Late last week, the San Diego Registrar of Voters released the voter canvass files from the November 2nd, 2010 election. These files provide the precinct-by-precinct vote breakdown for all the elections in San Diego County. I found lots of interesting data, but Rostra policywonks might be intrigued to know how the vote came down on the City of San Diego’s sales tax increase, Prop. D. Using GIS software, I’ve mapped out the No on D vote.
No on D votes weren’t isolated to GOP-friendly neighborhoods – strong opposition extended into “purple” precincts with large numbers of Decline to State & Democratic voters, including Mount Soledad, Mira Mesa, Southeast San Diego, Otay Mesa, San Ysidro, and Mission Beach.
Yes on D votes were concentrated mainly around SDSU, UCSD, Hillcrest, North Park, South Park, Kensington, and City Heights.
Here’s the vote break-down, by Council District:
CD 1: 37% Yes, 63% No
CD 2: 40% Yes, 60% No
CD 3: 50% Yes, 50% No
CD 4: 38% Yes, 62% No
CD 5: 31% Yes, 69% No
CD 6: 35% Yes, 65% No
CD 7: 37% Yes, 63% No
CD 8: 39% Yes, 61% No
Comments 3
Thank you for a beautifully-done job.
I can tell you from many years running campaigns in
San Diego that the strongest No-on-D neighborhoods
revealed in the Map share many common characteristics.
They are middle-middle and lower-middle class
homeowning areas. The residents have lived
in San Diego for decades, and often in the same
home for all that time. They raised their kids here.
Any tax increase is a burden to them now. They are
indignant at being asked to pay more while they
watch potholes in their streets grow, and the hours
at their local libraries shrink.
These men and women love San Diego and will
willingly sacrifice to help their home town, but only
if they believe the sacrifice is equally borne by all.
Call the roll…. Allied Gardens, Nestor-Palm City,
Paradise Hills, Clairemont, Point Loma Hts,
Mission Village, Crown Point, Serra Mesa, East
Encanto, Bay Park, San Carlos and Mira Mesa.
That is the place the late Fred Lewis called, “The
Heart of San Diego”. Nothing gets done in this
town unless those places, and those people,
are brought into the discussion early and then
listened to.
Author
Thank you Jim for your kind words, and your insight! I was hoping you would chime in with an analysis.
So these areas want higher sales taxes. “Yes on D votes were concentrated mainly around SDSU, UCSD, Hillcrest, North Park, South Park, Kensington, and City Heights.”
Can’t we let them form their own business districts so they can just (sales) tax themselves to death? Nahhh — higher sales taxes there would not be fair to the local businesses. And the negative results are all too predictable.
Instead, let’s impose a post-election poll tax — in any precinct that voted for the higher sales tax, they have to pay the city $100 a year per voting age citizen.
I like it!!