In a strikingly comprehensive editorial, the East Bay Times described the flaws of Measure J and recommended voters say No. Here is a list of those flaws, as articulated by the Times:
- The ballot language doesn’t mention that Measure J would double the existing transportation sales tax.
- Measure J is not the promised “transformative plan.”
- We cannot pave our way out of the congestion crisis.
- Allocating nearly 20% of tax proceeds for local road maintenance bought support from local government, but duplicates existing funding.
- Asking county voters to pay for BART improvements makes no sense when BART has its own taxes, including a $3.5 billion rehabilitation program. BART merely polled well.
- The Measure J program relies on trust in future Board members to allocate the funds wisely, since there are few specific commitments to projects in the measure.
- Because of the lack of specifics, a 35-year tax duration is too long. Voters need a more frequent say on how their money is spent.
- The sales tax rate in six cities would be the highest in California, excluding Los Angeles County.