Vote No on Measure J in West County

By Marilynne L. Mellander

Editorial by M. L. Mellander that appeared in the Contra Costa Times on 10/21/11

By Marilynne L. Mellander

Contra Costa Times Your Turn © Copyright 2011, Bay Area News Group Posted: 10/21/2011 http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_19165809

West County voters are now receiving mail ballots for the Measure J parcel tax -- $47 a year for homeowners and $282 a year for small businesses -- to provide more funds for Doctor's Medical Center (DMC).

A recent glossy mailer stated, "if we don't do something, the hospital and its emergency room will close for good." This is the same threat made back in 2004 in support of Measure D that claimed passage would "prevent the life-threatening shutdown of the West Contra Cost Healthcare District's only full service emergency room."

Well, that measure passed and here we are, just a few years later, being asked for yet more money to "keep Doctors Medical Center open."

Taxpayers will continue to pay for Measure D ($52 per year for homeowners and $312 per year for small businesses) if Measure J is not passed and DMC is closed. Measure D language stated, "a citizens oversight committee will review and report on the expenditure of tax revenue." This key provision was never implemented -- there is no citizens oversight committee or reports of any such committee.

Recently, State Sen. Loni Hancock rushed through SB644, a bill designed to protect DMC's creditors and "address concerns that the financial problems may scare investors and make them reluctant to loan the hospital money."

This bill, originally an effort to repeal a section of the state's labor code related to volunteer jobs, was obviously rewritten to protect Measure D tax revenue.

Kaiser members are paying the county two health care taxes in addition to their Kaiser dues: Measure D parcel tax, the 1998 Measure H "emergency service enhancement" parcel tax plus a recent $4.2 million Kaiser donation to DMC.

Mail ballots are notoriously prone to fraud: voters may unwittingly toss the ballots, the mail theft problem, and the difficulty in proving who actually cast the vote.

This measure continues what I believe is the unconstitutional practice of allowing one group of people to vote to tax another group of people.

The majority of people who use Doctors' are uninsured. I'm confident a way will be found to keep this facility open without adding to the financial burden of local business and homeowners at a time when the United States is nearing financial collapse. Vote no on Measure J.

Marilynne L. Mellander is a resident of El Sobrante.