Measure J Fundraiser Set for Jan. 23 in Concord

BIA|Bay Area encourages its members with interests in Contra Costa County to attend a fundraiser in support of Measure J, a 35-year transportation spending plan that will pump $100 million a year into local roads and transit throughout the county and its 19 cities. Featuring Metropolitan Transportation Commissioner Amy Worth, Contra Costa Transportation Authority Commissioner Julie Pierce and Contra Costa Supervisor Candace Andersen, the event will be held from 5:30-8 p.m. on Jan. 23, 2020, at One Concord Center, 2300 Clayton Road, Ste. 1500, in Concord. To RSVP, email liz.caffey@towill.com. Click HERE to download event flyer.

BACKGROUND: For the past four years, BIA|Bay Area representatives sat at the negotiating table as county and city leaders created the next generation transportation spending blueprint for Contra Costa County. Unfortunately, poor voter turnout during the 2016 election left the Contra Costa Transportation Expenditure Plan a few percentage points shy of the required two-thirds approval.

Undeterred, the coalition went back to the drawing board. As a result, voters in March 2020 will have the opportunity to adopt Measure J, a new and improved 35-year transportation spending plan that will pump $100 million a year into local roads and transit for Contra Costa County and its 19 cities. Click HERE to read the full plan.

No one wants to pay more taxes. But the long-established sales tax program for transportation is one of the few broad-based sources of infrastructure funds for cities and counties. Depriving these agencies of much-needed local streets money will not help — and may possibly increase — the already high transportation impact fees that many builders routinely pay in these communities.

We believe the March primary offers an excellent opportunity for the measure’s success at the polls. Unlike 2016, Democrats are expected to vote in record numbers in 2020 due to the high interest in the presidential contest. These same voters are also more likely to support a transportation sales tax. In addition, the ballot lacks numerous competing tax requests that often generate voter fatigue.

But we need your help. BIA’s Build Jobs Political Action Committee has contributed $25,000 to the sales tax measure campaign and we are asking our members to make financial contributions, too. Click HERE to donate. For more information about the campaign, click HERE.