While some campaigns have been collecting signatures for months or have already gathered enough to get on the ballot, others are ramping up with mere months to go.Unless you have a volunteer army at your disposal, it takes some serious resources to secure the requisite support on a compressed timeline — petition-circulating firms obey the laws of supply and demand too, so the market sets the per-signature price. And money is moving.
A pair of late-surfacing proposals from opposite ends of the political spectrum could dramatically alter the dynamics of this ballot. On the right, a coalition of business and anti-tax organizations are looking to raise the bar for tax increases. On the left, deep-pocketed progressive Joe Sanberg is questing to push California’s minimum wage to $18 and beyond.
The minimum wage proposal was cleared to start collecting signatures this week. Sanberg has said he will spend what it takes to get the measure on the November ballot, arguing the pandemic has exacerbated financial strain on low-income Californians. He also appears to have the powerful California Labor Federation in his corner, with Executive Secretary-Treasurer Art Pulaski releasing a statement lauding a wage boost as “an absolute necessity.” Labor was instrumental in putting California on its current $15 minimum wage trajectory.
