If you want proof that every vote counts, check out the results of the Jefferson Parish School Board’s property tax proposition on Dec. 7. The proposed 10.89-mill tax would have given public school teachers a significant pay raise, but parish voters rejected it by a scant 319 votes, according to complete but unofficial returns.
That’s just over one vote per precinct.
The difference between passage and failure came down to Election Day turnout and proponents’ inability to garner support from the Jefferson business community.
Had it passed, the new millage would have increased pay for certified public school teachers in Jefferson by $8,300 and allowed the school board to offer the highest starting salary in the highly competitive New Orleans area. That’s more than enough fodder for a successful campaign, as shown by the results from early voting.
Clancy DuBos
Jefferson voters who cast ballots during the early voting period supported the proposition by a comfortable 1,308-vote margin. In most elections, the early vote telegraphs what to expect on Election Day.
Not this time.
What went wrong?
Two things: As expected, Election Day turnout was very low, which made it easier for opponents to defeat the tax; and supporters of the proposition failed to turn out their voters in sufficient numbers in precincts where the tax passed. A look at precinct-by-precinct returns drives home that point in stark terms.
Overall turnout was a paltry 12.8%, but that doesn’t tell the whole story.
The average turnout in precincts that rejected the millage was roughly 14%. In precincts that supported the tax, turnout averaged around 7% — and in some of them, it was less than 5%. That’s pathetic.
Geographically, the millage passed on the West Bank with almost 53% of the vote, but it failed on the more populous East Bank, where more than 56% voted against it.
The easiest thing to do in politics is kill a tax proposal. Passing a tax, especially a new one, is always difficult. Without significant support from a large coalition of business, labor and community interests, even scant opposition can be enough to derail a tax proposition.
Timing is also an important factor because it can dramatically affect turnout.
Several of those factors sealed the fate of the school board’s proposition. The timing was dicey, because turnout is always low in December elections.
But, more importantly, the proposition also failed to garner support from the parish’s two main business groups — the Jefferson Chamber of Commerce and the Jefferson Business Council. Both groups are trusted by voters and able to provide crucial financial backing in support of local propositions through their political action committees, but both took no position on the proposed millage.
The nonpartisan Bureau of Governmental Research supported the measure, but BGR’s support doesn’t come with money.
The Jefferson Federation of Teachers did its part by leading the effort to convince voters to support the tax. Union members distributed flyers in carpool lanes and canvassed door-to-door — but without additional help from the business community, teachers’ efforts weren’t enough.
Several board members have acknowledged their failure to make the case among voters as well as business leaders. They vow to try again.
They should. And next time, they’ll know exactly where they need to do better.