Would voters back a county-led sales tax hike? San Diego County just hired these political consultants to find out.

Even as labor unions pursue a citizens’ initiative to get a countywide half-cent sales tax increase on the November ballot, San Diego County is angling for a possible hike of its own and mulling whether they could sell voters on one, a new contract shows.

The county last week awarded a six-figure contract to a team of campaign consultants, lobbyists and pollsters tasked with laying the early groundwork for a potential countywide sales tax measure on the November ballot.

The question they hope to answer: If the county put such a measure to voters, how likely are they to support it?

Democratic Supervisors Terra Lawson-Remer and Monica Montgomery Steppe, who sit on a subcommittee tasked with finding new revenue for the county, commissioned the $320,000 contract.

The subcommittee originally put it out to bid in October, according to county contracting records. Only one bidder responded; it was awarded the contract Friday.

Leading the team awarded the contract is Ironwood Public Affairs, a firm helmed Victor Aviña, a former county staffer turned lobbyist and public relations specialist.

Also attached is Amplify Campaigns, a prominent local campaign consulting firm that has worked for the campaigns of numerous county officials, including Supervisor Paloma Aguirre and District Attorney Summer Stephan.

Amplify has worked for the county before. In 2024, it was attached to a $383,000 contract the Sheriff’s Office awarded lobbying firm...