The library parcel tax known as Measure A passed with 48,578 “yes” votes, or 81.72 percent with all 267 precincts reporting as of 4 p.m. Wednesday, according to unofficial final results posted Tuesday night by the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters Office.
Approximately 205,265 Measure A ballots were issued and 59,441 votes cast in Tuesday’s special mail ballot election, with voter turnout at 29.42 percent, according to the registrar’s office. The library tax, which has been used to purchase library hours and materials for 20 years, needed a two-thirds vote to pass.
Approximately 10,863, or 18.28 percent voted against the tax.
The library tax was set to expire in 2015, and the county library’s Joint Powers Authority hoped residents would vote to continue to maintain library hours and book purchases. If the measure hadn’t pass, each library branch in the district would have cut their weekly hours by a day-and-a-half, according to County Librarian Nancy Howe. The library district encompasses all of the unincorporated area within the county as well as the cities of Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Milpitas, Monte Sereno, Morgan Hill and Saratoga.
“We are elated about Measure A passing,” said Gilroy community librarian Lani Yoshimura. “It is heartwarming to know that our beautiful library will be able to continue serving the community.”
Yoshimura said she and volunteers who did phone banking, distributed fliers, worked booths at Gilroy’s Farmers’ Market and gave informational talks around the county promoting “YES on A” are happy their efforts paid off.
“It was really nice that the community responded to pure information,” Yoshimura said. “We were not advertising, just informing people about what libraries do and it is clear that people in the County value their libraries.”
In Morgan Hill, passage of Measure A means that starting in January 2014, the library at 660 West Main Ave. will be able to open on Mondays – something that hasn’t happened for at least five years, according to Morgan Hill community librarian Peggy Tomasso.
That will be especially helpful to local students who need to use the library’s computers and other resources to do school work, and adults who are looking for jobs, Tomasso said.
“They’ll have access to the library six days a week instead of just five,” she said. The library will remain closed on Sundays.
The $33 annual parcel tax brings in $5.6 million annually for county libraries, according to library staff. That’s about 18 percent of the library system’s total budget. The money collected goes back to the local library where the tax originated, and can only be used to buy new materials and to fund staffing for more open hours.
Eli Contrares of Hollister said that while he has been home for the summer from law school, he brings his nieces and nephews to the Gilroy Library up to three times per week. Although he did not vote, he said he is glad Measure A passed.
“I love reading and am a frequent user of the library,” Contrares, 28, said. “I come to the Gilroy Library because it’s so much bigger than the one in Hollister.”
Contrares said that libraries are not just for people to check out books, however. He feels the open space and quiet atmosphere is nice for people who need to study or utilize the computers.
“I think that libraries are a bigger benefit than they are a detriment,” Contrares said.
Gloria Fox, a Gilroy resident for the past five years, said that despite the fact she comes to the Gilroy Library with her daughter at least once or twice a week, she voted against Measure A.
“I voted against the tax because we already have enough taxes,” Fox said as she and her 10-year-old daughter, Sarah Fox, flipped through a magazine together. “I would be willing to work around the library’s hours if there were less of them.”
Fox said she homeschools her children and finds the library to be a nice atmosphere for Sarah to do her homework. However, if the Measure A tax had failed, forcing the library to close an additional day-and-a-half, Fox would not have minded.
• Of the 20,538 registered voters in Gilroy, 5,230 residents voted; a 25.5 percent voter turnout. Of those who voted, 3,958 voted “yes” and 1,264 voted “no”.
• Out of 19,748 registered voters in Morgan Hill, 5,649 residents voted; a 28.6 percent voter turnout. Of those who voted, 4,670 voted “yes” and 971 voted “no”.
– Source: Shui Ling Chu from the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters
