cure this common problem, Wilson has proposed a change in the California Constitution. It would allow a simple majority of voters in a local election to approve bonds for schools and jails.

Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) has introduced an Assembly constitutional amendment that, if approved by the Legislature, would be on the ballot in the November general election. The proposed change would benefit schools and local jails. The jails provision would not cover an expansion of the 911 system but could work to free up local public safety dollars for redirection to the emergency telephone system.

Sen. Gary Hart (D-Santa Barbara) has proposed a similar amendment to cover community colleges. Reducing the current two-thirds requirement to a simple majority on these local fiscal matters is long overdue.

The voters have spoken in Los Angeles and in other communities. When a majority is willing to pay for pressing local needs, its will should not be denied.