Unofficial results show Tucsonans have rejected Proposition 414 — a half-cent sales tax increase that would have funded public safety, policing and affordable housing initiatives.
City data shows about 25% of eligible Tucson voters turned out and some 76,500 ballots were cast.
City leaders who crafted the measure estimated Prop. 414 would have generated some $80 million a year for the next 10 years. About a third of that was slated to pay for equipment and technology for police and other first responders — including patrol cars and a police plane. The other portion would go toward building new and enhancing existing affordable housing, along with other community resilience programs.
Proponents said the measure will help ensure funding for the city’s affordable housing initiatives that could face shortfalls in the coming years. Critics argued it gives too much money to surveillance efforts and police and not enough toward housing.
The measure was rejected by a roughly 70-30 margin. In a statement late Wednesday, the No Prop 414 coalition said the result was a win because it meant additional tax dollars would not go toward increased surveillance, but said urgent and unmet needs still exist within the community.
“We hope city leaders will take away from Prop 414’s failure that if they are going to ask working families in Tucson to pay higher taxes, they must allocate tax revenues to programs and services that actually benefit Tucsonans — housing and services, mental health resources, better education, better public transit, and reduced community harms, instead of systems that do not solve our problems or reduce harms– like increased policing and surveillance,” the statement read.
Tucson city leaders told KVOA they were moving toward a "Plan B" measure for voters to consider next.
