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Serious, Funny Ads Target San Diego Ballot Measures C, D

The proposed downtown Chargers stadium is shown in this undated rendering.
San Diego Chargers
The proposed downtown Chargers stadium is shown in this undated rendering.

Serious, Funny Ads Target San Diego Ballot Measures C, D
The San Diego County Taxpayer's Association unveiled its no on C and D commercials Thursday.

The San Diego County Taxpayer's Association launched a media campaign to defeat measures C and D. Both of the San Diego ballot measures call for major increases in the city's tourist tax and change how tourism marketing is funded.

Measure C creates a funding stream for a downtown San Diego football stadium and convention center project. Measure D creates a framework for development of key properties in Mission Valley and downtown San Diego.

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The web and radio ads are aimed at helping voters make informed decisions.

"Voters do not have the time to research all of these ballot measures. And there's a ton of them on the ballot this year. They trust the Taxpayer's Association to do that careful analysis for them and we've been doing this for over 70 years," said Haney Hong, president of the Taxpayer's Association.

The radio ads will start running on the air next week.

Meanwhile, Measure C opponents got a boost from Tony Hawk this week.

RELATED: ‘It’s Not A Thing!’: Bill Simmons, Tony Hawk Knock Chargers ‘Convadium’

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The San Diego skateboarder filmed a satirical spot for HBO. It mocks the Chargers' plan to build a stadium and convention center complex downtown. It aired as part of the Bill Simmons show "Any Given Wednesday."

"You know what I've never seen? A convadium. It's not a real thing. And things that aren't real aren't worth over a billion dollars," Hawk said in the tongue-in-cheek ad.

Simmons characterized the effort to build a stadium as an idea from a spoiled rich guy trying to take advantage of San Diegans.