El Camino Health Passes 92% Term Limits as Gilroy Hikes Hotel Tax

Healthcare district governance, municipal lodging revenue, and artificial intelligence security acquisitions are reshaping the South Bay and Peninsula landscape. Across Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Sunnyvale, and neighboring communities, voters overwhelmingly approved Measure S with 92% support, establishing term limits for the board of the El Camino Healthcare District, the public agency founded in 1956 that oversees El Camino Hospital.

Out of more than 100 ballot items across Santa Clara County, Measure S recorded the highest vote share of any contested measure despite $0 in reported campaign spending and no formal opposition argument. Placed on the ballot in May by a 3-2 board vote—with board member Julia Miller in favor and John Zoglin (first elected in 2008) and George Ting initially dissenting before Ting backed the formal argument in June—the measure caps directors at four full 4-year terms (16 years total) for terms beginning after December 1, 2026. Santa Clara University political science assistant professor Vivien Leung noted that the landslide aligns with a University of California, Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies survey showing 70% voter support for 8-year local term limits.

In southern Santa Clara County, Gilroy voters approved Measure B with 65% support, authorizing the City Council to raise the city's transient occupancy tax from 9% (set in 1983 after opening at 5% in 1971) to 11% on January 1, 2027, with council authority to increase the rate up to 13% after 60 days' notice following a public meeting. City Administrator Matt Morley and Councilmember Terence Fugazzi, who ran in 2024 on expanding city revenue, noted the hotel tax increase is projected to generate $300,000 annually for the general fund at 11% (enough to fund 2 police officers) or $700,000 annually at 13%, while remaining below the 12% rate in San Jose and 14% in Los Altos, Milpitas, and Palo Alto (compared with 10% in unincorporated Santa Clara County and 11% in Morgan Hill). Comfort Inn Gilroy owner Ray Vasant urged the council to keep the rate at 11% so hotels stay competitive with cities 15 minutes away.

Meanwhile, in enterprise cybersecurity, Palo Alto Networks is in talks to acquire AI agent security startup Clutch Security for $500 million in cash plus milestone payouts—a deal that would mark Palo Alto Networks' 7th acquisition this year following Console ($500 million in September), Embrace ($325 million), Chronosphere ($2.95 billion), and Koi ($231 million). Three-year-old Clutch Security, which raised a $20 million Series A round at an $85 million valuation in January 2025 led by Lightspeed and SignalFire, is approaching $10 million in annual recurring revenue, valuing the deal at 50 times annual recurring revenue alongside rival deals such as Cyera's $1 billion purchase of Oasis Security, Cisco's $400 million acquisition of Astrix, and Upwind rejecting a DataDog offer at 40 times annual recurring revenue.