Panel Approves Referendum on Sales Tax for Jail
In a dramatic victory for Sheriff Brad Gates, the Orange County Regional Justice Facilities Commission today unanimously authorized a May 14 sales tax referendum, giving voters a chance to decide a jail construction question that has befuddled officials for nearly 13 years.
The commission’s 5-0 vote came shortly after 28 of Orange County’s 29 mayors met to select two of the panel members. Supervisors Harriett M. Weider and Roger R. Stanton, both of whom favor a proposed half-cent tax to build and operate a jail near Anaheim, were joined on the panel by La Palma Mayor Keith Nelson and Irvine Mayor Sally Anne Sheridan.
Those four officials then quickly met and selected a fifth commission member, Wylie Aitken, former president of a trial lawyers’ association and a resident of Anaheim Hills, which borders a proposed jail site in Gypsum Canyon.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
