Voters in any city expect to be treated with respect by their elected officials. That’s not happening with Santa Ana’s Measure N, a classic bait-and-switch from City Hall which seeks to make permanent a sales tax that was initially pitched to voters as temporary. 

In 2018, Santa Ana voters approved Measure X, which authorized a 1.5% sales tax increase until 2029, at which point the tax would be dropped to 1% until 2039 and then terminated.

Measure X raised the city’s sales tax rate from 7.75%, the Orange County base, to 9.25%, tied for highest in the county. The rate remains at 7.75% in neighboring Tustin and Irvine.

If Measure N fails, the city would continue to have Measure X revenue coming in for years to come. The tax rate will drop by 0.5% on April 1, 2029, and by a further 1 cent on April 1, 2039. 

It raises the question of why City Hall would rush to eliminate the sunset dates of taxes that will remain on the books for years to come. 

How is the Golden City doing financially? Its Annual Comprehensive Financial Report for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2018 listed its unrestricted net position, a key measure of fiscal health, at a negative $501 million. The ACFR for June 30, 2025, the latest produced, listed a negative $568 million. 

In other words, Measure X didn’t help repair the city’s structural hole or improve its UNP. At best, it has merely helped the city’s finances circle the drain at a slightly slower pace. 

The council voted 5-2 to put Measure N before voters. We interviewed the two council members who opposed the premature tax extension. They’re Democrats running against each other for Assembly District 68. Councilman David Penaloza called Measure N a boondoggle. Councilwoman Jessie Lopez, who defeated a recall attempt by the powerful Santa Ana Police Officers Association outraged that she opposed an unaffordable contract, noted the union is a major backer of Measure N.

Transparent California notes the city’s employees in 2025 with the highest total pay and benefits were Police Chief Robert Rodriguez $510,964.65, City Manager Alvaro Nuñez $508,447.48 and Police Lt. Luis A. Barragan $493,774.53. Interested taxpayers should peruse the Transparent California database to see how the city is handling their money and see the sizable compensation packages being doled out to city employees. 

With inflation chewing up Santa Anans’ budgets, it is absurd for City Hall to act preemptively to extend the city sales tax in perpetuity. 

Adding insult to injury is the consultant-crafted language around Measure N. Titled the “Santa Ana Streets, Public Safety, Essential City Services Measure,” the measure goes on and on about how it’s needed “to maintain city services, such as fixing potholes; keeping streets, sidewalks, parks, and playgrounds safe and clean; removing graffiti and litter; providing fire protection, paramedic, crime prevention, and 911 emergency response…”

As a general tax, these tax revenues are not dedicated to anything in particular, like pothole fixes or fire protection. That would require a special tax, which this is not. The money goes wherever City Hall wants it to go. So taxpayers can ignore that laundry list of poll-tested items and substitute “public employee compensation, waste, questionable contracts” and so on, because it’s just as true. 

The official argument in support also comes with a heaping side of fearmongering, warning that if City Hall can’t keep taxes higher forever, “we may not have enough first responders necessary to keep our community safe.”

Please.

From the bait-and-switch to the misleading language to the high cost of living these days, there’s no reason for Santa Ana voters to approve this money-grabbing measure.

On Nov. 3, N means No on Measure N.