On Jan. 22, 2017, during an interview on NBC\u2019s \u201cMeet the Press,\u201d White House aide Kellyanne Conway introduced a phrase into the zeitgeist in defending the claim that President Donald Trump\u2019s inaugural speech came before the \u201clargest audience to ever witness an inauguration.\u201d<\/p>\n
Though thousands of photos and videos showed that President Barack Obama\u2019s 2009 inaugural address drew a much bigger crowd, Conway said White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer had the right to present Americans with \u201calternative facts.\u201d<\/a><\/p>\n Was San Diego County Board of Supervisors\u2019 Chair Terra Lawson-Remer taking notes? This question came to mind Thursday after the board voted to put what she insists is a comprehensive reform package before county voters in November. In a Tuesday blast email sent to thousands of her constituents, Lawson-Remer called it \u201ca once-in-a-generation opportunity to make county government more transparent, accountable and responsive to the people it serves.\u201d<\/p>\n This claim is beyond laughable. What\u2019s transparent about Lawson-Remer\u2019s call for ballot language meant to trick voters into believing her proposal \u201cset\u201d term limits for supervisors instead of weakening them by allowing her and her colleagues to seek third terms?<\/p>\n How is it accountable for Lawson-Remer to falsely assert that her proposal would create three \u201cindependent\u201d watchdogs?<\/p>\n Members of the county ethics commission would either be picked by individual supervisors or by the county counsel, who is appointed by board members. The budget analyst and auditor would \u201cbe hired and fired by the same board they are supposed to hold accountable,\u201d as local political scientist Carl Luna detailed on May 15<\/a> on these pages.<\/p>\n When Conway made her instantly notorious comment, \u201cMeet the Press\u201d moderator Chuck Todd immediately responded<\/a> that \u201calternative facts are not facts \u2014 they\u2019re falsehoods.\u201d<\/p>\n Thankfully, Lawson-Remer\u2019s similar \u201calternative facts\u201d are increasingly being treated as such in reporting on her power play, which is supported by board colleagues Monica Montgomery Steppe and Paloma Aguirre.<\/p>\n Alas, the same is not true of another key measure on the November ballot: a countywide half-cent sales tax measure pushed by labor groups allied with the county board\u2019s Democratic majority, which is projected to raise at least $350 million a year. The measure is being pitched<\/a> to voters as a way \u201cto address key issues \u2014 childcare, health care, the Tijuana River sewage crisis and public safety.\u201d<\/p>\n But this claim is much closer to an \u201calternative fact\u201d than reality. New sales tax revenue can be used for any purpose<\/a> by the county, whatever voters are told in coming months. And what is the only certain result if the sales tax hike is approved? It\u2019s not \u2014 as unions say \u2014 \u201ckeeping local children safe, fed and cared for.\u201d Because of past labor deals<\/a>, if voters OK a measure that increases county revenue this year, the county would be required to reopen pay negotiations with both SEIU Local 221 and Teamsters Local 986, which represent more than 10,000<\/a>\u00a0county workers.<\/p>\n