Quick Take
Santa Cruz’s Measure Z, the first soda tax passed in the U.S. since 2018, delivers a rebuke to the beverage industry’s $1.7 million opposition campaign. With legal battles looming, the measure’s success could signal a turning point in using such taxes as a tactic for public health advocacy.
Santa Cruz’s Measure Z will be the first local soda tax to pass in the U.S. since 2018, surviving an expensive opposition campaign from the beverage industry lobby and setting the stage for a likely court battle that could determine the future of these taxes throughout California and, possibly, the nation.
With the final results in, Measure Z had passed with 52.35% support in the city of Santa Cruz.
City officials who led the Measure Z campaign painted it as a David versus Goliath battle. The American Beverage Association, the industry lobby representing the interests of Coke, Pepsi, Dr Pepper, pumped more than $1.7 million into its opposition campaign, spending big on ad buys, political consultants and canvassers. The pro-soda tax camp spent less than $44,000.
“Our community’s voice and strength have prevailed, proving once again that all of our votes cannot be bought,” Santa Cruz City Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson said in an emailed statement Monday, ahead of Tuesday’s vote update. “In a time of national uncertainty, this victory serves as a powerful reminder of what communities can achieve when they unite to protect their values and stand up to corporate interests.”
Steven Maviglio, a Sacramento-based political consultant leading the opposition campaign, emailed a statement to Lookout on Tuesday thanking people who joined the industry in opposing “this unfair tax.” That included some local labor unions and activists who argued the tax would be most harmful to lower-income people.
“State law governs this matter, and the law says local taxes are illegal in California,” his statement read. “The fact that the vote is this close shows that even in the most progressive communities in California voters are standing up to a regressive tax that hurts working families, local businesses and their employees.”
Measure Z’s victory now likely pushes the battle between Santa Cruz and the ABA into the courtroom. The soda industry has long been upfront about its intent to sue if the measure passed. As of late last week, Santa Cruz city attorney Tony Condotti said his team had not been notified of a lawsuit yet, but is reviewing and analyzing the possible legal arguments in anticipation.
Dr. John Maa, chair of the American Heart Association’s advocacy committee, said his organization was prepared to step in and back Santa Cruz in the lawsuit, whether through financing or legal assistance. The American Heart Association was the Measure Z campaign’s most significant financial backer, contributing $20,000.
The likelihood of Z’s passage has already stirred a national conversation around soda taxes, with multiple cities, counties and states apparently intrigued by what Santa Cruz’s victory could mean for their pursuit of similar measures, according to Jim Krieger, executive director of Healthy Food America, a Seattle-based organization that helps back nutrition-focused policies such as soda taxes and healthy food incentives.
“The news out of Santa Cruz is important,” Krieger told Lookout last week. “It shows Big Soda is not invincible.”
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