Local election wrap-up

Sonoma Valley Unified School District board of trustees

Area 4: Troy Knox

Area 5: Anne Ching

Sonoma County Office of Education board of trustees

Gina Cuclis (incumbent)

Measure DD – Dedicated Road and Transportation funding passes

Money to fill potholes and other road improvements and repairs will be easier with the passage of this county measure.

Measure O – Health, addiction and homeless service funding

The county’s growing homelessness problem might be mitigated by new funding provided by this measure, which passed resoundingly.

Measure P – IOLERO budgeting and expansion approved

Sonoma County’s sheriff’s department will now be subject to a higher level of scrutiny by a citizen panel which will review incidents of use of force and other actions. 

Measure V – Half-cent sales tax extension wins

The city of Sonoma will continue to collect about $2.5 million/year in local sales tax with the victory.

Measure W – Urban Growth Boundary renewed

Originally created in 2000 by voter initiative, the renewal passed by an enormous margin, with over 80 percent voter approval after an assertive campaign by its proponents. Unless Sonoma voters make a change, the renewal will last for the next 20 years.

Measure X – Cannabis sales tax passes

Right now,  no cannabis retailing exists in Sonoma, but when and if it does it will be subject to a special sales tax now that this ballot measure has been overwhelmingly approved by voters. Once the new city council is seated in December, the stalled process of city approval of one dispensary may move ahead.

Measure Y – Local cannabis retailing fails

After qualifying for the ballot in 2018, this measure to allow multiple retail cannabis outlets was delayed by the city until this year’s election. It was not approved by voters. The possibility of one dispensary still exists but may have to wait until the full council can decide.