Los Angeles Voters Support Tax to Fund Homeless Housing, Power for County Supervisors to Remove Sheriff

A voter casts their ballot for the US midterm election, inside a voting center at Crenshaw High School in Los Angeles on Nov. 8, 2022. (Patrick T. Fallon/AFP via Getty Images)

In the Nov. 8 election in Los Angeles, three citywide and two countywide measures were on the ballot, with the majority of voters supporting removing hurdles for more affordable housing, adding a real estate sales tax to fund more homeless housing, giving county supervisors the power to remove an elected county sheriff, and imposing a tax on cannabis businesses.

The only measure not favored by Angelenos, according to preliminary results, was Proposition SP, a property tax to fund maintenance of public recreational spaces in the city.

Here’s how each measure was performing, according to the county registrar, as of Nov. 11, at 5 p.m.

Proposition LH: Affordable Housing

Proposition LH was winning 67.61 percent to 32.39 percent.

It would allow the city to develop, acquire, or construct 5,000 new units of low-income housing in each council district.

In California, a city can’t build any such additional housing without the approval of voters because of Article 34, a 1950 amendment to the state’s constitution that permits residents to reject public housing projects in their city through a majority vote.

Proposition SP: Tax for Park Maintenance

The proposition was losing 35.2 percent to 64.8 percent.

Proposition SP would authorize a new property tax of 8.4 cents per square foot on residential and commercial buildings to fund renovation and maintenance of open and recreational spaces—such as parks, pools, recreational centers, and beaches—in the city. It would bring in a projected $224 million annually, proponents say.

Some opponents are concerned about incurring more tax burden while others who disapprove of the 2028 Olympics say the tax would support projects related to the event.

Initiative Ordinance ULA: Tax for Homeless Housing

Initiative Ordinance ULA is winning, with 54.54 percent in support and 45.46 percent opposing.

It proposes a 4 percent property tax on real estate sales of more than $5 million but less than $10 million to fund homeless housing. The measure is supported by city Democrats and labor unions.

Opponents argue the tax would push investments and job opportunities out of the city as it would not only apply to high-end real estate, but all commercial properties, including apartment buildings, supermarkets, and big-box stores.

Those opposing include the Los Angeles County Business Federation, real estate agents, the Apartment Association of Greater Los Angeles, and the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association.

County Measure A: Sheriff Removal

Measure A was winning 69.44 percent to 30.56 percent.

The measure would allow an elected county sheriff to be removed with a four-fifths vote by the county Board of Supervisors for alleged misconduct including “flagrant or repeated neglect of duties, misappropriation of funds, willful falsification of documents or obstructing an investigation.”

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villaneuva, who is running in the election to retain his seat against retired Long Beach Police Chief Robert Luna, has spoken out strongly against it.

Villanueva was reportedly the reason this measure was on the ballot. He has clashed with the board several times over the last two years, particularly over his refusal to enforce the COVID-19 vaccine mandate in his department and to not answer subpoenas to appear before the county’s Civilian Oversight Commission.

Both sides have also been trading corruption accusations in recent months.

County Measure C: Cannabis Tax

Approved by nearly 59.67 percent of the vote, Measure C is likely to pass, with 40.33 percent in opposition.

If passed, the measure would impose a general tax on licensed cannabis businesses—including the sale, manufacturing, and cultivation of marijuana—in unincorporated areas in the county, where cannabis sales are currently prohibited.

If passes, the county Board of Supervisors would still have to vote to legalize cannabis sales. The board plans to hold such a vote in 2023.

After California voters approved recreational cannabis use in 2016, the state let each city or county decide how to legalize and tax it.

Final results were not available on election night since officials expect mail-in ballots to arrive in the days to come. It may take up to a month to tally all the votes, according to the county clerk.