There are two ballot measures that Dublin voters will decide. Both of them are poorly written and disingenuous attempts by the Dublin City Council to mislead the public.
Measure II is called the “Dublin Traffic Relief, Clean Air/Open Space Preservation Measure,” but if it passes, it would do precisely the opposite: more traffic, dirtier air and less open space. The measure simply allows the city to break its 10-year-old urban limit line (ULL) and annex the last sliver of open space between Dublin and Livermore so that it can build commercial or industrial facilities on 80 acres of the site.
The city claims it needs this development to pay for the extension of Dublin Boulevard — to which Livermore has said it will not contribute any funds if Dublin moves forward with the annexation. Dublin’s cost would be $55 million if it keeps its ULL and shares the expense with Livermore. If it revokes its ULL, Dublin would be on the hook for the entire $110 million cost. It’s also not clear that new commercial development will pay for the road extension, as the city claims.
There are other ways to support road construction than to line it with unappealing warehouses or office parks, and the city doesn’t need to annex the property in order to build the road, if it so wishes.
Measure JJ purports to be about clean government and is called the “Dublin Government Accountability Act.” Again, this is deceptive. While the measure lists a number of activities that are ostensibly good ideas, they’re only on the ballot to obfuscate the real agenda: extending city council and mayoral terms. That’s why the city council padded the issue with feelgood issues: they didn’t think the public would otherwise support extending term limits to 12 years.
Perhaps there are good reasons for extending term limits. If that’s the case, have the city come out and put that item by itself on the ballot, and let it pass or fail on its own merits. But no one has actively been campaigning for Measure JJ — no committee organized around it, no “pro” statements were placed in the voter guides. It seems they’re hoping to sneak this one past the public. Don’t let them.
The Alameda County Grand Jurors Association, which scores ballot language, said the title of Measure II is misleading and that Measure JJ is “particularly deceptive” for trying to conceal the term limit extension.
The Dublin City Council is trying to pull a fast one on the public. Don’t reward their behavior. Vote “no” on both Measure II and JJ.
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