[Editor’s Note: Denny Zane, Executive Director of Santa Monica-based Move LA and one of the community’s most vigorous mass transportation advocates, analyzes last month’s narrow failure of the controversial Measure J, a far in the future mass transportation tax.]
What are the lessons learned from the Measure J election results?
(Measure J would have extended the Measure R sales tax for 30 years, allowing L.A. Metro to finance accelerated construction of 15 transportation projects, but fell 0.56 percent votes short of the required 66.67 percent.)
The loss can be explained in sum or in part by lower voter turnout, a late start for the campaign, a slight erosion of support in affluent communities, and a limited voter information program.
Read our campaign sum-up for the American Public Transportation Assn.’s (APTA’s) Center for Transportation Excellence (CFTE).
Read the Q& A about the campaign.
Who Was for Measure J, Who Against ?
Where did Measure J do well? Across the county.
Measure J had the strongest support in middle income and working-class communities, including: East L.A. (75.1 percent), South L.A. (74.2 percent), West/Central L.A. (74.1 percent), City of L.A. (70.7 percent), Gateway Cities (66.6 percent), San Fernando Valley (64.9 percent), and the San Gabriel Valley (64.5 percent).
Where did Measure J do less well? The South Bay (61.1%), the West San Fernando Valley (57 percent), and especially in affluent cities such as Beverly Hills, San Marino and Glendora. Measure J could have won in all these places if the voter threshold had been 55 percent. Our PPT makes the case for lowering the voter threshold.
View our “Is It Time To Restore Democracy?” PPT.
Senate President, Mayor Headline
Move LA’s fifth annual Transportation Conversation is Friday, Feb. 1 — an event that in 2008 begat the Measure R campaign. This year we’ll talk about accelerating Measure R with QTIBs, reducing the voter threshold to 55 percent, and creating financing and policy tools to help local government build transit and development that supports ridership. Special guests include state Senate President Darrell Steinberg, Mayor Villaraigosa, renowned U.C. Berkeley TOD expert Robert Cervero, key players in Mayor Villaraigosa’s new Transit Corridors Cabinet, and Move LA business-labor-environmental coalition leaders. At Union Station. Save the date.
Metro Heads Back to Washington
With two light rail projects under construction (Gold, Expo) and utilities relocation underway for the Westside subway and Regional Connector, Metro is spearheading a nationwide push for a tax-credit bond program that could accelerate Measure R-funded projects.
As Move LA has noted, Measure J was always Plan B for accelerating these projects, while “Plan A” was a combination of tax-credit bonds called QTIBs (qualified transportation investment bonds), now renamed America Fast Forward Bonds, and the federal low-interest loan program named TIFIA.
So it’s back to Plan A.
Read more.
Mr. Zane may be contacted at dennyzane@movela.org
