Campaign Over Soda Tax Bubbles Up

Campaign Over Soda Tax Bubbles Up
DES PLAINES, IL - JUNE 13: A heavyset man passes cartons of Coca-Cola displayed in a grocery June 13, 2006 in Des Plaines, Illinois. Doctors at the annual American Medical Association meeting in Chicago this week have called for a 'fat tax' on sugary soft drinks to help fight obesity in the U.S. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)
DES PLAINES, IL - JUNE 13: A heavyset man passes cartons of Coca-Cola displayed in a grocery June 13, 2006 in Des Plaines, Illinois. Doctors at the annual American Medical Association meeting in Chicago this week have called for a 'fat tax' on sugary soft drinks to help fight obesity in the U.S. (Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images)

RICHMOND, Calif.—This working-class city northeast of San Francisco has emerged as the next battleground between business and health advocates over a municipal tax on sugar-sweetened drinks.

In May, Richmond's City Council agreed to put a measure on the November ballot to charge businesses a penny for every ounce of those beverages they sell in the city. If it passes, it would be the first city tax of its kind in the nation and the first to be approved by voters.

The measure has pitted a beverage association representing soft-drink makers like Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo Inc., as well as local merchants, against Jeff Ritterman, a 63-year-old city councilman behind the tax.

Through grass-roots campaigning at community centers and drugstores, each side is trying to sway Richmond's residents for their votes. Meanwhile, health advocates from organizations such as Yale University's Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity are saying the measure could help address the nation's obesity problem.

Popular in the Community

Close

What's Hot