California Association of Realtors Funds $10,000 Campaign Against Piedmont Measure GG Transfer Tax

Voters in the City of Piedmont are receiving a wave of direct mailers, automated text messages, and digital advertisements urging them to reject Measure GG on the November ballot, financed by an outside political action committee backed by the California Association of Realtors. Operating under the banner "Neighbors for an Affordable Piedmont," the committee has launched a coordinated media blitz against the proposed municipal real property transfer tax adjustment. Reporting by the Piedmont Exedra and an October 15 campaign finance disclosure analysis by East Bay Insiders journalist Steve Tavares revealed that the state realtors association has spent $10,000 on the opposition effort so far.

Measure GG was placed before the electorate by the Piedmont City Council to generate dedicated local revenue for aging municipal facilities and public infrastructure maintenance across the Alameda County enclave. When the formal window for submitting official voter guide arguments closed at City Hall earlier this year, no opposing ballot argument was filed against the measure. Measure GG has garnered broad local endorsements from current and former Piedmont mayors and councilmembers, civic advisory committees, neighborhood volunteers, and the editorial board of the Piedmont Exedra.

Public social media records show that the "Neighbors for an Affordable Piedmont" Facebook page was created on October 6, 2026, and began running paid sponsored advertisements targeting local zip codes despite listing zero page followers and zero accounts followed. Local real estate professional Julie Gardner noted in community correspondence that both the National Association of Realtors and the California Association of Realtors maintain a blanket institutional policy opposing any local ballot measure that adds transaction costs to buying or selling a residential home, regardless of the specific municipal circumstances.

Civic observers across Piedmont, Oakland, and neighboring Lamorinda communities noted that statewide industry trade associations frequently fund late-stage independent expenditure campaigns in municipal tax elections across the Bay Area. Supporters of the measure contend that one-time property transfer fees paid during home sales protect general public services and park facilities without raising annual parcel taxes on longtime fixed-income seniors.

Registered voters in Piedmont can read the impartial city attorney analysis, full ordinance text, and official ballot arguments for Measure GG through the municipal elections portal at piedmont.ca.gov or by contacting the City Clerk's office at 120 Vista Avenue at (510) 420-3040. Campaign finance filings remain open for public inspection ahead of Election Day in November.