The Engineering Contractor’s Association Political Action Committee (ECA PAC) has been hard at work during the past year, nearly doubling in size, but with that increase in capability comes a big increase in requests to help local elected officials.
2018 has already been busy with local elections held around the state on January 23, January 30, February 27, March 6 with more to come June 5 and November 6. The early elections asked approval for local measures like school bonds and rent control modifications, etc.
The June 5th election day will be the statewide primary election day when voters whittle down the candidate list to the top- two vote getters for each position. Cities will be voting largely on their mayor and city council candidates while county governments will be choosing a broader array of offices, like County board of supervisors, county assessor, county auditor, district attorney, county sheriff, county treasurer, county superintendent of schools, and county clerk.
ECA’s PAC is paying attention to these local elections because this is where the decisions get made for all public works projects and most private construction opportunities—this is where our work is—these people are the most important office holders for our members.
Right now we are reviewing candidates to support in Anaheim, Bakersfield, Chula Vista, Irvine, Long Beach, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego and Santa Ana. On the county level, we are paying particular attention to Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino and San Diego counties.
Also on the June 5th ballot will be a group of five statewide propositions that the legislature is ending before the voters, including two constitutional amendments that were parts of legislative packages that are important to our industry.
ACA 5, the Transportation Lockbox Amendment, was part of the deal for SB 1 fuel tax increases, making sure the money goes support transportation projects. ACA 1, provides that voters must approve the use of CARB’s cap-and-trade revenue by a two-thirds vote. The $4-billion Parks, Environment, and Water Bond proposal may provide more funding for water projects.
There are two more general issues. Prop 71 changes the date when voter-approved ballot measures take effect. Prop. 72 excludes rainwater capture systems from property tax assessments, giving environmentally oriented homeowners a little break on their taxes.
Your PAC is getting asked for contributions for and against the candidates and propositions, and we always want to hear from members about who or what they support, so chime in!
