BART District 4: Robert Raburn

I am a big fan of Robert Raburn. I was delighted when he ran for and won this seat in 2010 (unseating an incumbent!), and I am delighted to get to vote for him again.

Over the past four years, I have found him to be a very intelligent and responsible Board member. I and my colleagues at TransForm work with the BART Board on a regular basis. We push on them, we work with them, we argue, we try to get them to understand our positions and advocate for them to keep BART safe, reliable, frequent, and affordable. Robert has been an exemplary Board member and a pleasure to work with.

We don't always agree, but I always respect his analysis. He is a very knowledgeable transit Board director, he studies the issues, he's willing to reconsider his positions in light of new information, and he works with all of his colleagues on the Board to find common ground. He is not using the BART Board as a stepping-stone to higher office -- he just wants to run the BART district well. He's endorsed by the Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters of the East Bay, building trades, and gobs of elected officials and community leaders.

Challenger Lena Tam is a fine person. I hear she has handled transportation and development issues well in Alameda. She has strong support from the BART unions and a bunch of other elected officials -- although not many from other community groups (from my reading of her endorsement list). She's fine, it is just that Robert is so much better. If she was looking for another elected office after City of Alameda, I wish she'd gone after the AC Transit Board At-large seat -- that race sure could've used a good candidate!

As in 2010, I am giving money to Robert Raburn's campaign, and I hope you'll give him your vote.