S.C. MINIMUM WAGE MEASURE FAILS; SALES TAX HIKE, POT INITIATIVE AND
USCS GROWTH MEASURES PASS

SANTA CRUZ -- Measure G, the proposal to raise the minimum wage in
Santa Cruz to $9.25 an hour, was shot down by city voters Tuesday in a
landslide defeat.

"Defeating Measure G preserves the ability of local businesses to
continue to employ people and continue to do everything we can to keep
the community unique and successful," said Larry Pearson, owner of
Pacific Cookie Co. and a leader in the opposition to the wage increase.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, 61 percent of voters had
rejected the measure.

On other city issues, voters approved Measure H -- a quarter-cent
increase in the sales tax -- and Measures I and J -- which limit
future expansion at UC Santa Cruz without the university paying for
anticipated impacts on city services. Voters also showed sympathy for
marijuana causes with approval of Measure K, a plan that forces police
officers to make adult marijuana crimes their lowest priority.

"This proves the community's desire that tax dollars and police
resources should be focused on something besides nonviolent marijuana
use," Measure K campaign coordinator Kate Horner said. "We look
forward to working with the police on this."

The Police Department did not support the measure.

Measure G supporters, a group of community and labor activists who
gathered more than the required 3,400 signatures of city voters
earlier this year to qualify the issue for the ballot, believe the
defeat hurts the ability of the approximately 3,800 low-wage workers
across the city to make ends meet in an area known for high rents and
home prices.

The proposal included automatic annual increases based on the rate of
inflation, a factor local business owners said made the measure
impossible to support.

The wage hike, supporters said, would have been a step toward making
the area slightly more affordable, bringing the annual wage to $19,000
for someone working full-time at $9.25 an hour.

"The message these employers are sending is to their employees that
they don't value them as full-fledged family members," said Nora
Hochman, head of the Measure G campaign. "This defeats the workers'
movement."

Local business owners rallied against Measure G because they believed
the proposal would have created a lopsided economy in Santa Cruz as
businesses outside the city wouldn't be forced to pay the higher wage
for entry-level jobs.

Business owners throughout the campaign feared Measure G's approval
would force higher prices, reductions in staff and operating hours and
in some cases, cause businesses to close or move out of town.

With 100 percent of precincts reporting, 76 percent of voters
supported Measure I and 80 percent supported J. Sixty-three percent
supported K. Fifty-eight percent supported H.

The additional $2.2 million estimated to be generated each year with
the sales tax increase will go mostly toward fixing city streets,
riddled with pot holes and broken pavement and in need of roughly $40
million worth of repairs.