Diverse Group of Local Elected Officials Announce Opposition to Arena Tax

Diverse Group of Local Elected Officials Announce Opposition to Arena Tax
Officials Oppose the Arena Tax Because It Is A Bad Deal For Sacramento

Today, in a press conference on the steps of Sacramento City Hall, a diverse group of local elected officials including Sacramento City Council Member Steve Cohn, Sacramento City Unified School Board Members Manny Hernandez and Jerry Houseman, Natomas Unified School District Board Member Ron Dwyer-Voss, and SMUD Board of Directors Member Larry Carr announced their opposition to the Arena Tax (Measures Q & R on the November Ballot). Each elected official declared the Arena Tax a bad deal for Sacramento and urged voters to vote no on Measure Q & R on the November Ballot.

“The Arena Tax is a bad deal for Sacramento,” stated Sacramento City Council Member Steve Cohn. “Local taxpayers deserve better than a last minute deal that was crafted – without any public input – with billionaires in a secret meeting in a Las Vegas casino. Under this deal we get all the risk and they get all revenue.”

Measures Q & R (The Arena Tax) will increase the sales tax in Sacramento County to raise $562 million to build a sports and entertainment facility in downtown Sacramento, with all revenues from the facility going to the Maloof Sports and Entertainment corporation. If approved, none of the additional sales tax dollars will be available for desperately-needed community projects for at least 7 years, after construction of the arena has been completed. Community leaders and elected officials from all over Sacramento County agree that public dollars should not be used to subsidize billionaire sports team owners when basic community needs such as flood control, public safety, education, housing and healthcare must be addressed first.

“Measures Q & R are a bad deal for Sacramento because there are more important problems that need to be addressed in our community,” stated Sacramento City Unified School Board Member Manny Hernandez. “Before we give away millions of dollars to out of town billionaires we need to increase funding for our local schools, strengthen our levees, make our city streets safer and address important issues like healthcare.”

Sacramentans Against the Arena Tax is a campaign to oppose Measures Q & R in Sacramento County. The campaign is being led by a strong coalition of community leaders, organizations and individuals that have come together to stop the Arena Tax. For more information please visit http://www.Stopthearenatax.org or call Shawnda Westly at (916) 201-8582.