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Thursday, June 11-June 17, 2026
Proposed half-cent LA County sales tax for health care suddenly passing
VOL. 17, 15,
Arcadia council to again consider appointment to seat vacated by PRC spy
By City News Service
By Joe Taglieri
A
proposed half-cent Los Angeles County sales tax to fund health care services gained new life Monday, when an updated vote tally showed the measure being backed by a small majority of voters. Earlier vote tallies from the June 2 election showed Measure ER falling short of approval, but with Monday's update of the ballot count, the measure for the first time was shown to have support from more than half of voters. As of Tuesday afternoon, 1,005,998 voters, or 50.59%, supported the proposed sales tax increase, while 982,593 voters, or 49.41%, were opposed. The measure needs support from a majority of voters to pass. According to the county Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk's Office, an estimated 148,100 ballots still remain to be tallied. Measure ER, which was introduced by Supervisors Holly Mitchell and Hilda Solis in January, is called the Essential Services Restoration Act and asked voters to enact the half-cent general sales tax increase for five years, through Oct. 1, 2031.
NO. 279
joet@civicnewsgroup.com
A
| Photo by andriymedvediuk/Envato
County officials said the measure would generate about $1 billion annually, with the goal of offsetting reductions in state and federal funding for various health care programs. The county sales tax currently stands at 9.75%. The proposed hike would increase it to 10.25%. The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 in February, with Supervisor Kathryn Barger dissenting, to place the proposal on the June ballot. "Backfilling federal
funding cuts on the backs of county taxpayers is not acceptable," Barger said in a statement after the vote. "Los Angeles County residents are already stretched thin. Last year, Bloomberg News reported that Los Angeles now has the highest sales tax rates of any major metropolitan region in the nation. This proposed halfcent increase would push us even higher, making our county less affordable for
families and less appealing for consumers to shop and businesses to operate. We are risking imposing higher everyday costs and small businesses and employers choosing to leave Los Angeles County altogether." Mitchell argued, however, that health care services in the county will face dire losses if no action is taken to restore funding that she said was slashed under the federal budget bill passed
See Health care tax Page 18
split Arcadia City Council earlier this month postponed voting on applicants to appoint to the District 3 seat vacated by ex-Mayor Eileen Wang, who resigned last month after admitting she acted illegally as a secret agent of the People's Republic of China. Council members were expected to discuss the appointment at the next regular meeting set for Tuesday at City Hall Council Chambers, 240 W. Huntington Drive. Mayor Pro Tem David Fu and Councilman Michael Cao said they needed more time to weigh the decision on filling the vacancy after interviewing applicants at the June 2 meeting that lasted well over five hours. Mayor Paul Cheng and Councilwoman Sharon Kwan favored choosing the appointee that evening, as had been publicized and as the council members had agreed following Wang’s resignation, but the stalemate prevented a vote on the matter.
Cheng, Fu and Cao said they wanted to reestablish representation as soon as possible for residents of District 3, which is the smallest geographical council territory primarily between Huntington Drive and Duarte Road to the north and south respectively stretching from the city's western border eastward to Park Avenue between Campus Drive and Duarte Road. Focusing on the need for public transparency, Kwan said if the appointment vote did not occur Tuesday, she favored waiting until November to let voters decide. Detailed information is on the city’s website about the candidates for appointment to fill the vacancy. The city received applications from: • Walter Besocke, a 49-year resident, a Ford Motor Co. manager; • Ruby Chang, eight-year resident, freelance apparel technical designer; • John Han, 10-year resident, self-employed investment
See Arcadia council Page 31
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