Tucson voters rejected Proposition 414 by a wide margin, unofficial results Tuesday night show.
Tallies released about 8 p.m. show nearly 70% of votes counted so far were against the half-cent sales tax increase.
Of 76,480 total mail-in votes cast, 76,434 have been counted, with 23,084 saying "yes" and 53,350 "no," city officials said.
Andy Squire, a spokesman for the city, said about 7:45 p.m. that while city officials did not have a tally of how many people voted in person Tuesday, about 600 ballots were given out across nine voting locations.
He said the initial results released about 8 p.m. would probably be the only results released Tuesday night. Tallying the in-person votes from Tuesday won't likely be completed until Monday, March 17, he said, to give city officials and voters the rest of the week to verify and cure ballots if necessary.
Squire said officials were expecting 75,000 to 90,000 votes in total, with mail-in and day-of ballots combined. He said the city's nine voting locations had not seen a ton of traffic throughout the day, describing foot traffic as "slow and steady."
The $800 million plan would have raised the city’s sales for 10 years to mostly pay for items linked to police and fire expenses. It would have sent about 66% of the expected $80 million per year raised by the higher tax to public safety needs. About 34% would have gone to address issues related to affordable housing, homelessness and other social needs.
City Council members Kevin Dahl and Karin Uhlich look over the results showing the defeat of Prop. 414 at a Yes On Prop. 414 gathering Tuesday night in Tucson.
If approved, Prop. 414 would have raised the city sales tax rate by a half-cent, from 8.7% to 9.2%, for the next decade.
The Tucson Metro Chamber, which led one of two opposition campaigns, said in a news release Tuesday night that voters "sent a clear message" to the city: "They expect core services and core solutions to be delivered within the existing city budget rather than placing the financial burden on small businesses and working families with the highest city tax rate of any major city in Arizona."
"I am very pleased the voters supported our message of fiscal responsibility without the need to raise taxes on our community’s most vulnerable individuals,” chamber president and CEO Michael Guymon is quoted as saying in the news release. “More work remains as we continue to collaborate with the City to support public safety, and the coalition we built is ready to engage in those important conversations."
Pat DeConcini, chairman of Yes On 414, talks with another supporter while awaiting election results Tuesday night in Tucson.
Organizers of the Yes on 414 campaign did not immediately comment.
City leaders, first responder unions as well as community and business leaders have all given support to the proposition, according to the yeson414.com website. They say its passage would “make neighborhoods safer, address the affordable housing crisis, and invest in services to improve our quality of life.”
Tucson Mayor Regina Romero talks with Prop. 414 supporter Pat DeConcini while awaiting election results on the proposition Tuesday night in Tucson.
The 10-year sales tax, dubbed the “Safe & Vibrant City,” would raise an average of $80 million annually, according to the city. About one-third of revenues generated would go toward boosting staffing across city departments, but mostly for police and fire.
The proposition is split into five different areas, deemed “quality-of-life” categories by the city, that would fund housing services, neighborhoods, youth and anti-crime efforts, as well as several items for first responders, including staffing, upgrades for stations and equipment, investments in technology and revamping the police department’s air support unit.
The grassroots No Prop. 414 Tucson coalition said in a news release Tuesday night that the "resounding defeat" of the half-cent sales tax measure is "an important victory for all Tucsonans and an important first step in making sure city resources go to where they can do the most good.
Proposition 414, the 10-year, $800 million plan, would mostly pay for public safety needs.
"We hope city leaders will take away from Prop. 414’s failure that if they are going to ask working families in Tucson to pay higher taxes, they must allocate tax revenues to programs and services that actually benefit Tucsonans — housing and services, mental health resources, better education, better public transit, and reduced community harms, instead of systems that do not solve our problems or reduce harms — like increased policing and surveillance," the coalition said in its release. "We encourage the city to continue seeking local revenue streams to fund housing and services, without resorting to further regressive taxes and work with us to ensure resources go towards care rather than criminalization.”
