McCann campaigned on lowering taxes and is against the mileage tax proposed by SANDAG.
Recently elected Chula Vista Mayor John McCann was blocked by Democratic council members from representing Chula Vista on the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) Board of Directors. Despite his predecessor holding the position, Democratic council member Andrea Cardenas was nominated and voted in by the Democratic-majority city council.
Prior to being elected, McCann mainly campaigned against the mileage tax on vehicles, which is being proposed by SANDAG.
“I believe that the citizens of Chula Vista, especially low income, middle income would be hurt the most in the county by the milage tax and I’m not going to support it,” McCann stated.
A KUSI News tweet said that the mayor “campaigned on opposing ALL tax hikes. But, the Democrats on city council defied the people, and blocked his nomination to the SANDAG Board because of his opposition to the unpopular mileage tax.”
McCann assumed office on Dec. 13, 2022 after receiving 33,992 votes. “It’s about the mileage tax,” he said, noting his lack of support to the SANDAG board.
The apparent act of defiance demonstrated that the will of the people who put him in office was not being honored by the 4-person council. Still, with Chula Vista being one of the largest cities in San Diego County, McCann wanted to make sure their city had a representative at SANDAG.
Cardenas will have the opportunity to vote on the mileage tax and new sales tax SANDAG is proposing. “I oppose those,” the mayor said.
According to the mayor, there was a lot of pressure by the bureaucrats and special interest groups to have support for the tax.
