Imperial Beach Voters Reject Prop. S

Updated 1:25 a.m. and 7:00 a.m. Nov. 7

Imperial Beach voters have turned down Proposition S, rejecting the measure after signatures were gathered to place it in on the ballot earleir this year. 

With all 12 local precincts reporting, 59.76 percent of Imperial Beachians voted "no", and 40.24 percent voted "yes."

Elsewhere in San Diego, dispensary ballot measures in Lemon Grove, Del Mar and Solana Beach were also rejected.

If Prop. S had received a majority of "yes" votes, the Safe Access Ordinance of Imperial Beach would have allowed medical marijuana dispensaries in IB and banished restrictive laws passed by City Council last year.

Assistant City Manager Greg Wade estimated that 20 or more dispensaries could be opened in commercial areas across Imperial Beach, while the Yes on S campaign manager Eugene Davidovich said only one or two dispensaries would open.

The Yes on S campaign, headed by members of Americans for Safe Access and Canvass for a Cause, was better funded than the entire Imperial Beach City Council race, and had more than 20 times the amount of money raised by Citizens Against Prop S.

Citizens Against Prop. S was established Sept. 18 by former mayor Diane Rose and former school board member Dee McLean. The no campaign received financial support primarily from former or current elected representatives, including Port Commission Dan Malcolm, Mayor Jim Janney and Councilman Ed Spriggs.

A subsidiary of Pacifica Companies, owner of the new hotel Pier South, also supported Citizens Against Prop. S.