Essay: Sacramento voters rejected Measure A’s giveaways and political patronage for a reason

ECOS Board Member Brad Banan wrote the following article published in the Sacramento News and Review on November 18, 2022.

By standard political measures, a proposed Sacramento County transportation tax should have won approval in this month’s election. Supporters had a truckload of campaign cash and the backing of the political establishment, among other things.

They spent more than $4 million on Measure A. Opponents spent less than $7,000.

And yet, just like voters nationwide rejected the narrative of an impending “red wave,” so it appears that local voters bucked conventional wisdom and nixed Measure A. As of Nov. 15, 54 percent of voters were opposed to the measure, leading by a margin of 22,000 votes. The measure would have added a half percent to the county’s sales tax for 40 years, raising it to 9.25 percent in Sacramento.

So why did the transportation tax fail?

Click here to keep reading.

Give to ECOS for GivingTuesday

GivingTuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. GivingTuesday was created in 2012 as a simple idea: a day that encourages people to do good. Since then, it has grown into a year-round global movement that inspires hundreds of millions of people to give, collaborate, and celebrate generosity.

Join the movement and give to ECOS – each Tuesday and every day – whether it’s some of your time, a donation, or the power of your voice in your local community.

It’s a simple idea: whether it’s making someone smile, helping a neighbor or stranger out, showing up for an issue or people we care about, or giving some of what we have to those who need our help, every act of generosity counts and everyone has something to contribute toward building the better world we all want to live in.

Here’s a year-end letter and report on our activities for 2022.

ECOS Comments on Sacramento City Transportation Priorities Plan (TPP)

On November 15, 2022, ECOS submitted a letter to the City of Sacramento regarding their currently proposed Transportation Priorities Plan (TPP).

ECOS supports the currently proposed Transportation Priorities Plan (TPP) and the level of public engagement it represents. We ask the City Council to approve the TPP as the first step and move quickly to the following: The High Priority projects should be packaged separately. A supporting narrative should be written to put these projects in the larger planning context of the City and region, to describe how they further the goals of the Sacramento BLUEPRINT, the required reduction of greenhouse gas emissions following SB375, and CARB’s emissions reduction target for the SACOG region; and how they improve mobility, safety, and quality of life for Sacramento citizens.

The package, the narrative, and validated cost estimate (we understand it is about $250M) should be taken to Federal Highway Administration and the Federal Transit Administration, to ask for advice in accessing federal funding such as Inflation Reduction Act funds to proceed with the work. Let us know if we can help in this.

Thank you for considering our support of the TPP and our suggestion for follow-on steps.

Recording and Presentation Posted for the First Water Bank Stakeholder Forum

The Regional Water Authority (RWA) has launched a public engagement process for the Sacramento Regional Water Bank, an innovative groundwater storage program utilizing the expansive reservoir under the urban core for storing water during wet times for use during dry times.

Materials and the presentation from the first Stakeholder Forum, held October 26, 2022, are now available online and can be found here.

The goal of the Water Bank public engagement process is to share information, answer questions and gather input about how a Water Bank could be operated and expanded in the Sacramento region.

The first Stakeholder Forum explored key topic areas such as water sources and management in the Sacramento region; projected impacts of climate change on the region’s water resources; how water banking works; how a Water Bank could help the region adapt to climate change; and other topics. Future Stakeholder Forums will cover Water Bank principles and governance, defining and refining operational alternatives, and scoping for an environmental analysis.

RWA is planning several Stakeholder Forums over the next 15 months with the next Forum expected to take place in early 2023. In the meantime, feel free to reach out to the Project Team to learn more about the Water Bank and ask questions.

You can reach the Project Team at waterbankinfo[at]rwah2o[dot]org.

Updates about the engagement process will be posted to rwah2o.org/waterbankengage.

Measure A, Not OK

November 1, 2022

Measure A is a 40-year half-cent sales tax increase that would cost Sacramento County taxpayers $8.5 billion — while failing to deliver on its basic promises. It was written by special interests, for special interests

What are the problems with Measure A? Check out the Measure A, Not Ok website at https://measureanotok.org/.

You can watch their videos on Youtube at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCauvi5dp1idaph1cISHBZmQ.

Here are their social media accounts.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MeasureANotOK

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/measureanotok

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/measureanotok/