Jimmy Panetta, U.S. representative for California’s 19th District, which covers Monterey, Santa Cruz, Carmel-by-the-Sea, Paso Robles and South San Jose, has endorsed Santa Cruz County’s Measure Q, the Water and Wildfire Protection Initiative. He joins a number of high-profile politicians that have endorsed the measure, including state Sen. John Laird, Assemblymembers Gail Pellerin and Dawn Addis, Santa Cruz Mayor Fred Keeley and all five of the county supervisors.
The ballot measure would introduce a parcel tax of $87 to be collected annually and distributed across the county for a wide range of projects, from managing public lands and reducing wildfire risks to protecting drinking water sources.
“As climate change continues to induce extreme weather events that pummel Santa Cruz County, we must invest in our resiliency and sustainability. The passage of Measure Q would help reduce the risk of fires, floods and other natural disasters by investing in our infrastructure and resources,” Panetta said in a media release. “The measure would not only help preserve our forests, parks, beaches and water sources, it also would help protect the future of our community.”
Measure Q has also been endorsed by many local organizations, including the Coastal Watershed Council, Fire Safe Council of Santa Cruz County, Friends of Santa Cruz State Parks, Land Trust of Santa Cruz County, Save Our Shores, and more.
The measure has just one opponent thus far — the county’s fire chiefs association. The organization say it believes that the measure does not adequately address wildfire protection and does not provide enough funding to local fire districts.
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