Supervisor says if residents want better roads and more service,
they need to vote yes on A
Morgan Hill – If South County residents want better roads and more bus and train service, they have to support the county sales tax measure on the June ballot, Santa Clara County Supervisor Don Gage said Tuesday.
“I have to maintain buses and trains in my area to be effective,” Gage said. “Through that half-cent sales tax we’re going to provide services. That’s my leverage, that’s money I can control. I have one-fifth control.”
In recent months, Gage has said that he wouldn’t support a Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority spending plan because the $6.4 billion needed to extend BART to San Jose makes it impossible for the agency to provide more bus and train service and road improvements in South County.
But Gage now says that BART is inevitable and that he’s counting on the new sales tax to meet South County transportation needs, as well as provide healthcare and new social service programs. Gage is one five VTA directors on an ad hoc committee to create a new VTA spending plan for the next 30 years.
“BART’s a done deal,” he said. “People just won’t get it through their heads. People voted for it in 2000 Measure A, the [Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority] has devoted $4 billion to it, and as far as I’m concerned, it’s a done deal.”
The supervisor also was critical of ballot arguments tying the new Measure A tax proposal to BART and the VTA.
“People are using that because they don’t want the tax,” he said. “BART is not part of my equation. As a board we have to sit down and decide how we’re going to spend the money. We have to have community meetings and talk about what areas we have to put money in.
If it passes, the tax would raise about $160 million a year for the county, which is looking at a $120 million deficit next year. There are no restrictions on how the money could be spent, and some of the revenue could be channeled to the VTA.
The VTA recently decided not to try for a separate tax measure,, which would require a two-thirds vote. Measure A does not promise any specific projects, so it will pass with a simple majority. The measure would be used for housing, healthcare, social services and transportation.
A ballot argument against Measure A calls it “a back room deal to funnel your tax dollars to the VTA” and a creation of the Silicon Valley Leadership Group, a business organization that has led several campaigns for transportation sales taxes, including Measure A in 2000.
An argument in favor of the measure says the tax can pay for critical transportation needs “including BART, Caltrain, Light Rail and transit service for seniors and the disabled.” The argument also mentions earthquake improvements for the county hospital system and providing health insurance for children.
Carl Guardino, president of the SVLG, said the argument was crafted to help set an agenda when county supervisors consider how to spend the money and show county residents the importance of a passing a new tax that can’t be lost to the state or federal government.
“We believe that people vote for or against initiatives for a variety of reasons,” Guardino said. “As citizens we have a right and responsibility to communicate what we believe what those highest priorities to be.”
Pros an Cons
Supporters of Measure A
– Silicon Valley Leadership Group
– Representative Mike Honda
– County Sheriff Laurie Smith
– State Assemblyman Joe Coto
– Sally Pyle, League of Women Voters of Santa Clara County
– Santa Clara County Schools Superintendent Colleen Wilcox
Opponents
– Mountain View City Councilman and VTA Director Greg Perry
– Former VTA director and Los Altos Councilman David Casas
– Douglas McNae, president of the Silicon Valley Taxpayers’ Association
– Kevin Takenaga, Chairman of Santa Clara County Libertarian Party
