Jail Tax Soundly Defeated in Straw Vote by Rotarians

After a lively debate over Measure J at a Santa Ana Rotary Club luncheon meeting Wednesday, the Rotarians took a straw poll in which the jail tax initiative on next Tuesday’s ballot was given the thumbs down by a margin of more than 4 to 1.

Some Rotarians said that although new jail facilities are needed, now is not the time to raise taxes to pay for them. They also said their 37 to 9 vote against Measure J could reflect the sentiment of voters countywide.

“I think it’s going to be close, but I think it’s going to go down,” said Mark Miller, the Rotary Club’s programs chairman. “I think people are scared of too many taxes. They want a jail, but they’re not convinced this is the answer.”

The Rotary Club of Santa Ana North has 57 members--52 men and five women, according to one official--and it includes business owners, executives and civic leaders.

“Rotarians are generally very conservative, and that indicates to me that this could be a trend in the county,” said Joseph Irvine, another Rotarian. “It’s a small sample, but . . . we’ll know on Tuesday.”

During the meeting at the Saddleback Inn, the Rotarians heard from Anaheim Mayor Fred Hunter, representing the anti-Measure J side, and Howard Hull, a Costa Mesa banker and member of the Sheriff’s Advisory Council, a group of business leaders and others who provide support to Sheriff Brad Gates, the leading proponent of Measure J.

The measure, if approved by voters, would increase the county’s sales tax to 7%. Revenues from the tax increase--an average of $343 million annually over 30 years--would be used for new regional justice facilities.

During an energetic exchange, Hull said that criminals “do not live and think the way we do.” Hunter held up a foot to a television camera to make the point that poorer people would not be able to afford $50 shoes if sales taxes are raised again.

The two men then fielded a volley of questions from the audience, many of them from the chairman of the Taxpayers Against J, the group opposing the measure, and a colleague who were sitting among the Rotarians.

In his opening remarks, Hull said Measure J opponents want to defeat the ballot initiative because its passage would mean construction of a 6,720-bed jail in Gypsum Canyon, just east of Anaheim Hills, where many of them live.

“It’s just a simple NIMBY issue--not in my back yard,” he said.

Hull said the sheriff and an overwhelming number of law enforcement leaders in the county have endorsed the measure because the county’s five-jail system is so overcrowded that convicted criminals are being released from jail before they finish their sentences to make more room.

“These people do not live or think the way we do,” he said of criminals. “Twenty or 30 days away from your business or mine would make a difference, but to them, it’s three squares and a bed.

“Let it be known they’re going to have spend 18 months in jail and you’re going to see a great attitude change,” he said.

Hull also said that charges by opponents of Measure J that county officials have not explored enough options before deciding on Gypsum Canyon as the preferred site for a regional jail are unfounded. The county studied more than 30 sites and eventually decided on Gypsum Canyon after looking at the costs of each one, he said. Also, the county has already spent $7.7 million to conduct an environmental impact report on Gypsum Canyon.

“If we have to change the plan now, we have to spend 15 more years studying the matter, and the $7 million goes down the drain,” he said.

When it was his turn at the podium, Hunter showed the group a chart with a list of 10 alternatives drawn up by his group, Taxpayers Against J, to show what the sheriff can do to relieve overcrowding and avoid building a new jail.

Among the alternatives are building more detox centers to house people arrested for drinking or drunk driving, instead of taking them to jail.

“Let’s stop this empire building in this county and let’s start looking at cost-cutting ways to stop criminals,” he said.