That's how the LA Times headlined today's story about the possibility of a campaign to overturn the two-thirds vote requirement for local sales taxes for transportation. Denny Zane told reporter Ari Bloomekatz, that there are many reasons for the defeat of Measure J -- which would have extended the Measure R sales tax for transportation 30 more years to allow LA Metro to finance construction now when interest rates are at historic lows and unemployment is high. Reasons include lower voter turnout compared with four years ago, but Denny laid the blame squarely on late anti-tax activist Howard Jarvis and Proposition 13, which mandated two-thirds approval for local tax increases. "Losing Measure J by 0.56 [of a percentage point] even as it won 66.11% of the popular vote is a painful and, frankly, appalling reminder that the ghost of Howard Jarvis still hovers over California," Zane told the Times. "Only in California would 66% of the vote be a defeat instead of a landslide victory."

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