FRESNO – Following the abandonment of Measure C renewal efforts by the Fresno Council of Governments, different groups are picking up the pieces and proposing their own transportation sales tax initiatives.
Instead of moving through the channels of city councils and the county governing board, they’re hoping to bring their initiatives before voters in November. To do so, they must get approximately 22,000 registered voters in Fresno County to sign off on a petition declaring that they want the initiative to be on the general election ballot.
Proponents of one of the initiatives, working under the campaign name “Better Roads, Safe Streets,” kicked off one of their first major efforts to gather signatures on Feb. 28 in Fresno. Inside the Carpenters Local 701 union hall, nearly 50 volunteers dedicated their morning to hitting the streets and talking with voters about the initiative.
“I’m out here because public transportation is a very important thing in my life, especially since I take it to home, to work,” volunteer and Fresno resident Liz Salvador Leon said. “I want the public transportation to be safer, more reliable — especially in areas that don’t have as much resources as others.”
Salvador Leon, along with friends Marisol Herrera and Belinda Herrera, has been advocating for an updated transportation sales tax measure since 2022. At the time, they were asking people to vote against the Measure C renewal effort.
Now, they are asking voters to support a different initiative, officially called the Fresno County Transportation Improvement Act.
Transportation Improvement Act
The Fresno County Transportation Improvement Act outlines a sales tax initiative that started out as the renewal vehicle for Measure C. It was put together by a steering committee under the direction of the Fresno Council of Governments, but the effort was abandoned by Fresno COG in January and then picked up by an outside group.
This version of the measure would extend the half-cent sales tax — that everyone in the county is already paying — for another 30 years. It would direct 65% of revenues to work on existing neighborhood roads, 25% to public transportation, 4% to access and innovation, 5% to regional connectivity and 1% to administration and oversight.
Sisters Marisol Herrera and Belinda Herrera said they also support the measure because they want to see improved transportation. They grew up riding the bus around Fresno, as their mom doesn’t drive, and they remember it being somewhat scary because people would bring knives or needles on the bus.
The two want to see improved security measures to keep bus riders safe and also want updated amenities at bus stops, like benches and shade structures.
Although the sisters and Salvador Leon, who are all in their early 20s, said they want to see improved public transportation, they also emphasized that they want voters to know that the measure will help fix potholes around the county. Salvador Leon said that’s something she heard repeatedly while facilitating conversations around a transportation measure. People shared with her the ways that potholes in their neighborhoods caused damaged tires, which can be expensive to fix, and even made them late to drop their kids off at school.
Belinda Herrera said she also wants people to know that the tax measure is for the community.
“I just feel like a message that I want the community to understand is that it’s for them — for them, their community, their neighbors, their friends and family,” Belinda Herrera said. “I feel like it’s something that they should understand that if it’s funded by them, it’s for them.”
She added that her goal is to show voters that the measure intends to fix roads to build a better community and safer environment for them.
Competing campaigns
While the people behind the measure belong to a variety of advocacy groups in the Fresno area, they are collectively campaigning under the name Fresno County Residents for Better Roads and Safe Streets, or “Better Roads, Safe Streets” for short.
Since announcing their campaign in January, Better Roads, Safe Streets has been working through the legal steps required for getting the initiative onto the ballot. Campaign Manager Andy Levine said this involved filing a notice of intention with the Fresno County Registrar of Voters, which included the proposed measure and its main supporters.
The county counsel’s office then reviewed the measure and provided an objective title and summary for it based on what the campaign submitted. Better Roads, Safe Streets then published the notice of intent, title and summary in an adjudicated newspaper before it could start to gather signatures.
Another group, going by the name “Fix Our Roads Fresno County,” has also been undergoing the same process. Formed by other elected representatives from around the county — namely those who have been vocal about their opposition to the Measure C renewal process — and transportation officials, Fix Our Roads Fresno County announced its competing measure on Feb. 17.
At a press conference announcing the measure, Clovis Mayor pro tem Diane Pearce said every elected official in Fresno County recognizes the importance of having a transportation sales tax measure but criticized the length and allocations of the Better Roads, Safe Streets plan.
“There has been a lot of discussion over the last year or so about what the residents of Fresno County really want to see out of a renewal of Measure C … the response was overwhelming and deafening: Fresno County residents want a renewal that will fix our roads,” Pearce said.
Fix Our Roads Fresno County is a 20-year measure that proposes to allocate 82% of tax revenues to fixing roads — broken down into 50% going to road repair, 16% to improving local transportation and 16% to major streets and roads projects — and 18% to public transit.
Before voters have to decide between either measure, however, both groups will have to qualify it for the ballot.
State law requires enough valid signatures from registered voters equivalent to 10% of the total number of votes cast for governor in the most recent gubernatorial election. For Fresno County, that’s around 22,100. Better Roads, Safe Streets is aiming for 35,000 signatures, as the verification process takes less time with more signatures submitted.
While city leaders have expressed concerns about the possibility that two competing tax measures will lead to the failure of both, Levine said the Better Roads, Safe Streets campaign is keeping its attention on the task at hand.
“All we’re focused on right now is just getting the signatures to qualify for the ballot, and that’s going really well,” Levine said. “People are really, really eager to help to get this on the ballot.”
Levine said the Better Roads, Safe Streets campaign has talked with the community a lot over the last year, engaging with more than 4,000 residents from around the county to get their input on what they want to see for transportation.
“We feel very strongly and confident that this measure, what we’re trying to get on the ballot, reflects the true needs and desires of taxpayers across Fresno County,” Levine said.
