TRANSDEF

East Bay Times hits a homer

March 1, 2020 March 1, 2020

In its second editorial about Measure J, the East Bay Times hits at the failure of County Counsel to provide a legally mandated Impartial Analysis that is, in fact, impartial.

Measure J greenwashing exposed

February 24, 2020 February 27, 2020

Measure J was discussed in a powerful article in the East Bay Times, with the sub-heading “Critics charge tax measure is ‘greenwashing’ in car-centric county.”

Update: Lawsuit challenges claims made by Measure J

February 18, 2020 February 27, 2020

A lawsuit was filed on December 30, 2019, seeking to have the ballot letter designation, the ballot question and the Impartial Analysis modified before the Voter Guide for Contra Costa County is printed. The suit was granted priority status, because it is an election matter. A hearing was held Monday, January 6 on the merits of the suit. The court dismissed the suit, asserting it had been filed two days late, after the 10-day inspection period had passed. Petitioner filed a Motion for Reconsideration, and sought an early hearing date, which was denied. Petitioner then filed a Notice of Appeal,…

TRANSDEF opinion piece in Chronicle

February 13, 2020 February 27, 2020

The Chronicle gave TRANSDEF the opportunity to go into detail as to why Measure J in Contra Costa won’t do enough to keep congestion from getting much worse:

Big contractor money floods into Measure J

February 12, 2020 February 27, 2020

How interesting that the campaign for Measure J is being run out of Sacramento. Not what one might expect of a little local measure… These guys have gone big time! Follow the Money! As might be expected from a group headquartered in the State Capital, the Friends of Contra Costa Transportation, Yes on J Committee has been busy soliciting funds from big contractor groups. As is typical of transportation taxes and school bond measures like Proposition 13 on the March ballot, contractors are contributing big time to campaigns that will generate added business for themselves. The California Alliance for Jobs…

Regional Measure 3 appeal fully briefed

February 12, 2020 February 12, 2020

The reply brief, as well as an amicus brief by TRANSDEF and its allies have been submitted to the Court of Appeal. All the briefs are available here. Interestingly, MTC filed an opposition to TRANSDEF’s amicus brief, a very rare move by a litigation party.

HSR case fully briefed

February 11, 2020 February 11, 2020

The final brief has been filed in the Tos II appeal. The case awaits the assignment of a hearing date. Appellants’ motion seeking calendar preference was denied by the Court of Appeal.

Chronicle endorses J

February 1, 2020 February 1, 2020

The San Francisco Chronicle printed its endorsement of Measure J on January 29. While TRANSDEF was disappointed, we were pleased that the newspaper gave serious coverage to our rationale to oppose the tax: to avoid creating institutional momentum for decades of further sprawl development that will result in impassable highways. We believe that future development needs to be within walking distance of frequent transit, a model that doesn’t work in widely dispersed neighborhoods.

TRANSDEF debates Measure J on TV

January 22, 2020 January 22, 2020

TRANSDEF’s President David Schonbrunn debated Newell Arnerich, a member of the CCTA Board and Danville City Councilmember on Contra Costa TV. The highlight of the debate was the discussion of suburban sprawl at 18:00, culminating with a take-down of Contra Costa’s vaunted linkage of transportation and land use. The subject came up again, with a particularly good discussion of sprawl at 29:00, peaking at 31:00, with TRANSDEF’s statement that “Single-story ranch homes–that’s obsolete, in terms of new construction.” Moderator: “But people like that! That’s why they move here.” TRANSDEF’s response: “They may like all kinds of things, but when you…

East Bay Times Editorial: Vote No on Measure J

January 18, 2020 January 18, 2020

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…

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