On November 4th, say NO to the City Hall politicians that want to raise housing costs in Santa Cruz!

Measure C would impose a new $96 annual parcel tax on nearly every property owner in Santa Cruz, including single-family homeowners, condos, and multi-family properties.

Measure C is a significant increase in the fixed costs of homeownership-costs that cannot be avoided and must be paid year after year. Over the course of two decades, this tax adds up to nearly $2,000 for a single homeowner, and these added costs are likely to be passed on to renters, raising the cost of living citywide.

Homeowners on fixed incomes, such as retirees, may be particularly vulnerable to this burden, as they are already stretched by rising utility rates, property taxes, and insurance premiums. Unlike other measures, seniors are not-exempted from this measure!

Middle class and working families-those who are not wealthy enough to absorb new taxes easily-will be the ones paying the price.

In practice, Measure C is not a small fee; it is a significant tax hike that makes housing more expensive for nearly everyone who owns a home in Santa Cruz.

Beyond the parcel tax, Measure C introduces a new tiered real property transfer tax, with rates escalating as values climb. In Santa Cruz, where housing prices are already inflated, it means that prices will continue to skyrocket-boxing out entry-level buyers from the market. The Measure C tax is indexed to inflation-meaning when the economy is already tougher for families, the tax only gets worse.

Instead of easing affordability, Measure C injects new costs that will ultimately fuel further price escalation in an already strained housing market.

Property values in Santa Cruz are already under immense strain from high demand, limited supply, and ever-rising costs of ownership. Measure C threatens to worsen this dynamic by layering new taxes on top of an already expensive housing market.

This tax only applies to properties within city-limits, meaning sellers will see reduced offers as buyers account for the added tax. Over time, these tax burdens could depress real estate activity and slow appreciation, which has traditionally been one of the primary ways local families build wealth.

If homeowners feel their properties are no longer reliable investments, it could discourage reinvestment in housing and even drive some to leave Santa Cruz altogether. By discouraging transactions, inflating costs, and creating new market distortions, Measure C ultimately places downward pressure on property values while still making housing less affordable across the board.

Measure C is not just bad policy, it's bad process.

Measure C is built on a foundation of legal loopholes, political gamesmanship, and a deliberate effort to avoid transparency and accountability.

This tax scheme-crafted by Mayor Fred Keeley and the City Council-was never truly a grassroots effort. City officials used taxpayer dollars to run polls, develop messaging, and coordinate with a political advocacy group, which then "sponsored" the initiative to make I appear citizen-led. Why? So it could pass with a simple majority vote instead of the legal required two-thirds.

Mayor Keeley admitted it himself in public meetings: the City was "handing off" the measure and helping a group to "move forward" with it using city-funded resources. This isn't leadership-it's a backroom workaround designed to bypass voter safeguards.

And if it passes, lawsuits are likely. Legal challenges will drag Santa Cruz into costly court battles-diverting funds away from real housing solutions and toward defending a scheme that shouldn't have made it to the ballot this way.

If it's worth doing, it's worth doing the right way-with transparency, integrity, and the two thirds vote our Constitution requires.

Measure C is a blatant manipulation of the democratic process. Voters deserve better than political sleight of hand.