Council Celebrates Big Election Wins
With the dust now settled on the results from last Tuesday’s (Nov. 3) election, the Bay Area Council scored big wins at the state, local and regional levels, finding agreement with voters on almost 85% of the measures and propositions on which we took positions. None of the wins was bigger for us than the victory of Measure RTM, which we played an instrumental role in bringing to the ballot and then leading the campaign for its passage.
A whopping 63% of voters across five counties, including San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda and Contra Costa, cast their ballots in favor of Measure RTM, which will strengthen regional transit, avoid catastrophic service reductions and require reforms to make our transit systems more cost-effective and fiscally sustainable. Thank you to Senators Scott Wiener and Jesse Arreguin for authoring the legislation (SB 63), which the Council co-sponsored, authorizing Measure RTM and for their hard work in supporting the campaign.
The Council was directly involved in developing SB 63, working with legislators, regional transit and transportation partners and others to draft a measure that would not simply provide critical funding to keep our major transit systems running but would also hold transit agencies accountable for improving how they operate. With ridership patterns dramatically changed after the pandemic and a big shift to remote work, the Council recognized that we can’t afford a business-as-usual approach. And that voters wouldn’t support new funding without serious reforms.
During the drafting of the legislation, we had to overcome considerable political resistance to some of the reforms we prioritized, including provisions conditioning funding for transit agencies on meeting certain milestones for cutting waste and inefficiency, improving service and making operations more fiscally sustainable. Our work hasn’t stopped and we are continuing to lead the effort to ensure reforms are put in place.
With the legislation in place, the Council led the campaign to qualify the measure for the ballot by securing signatures from hundreds of thousands of voters. Behind the leadership of Council CEO Libby Schaaf and the tireless work of Senior Vice President Emily Loper, we raised the many millions of dollars needed to run the campaign, built a massive coalition of supporters, and secured endorsements from over 250 state, local and federal elected leaders and mobilized thousands of volunteers. Thanks to our campaign co-leaders at SPUR and the many business, labor, and community groups that joined our historic coalition.
Among statewide propositions, the Council was thrilled to see voters quash Proposition 40, an ill-conceived tax measure that would have chased away investment and jobs, harmed California’s economic competitiveness and blown a hole in the state budget.
Locally, we are happy to see the decisive passage (74%) of Proposition H in San Francisco to provide critical funding for transit and the similarly overwhelming passage of Measure EE in Oakland, which will give the mayor needed power and authority to take a firmer hand in addressing public safety and other key issues. The Council’s 2025 Economic Institute report, Making Oakland Safe and Its Economy Strong, identified charter reform as a critical step toward improving the city’s safety and economic future.
Not everything fell our way, but the failure of Proposition 45 on the statewide ballot perhaps stung the most. It would have provided important streamlining to accelerate and reduce costs for critical infrastructure projects ranging from housing and public transit to hospitals and manufacturing. While the outcome is disappointing, the Council isn’t giving up and will be working in the legislature next year to pursue reforms that can help bring down costs and address California’s affordability crisis.
