Editorial: L.A. voters have a vision for the future — and are willing to pay for it

The fear that Los Angeles County voters would revolt over a bloated ballot and too many tax hikes melted away Wednesday morning as the results were tallied. Voters not only approved several significant tax measures to pay for critical investments in transportation, parks and housing, but supported them in overwhelming numbers. The message was clear: Angelenos not only want a long-term vision for a successful and more livable city, but they’re willing to pay to make it a reality.

Take, for example, Measure M, the permanent sales tax increase that would allow the county to greatly expand its public transportation systems. It won almost 70% of the vote — easily achieving the two-thirds majority needed to approve a tax hike. Eight years ago, voters just barely passed Measure R, the 2008 sales tax hike that kick-started the region’s transit-building boom. Measure M will transform the region’s transportation system by building a dozen new rail lines and maintain the existing lines, as well as fixing freeway bottlenecks, adding bike lanes and filling potholes.

County voters also gave a resounding “yes� to Measure A, a parcel tax on residential and commercial property to pay for parks, recreation, open space and cultural amenities. That measure passed with 73% support, also well over the two-thirds approval needed and a reversal from two years ago when voters rejected a similar proposal.

Perhaps most stunning and most welcome, three out of four voters in the city of Los Angeles backed Measure HHH, the city’s ambitious plan to borrow $1.2 billion to build 10,000 units of permanent supportive housing and affordable housing for homeless people. The measure received shockingly high support — 76% — which is particularly impressive considering that 10 years ago city voters rejected a similar bond measure to fund homeless and low-income housing.

There are a few common threads in the success of these tax measures. They all address the everyday concerns and real-life experiences of Angelenos, who sit in soul-crushing traffic, seek relief from an increasingly crowded city life in public parks and witness the suffering of the homeless on a day-to-day basis. These measures also offered long-term solutions, rather than short-term band aid approaches, developed after working closely with affected communities and seeking consensus. Elected officials, including Mayor Eric Garcetti, members of the the Los Angeles City Council and the county Board of Supervisors, made persuasive cases that they could be trusted to manage the public’s money and deliver on the propositions’ promises.

There is still a lot of work to be done to bring these visions to fruition. But there is also a lesson here. When voters are given well-thought-out and credible opportunities to make a meaningful difference in their communities — such as road and transit improvements, more and better parks, housing for the homeless and mentally ill — they will support higher taxes. That message should be taken to heart in Sacramento and Washington, D.C.

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