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.

Vote No on Measure A

Dear ECOS Community,

Please share this message with your neighbors, friends, and colleagues. Measure A, on the ballot this November, is presented as a “citizens’ initiative” and therefore requires only a 50.1 percent majority to pass. It is critical that you vote NO on Measure A.

Measure A circumvents the Sacramento BLUEPRINT, California’s climate targets, and federal transportation planning law. It contains roadway capacity expansion projects and a new rural expressway that will induce car travel and sprawl development and pull resources from transit and transit-based development.

Under Measure A, SACOG concluded in its May 2022 analysis, “the region would likely fall short of meeting its state-mandated 19 percent per capita greenhouse gas reduction target by nearly 2 percent,” which is a ten percent shortfall. SACOG also found that failing to meet the mandate “would jeopardize the region’s ability to compete for state transportation and housing funding programs.”

If Measure A passes, the region will take a disastrous step backward, worsening existing economic inequalities and prospects for climate adaptation.

The Measure A proponents falsely say the measure will combat climate change.

• Bill Magavern, Policy Director of the Coalition for Clean Air summed it up: “Don’t be fooled. Despite promising to reduce congestion and improve air quality, Measure A will have the opposite effect by spending taxpayer dollars on the construction of numerous highway expansions throughout the region. The Coalition for Clean Air opposes Measure A because it is a threat to the air quality of the Sacramento region, which already suffers from unhealthy levels of air pollution, and would also result in increased congestion, global warming impacts, and sprawl.”

• In CARB’s October 10, 2022 letter to Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Sing-Allen, Steven Cliff, the CARB Executive Officer, wrote “The combined set of projects in this $8.5 billion measure would be inconsistent with the statewide effort to lessen the impacts of climate change.”

• Mike McKeever, former Executive Director of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG), commented, “The most recent mailer from the Measure’s proponents, which claims that Measure A fights climate change, is the exact opposite of the truth. Measure A proponents are so desperate for their $8.5 billion tax that they are spending millions of dollars to spread falsehoods.”

The League of Women Voters, Sierra Club, Sacramento Taxpayers Association, United Latinos, Sacramento Sister Circle, Save the American River Association, and dozens of other organizations oppose Measure A. For more information and a complete list, see MeasureANotOK.org.

VOTE NO ON MEASURE A

Additional references:

• Oct. 27, 2022: Backers of a Sacramento sales tax hike are lying to voters. They should reject Measure A. By Marcos Breton of The Sacramento Bee’s Editorial Board. https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/article267915392.html

• Oct. 20, 2022: How special interests exploited a loophole and put a Sacramento County tax hike on the ballot. By Yousef Baig of The Sacramento Bee. https://www.sacbee.com/article267335212.html

• October 10, 2022: Essay: Sacramento journalist breaks down why Measure A would fund new suburban highways, increase greenhouse gases and super-charge sprawl. By Sacramento News & Review Staff, Brad Branan

• Oct. 10, 2022: Sacramento County voters must reject Measure A, an $8.5 billion gift to special interests. By Sacramento Bee Editorial Board. Also Video on Measure A with former SACOG CEO Mike McKeever, Sierra Club Sacramento Chair Barbara Leary, Sacramento Taxpayers Association President Bruce Lee. https://www.sacbee.com/opinion/election-endorsements/article266980846.html

Sincerely,

Susan Herre

President of the ECOS Board of Directors

Vote No on Measure A – Watch Tim’s and Mike’s Video

Tim Irvine of Environmental Democrats of Sacramento County, and Mike McKeever, former CEO of the Sacramento Area Council of Governments (SACOG) react to a new flyer released about Measure A.

Measure A would cause sprawl development to surge by funding roadway capacity expansion projects (including a new expressway); this would prevent our region from meeting State and federal air quality and climate mandates — thereby making us ineligible for their transportation and housing funds. Measure A represents the opposite of the SACRAMENTO BLUEPRINT principles of affordable, transit-served infill development and natural resource protection, for which our region has received national acclaim. VOTE No on Measure A.

California Air Resources Board letter on Measure A

On October 10, 2022, the California Air Resources Board sent a letter to the Sacramento Transportation Authority regarding Measure A.

Below is an excerpt.

We write to share information regarding the impacts that several projects slated for funding under this measure, and the project portfolio as a whole, will have on climate change and air quality. As an oversight agency, including for the Senate Bill 375 program (Steinberg, Stats. 2008, ch. 728), and based on CARB staff’s analysis of the measure, we need to make you aware that if Measure A is approved, the region may face serious compliance challenges with State emissions reductions requirements.

Click here to read the letter in full.

Sacramento-Reno Rail Extension Study

Sacramento-Reno Rail Extension Study: are you interested in expanded passenger rail service from the Bay Area and Sacramento to Tahoe & Reno? Take a few minutes to share your thoughts! If you complete the survey, you will be entered in a drawing for a weekend getaway to the Reno/Tahoe area!

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