Cruz

But Santa Cruz is the first one to institute a new one since legislators and business leaders struck a deal that was signed by the previous governor that prohibited local governments from imposing taxes on soda until 2031.

“Santa Cruz demonstrates that when presented with the facts about the dangers of sugary drinks, voters see through the soda industry’s multi-million-dollar efforts to deceive them with misinformation,” Nancy Brown, chief executive of the American Heart Assn., said in a recent statement.

“The American Heart Association was proud to support the ballot measure and remains committed to the city of Santa Cruz in this years-long David vs. Goliath effort against the beverage industry.”

“Santa Cruz is implementing a tax that violates a popular statewide ban on grocery taxes and that was opposed by a broad coalition of small businesses, progressive leaders, labor unions, and social justice organizations as an unfair burden on working families already struggling with record-high prices,” he wrote in an email.

Santa Cruz City Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson, who was one of the proponents of the soda tax, told Lookout Santa Cruz after the measure passed in November that the campaign was framed as a battle between Santa Cruz and the American Beverage Assn.