YES on Alameda County B1: Crucial Transit Improvements

I'm supporting Measure B1 because it would fund several vital improvements: restore cut bus service, start a new youth bus pass program, repair potholes, and make unprecedented investments for pedestrian and bicycle safety and infrastructure and for transit-oriented development. Yes, there are some concerns (particularly some projects I don't support), but I think they pale in comparison to the good that can be achieved -- on balance, we'll all be better off with Measure B1 than without it. Yes, it is a sales tax, but the benefits will be used very progressively. For a long explanation of why B1 is a good idea AND links to the extensive debate that went into it in the first place, check out TransForm's blog post I wrote back in May.

California's crazy budget laws mean B1 needs a 2/3 vote. If passed, it would approve a new (30-year) expenditure plan, increase the tax, and extend it permanently. The expenditure plan is very detailed and there are many oversight bodies. The "Yes on B1" campaign is the source of all those "Keep Us Moving" signs you're seeing around town, and the measure has wide-ranging endorsements. How often do you see the Chronicle, Guardian, and East Bay Express all endorse the same thing? Plus lots of transportation and environmental groups (TransForm, East Bay Bicycle Coalition), faith-based groups (Genesis), organized labor, United Seniors, the list goes on. If you're thinking of voting no, please post a comment or contact me directly!!