Measure X, other sales tax increases win passage in several Contra Costa races

Voters in Contra Costa County, and three of its cities, approved new sales taxes or increases of existing taxes — tax measures local electeds say are all the more important because of the economic ravages the COVID-19 pandemic has brought to local budgets.

Based on semi-official election night totals in Contra Costa County, which operates its own hospital and health care program that has been stretched thin by the pandemic, voters approved Measure X, a countywide half-cent sales tax measure, by a 58.7 to 41.3 percent margin.