Time not on parcel-tax supporters’ side

There wasn’t a moment to spare for the Sonoma Valley Health Care District’s board when it voted on Dec. 6 to seek voters’ approval on March 6 for a new parcel tax.
The deadline to get the proposal on the ballot was the next day, Dec. 7.
A similar sense of urgency pervaded Monday night’s meeting of the Sonoma Valley Health Care Coalition, the group that’s been meeting since June to figure out the best plan for an earthquake-safe Sonoma Valley hospital to replace the aging Andrieux Street facility.
The coalition meeting, which drew about 60 people to the Vintage House senior center, morphed into a forum for the parcel-tax campaign. Steve Page, a leader on the Yes on Measure C campaign, stood at the front of the room and listed all the campaign job titles that volunteers will need to fill. Then Bill Boerum, a leader in the No on C campaign, rallied people to fill the slots.
Coalition members and volunteers started strategizing about how to get the necessary two-thirds support for the parcel tax.
Audience member Joanne Hurley said that 48 percent of the hospital district’s voters use absentee ballots, which will be sent out on Feb. 5.
“We don’t have much time on our hands,” she said. “I just want to alert everybody. It may be March 6 (for the ballot), but it’s really February 5.”
Boerum said that volunteers can contact him via e-mail at bill@vom.com