By Jorge Casuso

Former Santa Monica mayor Denny Zane retired this month after nearly two decades heading Move LA, the non-profit behind countywide ballot measures that are generating nearly $4 billion a year from tax increases.

The tax measures initiated during Zane's tenure as executive director and chief strategist have funded a "massive expansion" of LA County's transit system and helped fight homelessness and build affordable housing countywide, Move LA officials said.

In a statement this week announcing his retirement on July 4, the non-profit organization Zane founded said he has created "a lasting impact that will serve Angelenos in perpetuity."

"His work has built an enduring bridge between the labor movement, tenant rights groups, affordable housing advocates, and environmental organizations," Move LA officials said. "This may be his most important legacy."

As Co-Chair and founder of Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights (SMRR), Zane said he expects to focus more on local politics, starting with the November 3 elections.

"I'll be able to get back and become more involved," Zane said. "I'll definitely be ramping up my involvement and play a bigger role in the campaign."

SMRR, which holds a 6 to 1 super-majority on the City Council, will make its endorsements during a membership convention on August 9.

After serving three terms on the City Council from 1981 to 1992 -- where he advocated for affordable housing and environmental policies -- Zane expanded his efforts countywide.

In 1994, he served as executive director of the Coalition for Clean Air, where Move LA said he "played a pivotal role in creating the Carl Moyer Program, a landmark state initiative providing essential funding for clean alternatives to diesel trucks."

Move LA stemmed from the Subway to the Sea Coalition Zane helped organize in early 2007 to support Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa's plan to expand LA's rail system.

"Over the course of 2007, I had come to the conclusion that we could not win a two-third vote on a countywide measure unless it was funding a countywide transit program," Zane recalled.

"The coalition we were building convened a conference to convince Metro boardmembers and staff to try to go to the November 2008 ballot with a countywide sales tax measure."

Measure R, which was overwhelmingly approved by LA County voters in November 2008, and Measure M, approved in 2016, "established over $2 billion per year in long term funding streams for a massive expansion of Los Angeles County’s transit system," Move LA said.

Measure R, a half-cent sales tax placed on the ballot by Metro, will last until 2039 and cost taxpayers an estimated $40 billion for roadway and transit projects, according to Ballotpedia.

Eight years later, another half-cent sales tax spearheaded by Move LA was placed by Metro on the ballot that will increase the sales tax to one percent on July 1, 2039, when Measure R expires. The sales Tax has no expiration date.

One year after the approval of Measure M, Move LA launched a campaign for Measure H, a quarter-cent countywide sales tax for 10 years approved by voters in 2017 to fund homeless services and prevention.

The effort continued with Measure A, a second countywide sales tax hike approved by voters in 2024 that continued to expand affordable housing and homelessness reduction services.

The half-cent sales tax repealed and replaced Measure H, which was set to expire in 2027. Measure A took effect on April 1, 2025.

Use of the money generated by the tax has come under fire after the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) failed to account for much of its spending.

On July 1, Los Angeles County shifted some $300 million in Measure A annual funding and transferred control to the County's new Department of Homeless Services and Housing.

The move came after LAHSA's Finance Committee revealed that the agency can't pay its bills and is refusing help with its day-to-day operations.

In addition to the Countywide sales tax measures, Move LA spearheaded Measure ULA in the City of Los Angeles, a real estate transfer tax hike approved by LA voters in 2022 to fund affordable housing and homelessness prevention.

In the same election, Santa Monica voters approved a similar ballot initiative, Measure GS, that raised the real estate transfer tax by $56 for every $1,000 on property sales of more than $8 million.

Zane ran the campaign for GS, which will fund local public schools, affordable housing and homelessness prevention with no expiration date.

As of February, the local measure, which has been unsuccessfully challenged by developers, had generated more than $79 million.