SACRAMENTO — The California Democratic Party on Sunday endorsed Proposition 40, a November ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5 percent tax on the net worth of the state's roughly 200 billionaires — a vote that exposed deep divisions inside the party and put its official machinery in direct conflict with Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom has publicly opposed the measure. So have influential labor unions across the state, making the executive board's narrow approval a rare rebuke of the party's most powerful figures.
The endorsement did not come easily. Earlier attempts to back the measure or remain neutral both failed before the board finally voted in favor Sunday, a sequence that laid bare how sharply California Democrats are split over wealth redistribution.
The party's resolutions committee had voted Saturday to back the wealth tax, giving the measure's supporters early momentum heading into Sunday's full board vote.
Not all labor is opposed. Suzanne Jimenez, chief of staff for SEIU-UHW, said her organization backs the measure. "We are proud to stand alongside California Democrats in fighting for passage of the billionaire tax," she said.
The campaign for Proposition 40 plans to use the state party's endorsement in outreach to voters, lending the measure credibility among Democrats ahead of November.
The split puts the party's official stance against its sitting governor and key union allies — a dynamic that could complicate down-ballot campaigning for other Democratic candidates this fall.
