When I lived in California and was a LEO, I tried to tell people that it was a scam; they would not cut police and fire. Darn few listened. I always voted against the tax hikes.
As I suggested, the CA electorate is mostly, though not absolutely, brainwashed. They fall pretty reliably for the nurses’,cops’ and firefighter unions’ “dog whistle” of loss of those services if the voters don’t do what the unions want