Fact-check: Ontario
Checked 2026-10-28. Claims: 40. Verified: 29. Corrected: 7. Unsupported: 3. Not checked yet: 1. Links fixed: 1 (unused source removed).
| # | Claim (short) | Source checked | Status | Evidence / change |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Measure H: half cent, starts April 1, 2027, general tax, majority vote | County Counsel impartial analysis | Verified | "one-half percent (1/2%)"; "would start being collected on April 1, 2027"; "general tax"; "a majority of the voters" |
| 2 | No end date | County Counsel impartial analysis | Verified | in effect "until repealed by voters at a subsequent election" |
| 3 | About $32.5M a year | County Counsel impartial analysis; SB County Sentinel, Aug 2026 | Verified | "an additional $32,500,000 in annual local funding" |
| 4 | Rate goes from 8.75% to 9.25%, the county's highest | Argument against; City of Ontario, Measure Q | Verified | "raise Ontario's sales tax to 9.25%, giving Ontario the highest sales tax in San Bernardino County"; Measure Q took the rate "from 7.75% to 8.75%" |
| 5 | No oversight committee; Yes side promises independent audits | Impartial analysis; Argument in favor | Verified | analysis mentions neither; "Independent audits and public disclosure ensure every penny is spent as promised" |
| 6 | Measure Q projected at $89–95M a year | SB County Sentinel, Aug 2026; Bond Buyer, Aug 2022 | Verified | "$89 million per year" (Sentinel); "$95 million annually" (Bond Buyer) |
| 7 | Measure Q now brings in about $60M | City of Ontario, Measure Q | Verified | "generates approximately $60 million annually" |
| 8 | Measure Q $1.2B project list (water and sewer $242M, broadband $118M, crime center $41M) | Bond Buyer, Aug 2022 | Verified | "$1.2 billion"; "$242 million"; "$118 million"; "$41 million for a Real Time Crime Center" |
| 9 | Measure Q was "permanent" (table) | City of Ontario; Bond Buyer | Unsupported | neither source states a duration; "permanent" removed, and "second permanent tax" reworded |
| 10 | Council voted 4–0 on Aug 7, Wapner absent | SB County Sentinel, Aug 2026 | Verified | special meeting Friday, Aug 7; the "four members ... who supported"; "Wapner was absent" |
| 11 | Yes argument lists no named signers | Argument in favor | Verified | signed only "Firefighters, Police Officers, Neighbors, and Small Business Owners" |
| 12 | No side points to ONT Field (about $100M) and a $172M land purchase | Argument against; SB County Sentinel | Corrected | the argument against cites the "Ontario Sports Empire, estimated at nearly $500 million" and says Measure Q was promised to "meet the City's needs." Changed to that; the Wikipedia figures were dropped along with their source line |
| 13 | Opponents: VoteNoOnH.com, FairOntario, IE Automobile Dealers Association | Argument against; SB County Sentinel | Corrected | VoteNoOnH.com is on the argument; the Sentinel names FairOntario and says the dealers' association director "warned" about the effect on big-ticket sales. Reworded |
| 14 | General fund about $481M; 65% of sales tax paid by non-residents | SB County Sentinel, Aug 2026 | Verified | "$481.48 million"; "65 percent of every dollar is paid by outside people" |
| 15 | City hasn't identified a deficit | SB County Sentinel, Aug 2026 | Verified | no deficit named; Leon calls the city's position "tenuous" |
| 16 | Leon won't campaign for Measure H | SB County Sentinel, Aug 2026 | Verified | "I'm not going to be campaigning for a tax increase" |
| 17 | FBI searched Wapner's home, the airport and Hagman's home on July 28 | KVCR, Aug 11, 2026 | Verified | "on July 28"; homes of Wapner and Hagman; "a search warrant at Ontario International Airport" |
| 18 | Warrants sealed; no one charged | KVCR, Aug 11; SB County Sentinel, graft probe | Verified | "under seal"; the Sentinel reports no charges. Added the Sentinel tag |
| 19 | Wapner switched from mayor to District 3 | KVCR, Aug 11; SB County Sentinel, Wapner switches races | Verified | withdrew from the mayoral race and is running for District 3 |
| 20 | Leon "led the vote" stripping Wapner of posts | KVCR, Aug 11; SB County Sentinel, Oct 2026 | Corrected | Leon "led calls" at the Aug. 4 meeting; the removals were made later "over Wapner's and Macias's dissenting votes." Reworded both lines |
| 21 | Leon appointed 1998, mayor since 2005 special election | SB County Sentinel, Wapner switches races | Verified | "appointed to the council in 1998"; won the 2005 special election |
| 22 | Leon "re-elected 5 times" | SB County Sentinel; KVCR, Oct 22 | Unsupported | neither source gives a count; removed |
| 23 | Leon leads Hope Chapel | KVCR, Oct 22, 2026 | Corrected | "a pastor at Hope Chapel." Reworded; added the tag |
| 24 | Leon raised $96,449, about 15% of Wapner's | SB County Sentinel, Wapner switches races | Verified | "$96,449"; Wapner "$652,248.08" (15% is our arithmetic) |
| 25 | Leon pushes term limits and contribution caps | KVCR, Oct 22, 2026 | Verified | "Those two things create monsters" |
| 26 | Wapner moved $50K to Macias in 2024 | SB County Sentinel, Oct 2026 | Verified | "$40,000, later augmented by another $10,150.27" |
| 27 | Wapner paid $37,265 for mailers; Macias says she never authorized it | SB County Sentinel, Oct 2026 | Verified | "$37,265.32"; "never authorized it" |
| 28 | Previti committee with $250K from IE Citizens for Government LLC | SB County Sentinel, Oct 2026 | Verified | "a quarter of a million dollars" |
| 29 | Macias elected 2024 with 36.4% in a five-way race | SB County Sentinel, Oct 2026 | Verified | "36.41 percent ... in a five-candidate race" |
| 30 | Macias is 35; community relations manager at Hope Through Housing Foundation, part of NCR | KVCR, Oct 26; SB County Sentinel, Oct 2026 | Verified | "Daisy Macias, 35"; Hope through Housing Foundation (KVCR); "National Community Renaissance" (Sentinel) |
| 31 | NCR founder Jeff Burum is a major local donor | KVCR, Oct 26; SB County Sentinel, Oct 2026 | Unsupported | not in either source; removed. At-a-glance changed from "a major local developer" to National Community Renaissance |
| 32 | Macias "declined" KVCR interview requests | KVCR, Oct 26, 2026 | Corrected | "did not follow up with multiple requests for an interview." Changed to "didn't respond" |
| 33 | Macias questionnaire: public safety, homelessness, growth; Wapner endorsed her | KVCR, Oct 26; KVCR voter guide | Verified | "public safety, homelessness and city growth"; "endorsed Macias" |
| 34 | Kizzee: protect the city like he's protected "a local shopping center" | KVCR voter guide, Ontario mayor | Corrected | headline: "protect Ontario like he's protected Grove Center"; the page doesn't say what Grove Center is. Changed to "Grove Center" |
| 35 | Lalama: ending new warehouse development | KVCR voter guide, Ontario mayor | Verified | "aims to put an end to warehouse development" |
| 36 | Wapner $3.9M career, $652K in 18 months, "the most of any local official in the county" | SB County Sentinel, graft probe; Wapner switches races | Corrected | "$3,875,936" since 1994, "the most prolific fundraiser among elected municipal officeholders in San Bernardino County history"; $652,248.08 for Jan 2025 to June 2026, with no ranking. Moved the ranking to the career total |
| 37 | Searched his home and attorney's office; "I don't believe I am the suspect..."; resigned all posts incl. airport board president | SB County Sentinel, Wapner switches races; Wapner resigns posts | Verified | the home and office of his attorney were searched; the quote, said at the Aug. 4 meeting; resigning "as both a member of the Ontario International Airport Authority Board ... and that panel's president" |
| 38 | Sentinel reports the FBI is looking at airport land deals and contractor donations | SB County Sentinel, graft probe | Verified (secondary) | a proposed sale of 198 acres was reportedly examined; no-bid contractors "were donors of substantial amounts" |
| 39 | District 3: Lampkin, Jonathan Hagman withdrew Aug 4; District 2: Valencia (former councilman), Martinez, no incumbent | KVCR, Aug 11; SB County Sentinel, Aug 7 | Verified | Hagman "pulling out" on Aug. 4; "No incumbent on the council lives in the Second District"; "former City Councilman Ruben Valencia and Stephanie Martinez" |
| 40 | First district election for District 3 (districts since 2022); Jonathan Hagman is Curt Hagman's son; Wapner's union endorsements; Lampkin background | City of Ontario; SB County Sentinel, Wapner switches races; Lampkin campaign | Not checked yet (partly verified) | the Sentinel confirms this is "the first year" for Districts 2 and 3 and names AFSCME, SEIU and the police and fire associations. The 2022 date, the Hagman family tie and the Lampkin page are not checked yet |