Valley Healthcare Foundation President Michael Elliot created a "Save Our Local Hospitals" campaign committee on July 30, a week before the county board formally approved placing a partial-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot. Fair Political Practices Commission filings list the measure as "TBD" and show the committee existed prior to public county disclosures. One week after the supervisors' unanimous Aug. 7 vote, the county physicians' union contributed $250,000 to the committee. Elliot said foundation assets total $18.3 million and argued temporary local revenue is necessary to avoid potential hospital closures over the next five years.
While the " Save Our Local Hospitals" campaign in support of the partial-cent sales tax increase was only recently revealed in an Aug. 22 social media post, following weeks of county-hosted press and community meetings, Fair Political Practices Commission forms show the organization was created by Valley Healthcare Foundation President Michael Elliot on July 30. Elliot wrote "Sales Tax Measure in Santa Clara County: TBD (To Be Determined)" under the list of proposed measures-though county residents were not privy to the same information until after the supervisors' Aug. 7 special meeting that placed the measure on the November ballot.
Elliot said he could not remember when he informed Santa Clara County Executive James Williams of his campaign, but said he does not believe he had any influence on the county leadership's decisions. "James is certainly aware of a committee existing now," Elliot said. "That's not a conversation you have with a county executive, that you're forming a political committee."
The Valley Healthcare Foundation had $18.3 million in assets according to the nonprofit's latest publicly accessible financial records. Elliot said everyone working in the county's healthcare system knew a sales tax ballot measure would be proposed, which is why he launched the campaign ahead of any disclosures from the county. "There is really no scenario where we go without a temporary source of local revenue, we get through these next five years without having to potentially close hospitals in an emergency,"
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