San Diego City Council candidate Ray Ellis said Wednesday he opposes raising the hotel tax to pay for a new football stadium downtown.
“We must put the priorities of our 1.4 million residents ahead of the interests of billionaires seeking taxpayer subsidies,” said Ellis, who is running to succeed Sherri Lightner in District 1.
“I do not support using public money for a Chargers stadium, especially while our City struggles to maintain our roads and staff our police department,” he said.
In a plan that has been widely leaked, but not officially presented, the Chargers seek to raise the hotel tax by from 12.5 percent to 16.5 percent to pay for a $1.8 billion stadium and convention facility near Petco Park.
Ellis said the Chargers plan would hurt San Diego’s tourism economy by increasing hotel taxes to near the highest level in the country, and reducing the revenue used to market San Diego. Ellis also believes the Chargers are running out the clock on San Diego and are not genuinely interested in building a stadium.
“The Chargers are trying to prop up their stadium tax with a convention center annex that already has been rejected by Comic-Con and the San Diego Convention Center,” Ellis said. “Voters will see that. Most of the people I talk to in La Jolla, Carmel Valley, University City and elsewhere — they want their roads fixed, and they lost patience with the Chargers a long time ago.”
Mayor Kevin Faulconer has proposed using bond money to renovate Qualcomm Stadium in Mission Valley, but the Chargers prefer a downtown location.
