League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	San Francisco County, CA November 4, 2008 Election
	Proposition P Changing the Composition of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority Board City of San Francisco Ordinance - Majority Approval Required Fail: 101,230 / 32.99% Yes votes ...... 205,665 / 67.01% No votes See Also: Index of all Propositions

Arguments For Proposition P

Arguments Against Proposition P

Almost 10 years ago, voters created the Municipal Transportation Agency (MTA) to reform MUNI. I was proud to have taken a leadership roll in that effort. Since then we have made great strides to get MUNI back on track. But we still have a long way to go. Proposition P is another important step in the right direction. Proposition P makes sure our MTA, which runs MUNI, will be better coordinated with the city's Transportation Authority. In recent years, the two transportation agencies have begun to overlap, resulting in duplication and waste. Left unchecked, these inefficiencies put real transit reform in jeopardy. Proposition P also requires the Transportation Authority adopt higher standards of transparency and accountability, including: Obtaining Expert Financial Review before adopting budgets. Following the Same Ethics laws as other city agencies. The TA is currently operating under less stringent ethics requirements. Adhering to the Same Public Records Laws as the rest of the city to make sure their work is more transparent to the public. We are working hard to bring a higher standard of accountability and customer service to our public transportation system. We are improving service through the Transit Effectiveness Project. We are implementing NextMuni so riders can use their computers and even cell phones to track when their next bus or streetcar will arrive. We are working with our unions to change work rules so the system can be more efficient. Slowly but surely, on-time performance is inching up. I need your help to continue this progress by passing Proposition P, a common-sense measure that will lead to even more efficiency and accountability in our public transportation system. Let's keep San Francisco on the right track -- please join me in voting YES on P. Gavin Newsom, Mayor Rebuttal to Arguments For Vote NO on P! A takeover of the Authority is about eliminating voter-mandated oversight and letting MUNI spend freely. Make no mistake: throwing billions in sales tax at MUNI, with no controls, will only generate huge cost overruns. The San Francisco Chronicle reported earlier this year that the Mayor is spending over $821,000 in MUNI funds to pay six-figure salaries to political operatives in his own office working on tasks unrelated to transit. The Authority is a transportation funding agency. Its functions are unique. There would be no efficiencies from eliminating its 30-person staff, or blending it into MUNI's 5,700 person workforce, because MUNI's overhead is 50% higher than the Authority's. The Transportation Authority is already subject to stringent state laws on ethics, public records and financial and budget review. The same auditors that review the City Controller's books regularly audit the Authority's financial records and have given the Authority clean audits for years. Keep the independent controls on MUNI spending! Vote NO on P! Committee to Keep MUNI Accountable Opponents list (partial): Senator Leland Yee San Francisco Supervisors: Tom Ammiano Chris Daly Bevan Dufty Sophie Maxwell Jake McGoldrick Ross Mirkarimi Aaron Peskin Gerardo Sandoval BART Director Tom Radulovich San Francisco Democratic Party Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club Sierra Club San Francisco Bicycle Coalition

DON'T GRIDLOCK SAN FRANCISCO'S TRANSIT - VOTE NO ON P San Franciscans voted in 1989 and 2003 to create and confirm our Transportation Authority as the independent watchdog agency for the local transportation sales tax. The Transportation Authority, subject to stringent State of California financial, budget, ethics and public records law, has an unmatched record of efficiency, transparency and ethics. With a tiny staff of 30, it's the only watchdog agency keeping MUNI from overrunning multi-billion dollar construction budgets -- yet this proposition would get rid of the Authority's staff to prevent it from fulfilling its oversight role over MUNI and other bloated city bureaucracies. THE WRONG TURN FOR TRANSIT If Proposition P passes, billions of dollars will be handed over to a group of political appointees, thus avoiding independent oversight. For Muni riders, car drivers and neighborhood businesses concerned about traffic and parking, it's the wrong turn for our transportation future. PUTTING US IN LEGAL GRIDLOCK The Legal Counsel at the State Legislature is already working on a legal opinion that this proposition was placed on the ballot violating state laws, and is invalid. If approved, it will lead to lawsuits and gridlock at City Hall - slowing down transportation improvements to address traffic, reduce global warming, and increase the MUNI reliability. ELIMINATING CHECKS AND BALANCES This proposition is not about eliminating duplication - it's about eliminating checks and balances. Vote NO on Prop P. Keep the Transportation Authority independent. Senator Carole Migden Senator Leland Yee Assemblywoman Fiona Ma Assemblyman Mark Leno San Francisco Supervisors: Michela Alioto-Pier Tom Ammiano Carmen Chu Chris Daly Bevan Dufty Sean Elsbernd Sophie Maxwell Jake McGoldrick Ross Mirkarimi Aaron Peskin, President Gerardo Sandoval Former Supervisor Leslie Katz BART Director Tom Radulovich San Francisco Bicycle Coalition Harvey Milk LGBT Democratic Club Sierra Club San Francisco Democratic Party Rebuttal to Arguments Against To Keep Making Progress on MUNI Reform, Vote Yes on Proposition P. Let's focus on the facts of Proposition P: It demands ethics reform by requiring the Transportation Authority to adopt strict ethics laws. It promotes better coordination between agencies to improve transportation. It extends the city's sunshine laws to the Transportation Authority. In other California counties, the Transportation Authorities run transportation systems that have jurisdictions larger than one city. San Francisco is the only city and county in California. This unique status creates duplication and it means we must work harder to coordinate all of our transportation activities. That's exactly what Proposition P will do + require better coordination. Proposition P requires that we work to eliminate duplication by sharing staff functions and spend our tax dollars more efficiently by making sure the Transportation Authority obtains expert financial review before approving budgets. The Transportation Authority budget is a tempting source of funds for politicians. Recent press reports show that politicians are using the TA budget to purchase cell phones and office furniture. These may be small expenses, but we should make sure that all of our tax dollars are spent wisely. Proposition P brings sound accounting practices and the city's stringent ethics and sunshine laws to this powerful agency. By requiring that we all work together, it will help make sure our MUNI is working better. Please vote YES on P. Mayor Gavin Newsom