Death by a Thousand Cuts: Vote NO on Measure D

Santa Clara County doesn’t raise taxes with a sledgehammer, it does it with a scalpel. One more parcel tax here, a “temporary” sales tax there, a bond measure with a heart‑tugging name and before you know it, families, renters, and small businesses are bleeding out, one tiny cut at a time.

Measure D is the latest cut.

It’s a new parcel tax based proposed by the Santa Clara Valley Open Space Authority, it would levy $0.02 per square foot, raising $17 million a year, and it lasts forever. It funds open‑space projects, even though we already have massive amounts of protected land, including the entire Coyote Valley.

Stated purposes: “Restore and protect natural open spaces and waterways,” manage land to reduce wildfires and floods, expand trails, preserve family farms, and reduce illegal activity in open spaces.

On paper, it sounds lovely. Who doesn’t like open space, clean water, and trails?

But the question isn’t, “Is open space good?”

The question is, “At what point do we stop layering new taxes on top of all the others?”

But it's Only 2 cents you cheapskates! is what we're being told

Here’s what we’re already paying for:

Measure A (2012) – 1/8‑cent sales tax still on the books.

Measure A (2016) – $950M housing bond backed by property taxes.

VTA taxes – multiple half‑cent sales taxes for BART and transportation (2000, 2008, 2016).

Measure Q (2014) – Open Space Authority parcel tax already in place.

School bonds + parcel taxes – nearly every district adds its own layer.

Individually, each one sounds “reasonable.”

Together, they make Silicon Valley one of the highest‑taxed regions in the country.

And now Measure D wants to add another permanent tax.

Vote NO

We already have huge amounts of open space.

Agencies struggle to maintain the land they already own.

Costs will be passed on to renters, homeowners, and small businesses.

This isn’t about whether open space is good. It’s about whether taxpayers ever get a break.

At some point, we have to say enough. Measure D is that point.