I am a NO on Los Angeles city Measure TC and Measure TT.
But first, a quick Civics 101—because folks love to throw these terms around and hope you don’t ask questions.
A ballot measure is something local—city or county—that voters decide on directly. A proposition is statewide. Same idea (we vote on it), different level of government.
These two are measures.
City of Los Angeles.
Not Compton. Not Inglewood. Not unincorporated Los Angeles County.
The city of Los Angeles.
If you don’t see them on your ballot, you are not in the city of Los Angeles.
They each need a simple majority—or 50 plus one—to pass.
Now—let’s talk about what they actually do.
Measure TT would raise Los Angeles’ hotel and short-term rental tax from 14% to 16% through the 2028 Olympics, then drop it slightly to 15% after—bringing in tens of millions annually for city services like emergency response, streets, and parks.
Measure TC is its little sidekick. Same energy, just a different lane. It makes sure that the 14% tax also applies to the extra fees people get hit with when booking online—cleaning fees, booking fees, all the surprise charges waiting for you at checkout.
And on paper, I get it. The pitch is cute: millions of tourists are coming for the Olympics, so let them help fund the city.
Cool. Love that for them.
Angelenos however are not tourists, we live here. We already fund this city every single day—through rent, gas, groceries, parking tickets, blood, sweat, tears, and whatever new fee they come up with next. If this is about tourism, then structure it like it’s about tourism, Meaning: if you have a California ID or driver’s license with a Los Angeles address, you should not be paying this additional tax. Period.
Stop playing in our faces.
Now let’s talk about the part folks keep skipping over.
Too many people in Los Angeles are living in motels because rent is out of control, Not by choice—by necessity.
I know this firsthand.
I’ve lived it.
And anybody who has ever had to live like that knows the truth: you’re paying $500 to $800 a week for conditions that wouldn’t pass a basic inspection—roach-infested, rat-infested, dirty as hell—just to keep a roof over your head.
So when you raise hotel and motel taxes, you’re not just taxing tourists. You’re raising the cost of survival for people already hanging on by a thread.
A whole lot of people are out here scraping together the last of what they have—day to day, week to week—just to pay for a room.
No subsidy.
No program.
Just survival.
And these measures hit them.
And don’t think Measure TC doesn’t touch that either.
Because what a lot of folks don’t realize is that some of these motels require you to book online. Not all—but enough. Which means those extra fees TC is targeting? Yeah… those get taxed too. So now the same people already paying more than rent for a weekly stay are getting hit again on the backend.
That’s not policy. That’s piling on.
Had these measures included real exemptions—like for unhoused Angelenos, working people stuck in motel living, or even just a basic carve-out for residents—I might feel differently.
But they didn’t.
So no, I’m not voting for anything that quietly squeezes more out of people who already can’t afford to be here.
Tourists can fund the Olympics.
Angelenos shouldn’t have to subsidize their stay.
And I just want to say that I appreciate Councilmember Tim McKosker for getting back to me when I reached out with questions about these measures.
But at the end of the day, it’s a no on Measure TC and Measure TT for me.
About Jasmyne
Jasmyne Cannick is a political strategist who has worked in Congress, the California Legislature, and for multiple mayors and a City Council president. She is also a delegate in the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, which means yes — she actually reads this stuff.
Her voter guide is rooted in one simple question: how does this impact regular people? Especially poor and working-class people, Black communities, communities of color, renters, and folks already trying to survive in a city and state that keeps getting more expensive by the hour.
Known for her sharp analysis, side-eyes, and low tolerance for political nonsense, Jasmyne breaks down races, measures, and candidates with context, honesty, justice, and common sense — not vibes, celebrity endorsements, or campaign fluff.
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