11/02/2022
Thank you, Natalie Wheatfall Lum for your letter educating the editor of the San Mateo Daily Journal on the facts of Measure DD!
The letter reads in full:
"Measure DD is the first citizen’s initiative to qualify for the ballot in South San Francisco history. It would provide free, quality early care and education for all children, and raise early care and education teacher wages to a living wage. DD would only tax large corporate office buildings, meaning the overwhelming majority of the tax would be paid by biotechnology corporations like Genentech, which is worth over $26 billion. Over 30 elected officials and dozens of educators, local organizations, and community leaders endorse Measure DD.
"When considering the endorsement of the San Mateo Daily Journal’s Editorial Board, which was no on Measure DD, readers should know about the failure of this paper to inform the public of basic facts. Unless they’re following Yes on Measure DD social media accounts, SMDJ readers wouldn’t know that just seven corporate biotech special interests have spent over $440,000 to oppose the measure in a city with just 37,000 registered voters. They also wouldn’t know that the most visible and vocal person featured in opposition advertising and in this paper’s reporting, South San Francisco Vice Mayor Flor Nicolas, is a biotechnology executive with over $1 million in biotechnology stocks. This clear financial conflict of interest and the corporate nature of the opposition to a citizen’s initiative like Measure DD seems like something an objective newspaper would want to inform the public about. But I guess it’s up to us to do the reporting."
Stand up to corporate interests by supporting quality preschool and a living wage in South San Francisco. Vote YES on Measure DD in South San Francisco by November 8th!
