The city of San Diego was not witness to the incumbent purges seen elsewhere in California, most notably in the defeats of San Franciscos mayor and Los Angeles Countys district attorney. But if city leaders think this weeks election results were a pat on the back from contented San Diegans, theyre deluding themselves. As of late Friday afternoon, Mayor Todd Gloria, City Council President Sean Elo-Rivera and Councilman Stephen Whitburn all were held under 60% of the vote despite challengers who entered the race with little name recognition, money or institutional support. Its telling that Glorias opponent — San Diego police officer Larry Turner — briefly seemed like a legitimate threat to unseat the mayor after he began receiving substantial donations from wealthy Gloria skeptics. For someone as scantly qualified as Turner to get 45% of the vote shows that Gloria was likely doomed against a better, more conventional candidate.

Now attention has shifted to the fate of Measure E, the 1 cent increase in the sales tax charged within city limits that would provide $400 million in additional annual funding — an 18 percent boost — for any perceived city need. With about 390,000 votes counted, it trails by 7,032 votes. But citing recent voting patterns, some key supporters express confidence it will pass.

If that happens, Gloria has repeatedly vowed to honor his campaign promises and use the funding in a focused way to address the citys $9 billion-plus in backlogged infrastructure needs, especially for stormwater improvements. But an Oct. 14 U-T report — which described a majority of council members publicly salivating over the non-essential programs the new revenue could be used for — undercuts this narrative. So does the last 30 years of city government mismanagement. Trusting City Hall is asking for trouble.

It is for this reason that if Measure E passes, taxpayers should begin an immediate effort to qualify a measure for the 2026 ballot that sunsets the sales tax hike no later than 2031. If elected leaders took this possibility seriously, they are far more likely to handle the revenue surge responsibly — knowing it could disappear if they dont.

This appears to have happened in Chula Vista, where voters this week readily approved a 10-year extension of a sales tax hike first approved in 2016 after seeing the evidence the extra revenue had been used properly. San Diegans need this same protection.