The Measure M Campaign Begins

OCTA has put out an RFP for a "Measure M Public Education Program."

The budget: $1.5 million dollars.

The RFP states:

In February 2005, the Orange County Transportation Authority (Authority) Board of Directors directed its staff to prepare an investment plan proposal of transportation projects, programs and policies that could form the basis for a ballot measure as early as November 2006 to extend the Measure M sales tax.

In an effort to educate the public regarding transportation plans and proposals, the Authority is conducting outreach activities among Orange County residents, as well as stakeholder groups, including elected officials, business leaders, and community leaders. The Authority is seeking a firm (Consultant) that will plan, design, produce, print, fulfill and mail the materials for the Measure M Public Education program. Experience and a successful track record in developing and implementing communications programs regarding a long-range transportation program and an expenditure plan that describes projects to be paid for by a local transportation sales tax is preferred.

As a public agency, the Authority is prohibited from using public funds to campaign for one side or the other in an election contest. The Measure M Education Program shall be confined to factual communication regarding the implementation of Measure M and projects and programs contained in a transportation expenditure plan to be paid for by the possible renewal of Measure M. The education program shall not urge the support of Measure M renewal. The program is solely for educational purposes. [emphasis added - ed]

Who is OCTA kidding?

Let me state that I strongly support, in principle, the renewal of Measure M. We'd be foolish, as a county, to make ourselves completely dependent on Sacramento and Washington in terms of trasnportation funding. Measure M gives us a large measure of control over our transportation destiny.

That said, I am extremely uncomfortable with this type of "public education" campaign. Since Measure M renewal will be on the ballot next November, this outreach program is inherently political. OCTA cannot divorce its desire to renew Measure M from its "public education" efforts.

Click here to access the RFP and here to access the Addendum.

In any case, this RFP is sure to set off a feeding frenzy by public affairs consultants. The budget for this program is huge in terms of OCTA PR contracts -- bigger than the outreach programs for major freeway construction undertakings.

Comments

[Screech]

The board should dump that, that is completely out of line.

The measure M money has been squandered for years on pet projects like the centerline light rail that NOBODY wanted and all those crazy multi million dollar carpool flyover ramps, and multim million dollar studies about all sorts of nutty liberal projects.

And $8,800 bus wraps telling how great measure M is.

What we voted for on measure M was better freeways with less congestion. We finally got part of it 10 years later than we should have.

As for being dependent on Sacramento, that is OUR money. They owe it to us. I am not bashful at all in demanding our share of the transportation funds. Why should we pay for it again?

Too much money stored in the government leads to mischief, like $1.5 million dollar political campaigns that are probably illegal anyway, or should be.

The OCTA has not earned the reputation for fiscal responsibility with our tax money.

Measure M will naturally sunset and it should be allowed to. The freeways are built, or there is sufficient money in measure M and the Sacramento money.

Measure M has served it's purpose. It should be alowed to expire.

[RoadWarrior]

I completely agree that Sacramento and Washington, D.C. "owe" Orange County money --and that we're not getting our fair share back -- especially for transportation.

You may not bashful in demanding our share of the money, but our state and federal legislators sure are. None of them have enough juice to bring any substantial amount of $$ for transportation to O.C. Just look at the last federal transportation bill.

I'm not sure that Measure M has been "squandered" for years. Do you drive on the 5, 57, 91, 55 or 22? They'd all be a heck of a lot worse without Measure M... you think the state would have paid for all those improvements? We'd still be waiting. Almost every county in Southern California has a local sales tax measure now -- L.A. County's never expires! No one is counting on the state anymore because they all know they can't deliver.

I have a question, though. You say OCTA is spending millions to study "nutty, liberal projects". So what's a "conservative" transportation project. I wasn't aware transportation projects had political leanings now, too.

[Wayne Silzel]

Sacramento cuts apportionments to O.C. because they know we have our own source i.e. Measure "M". Other counties don't have alternatives so our Measure "M" permits the legislators to grant more funds elsewhere. O.C. Public Library system has done the same to Villa Park. We formed a "Friends of the V.P. Library" tax exempt charity to improve our library only to have the County cut their funding by an offsetting amount.

OCTA is a bloated bureaucracy whose 20 year Measure M bond money has expired. Good riddance.

[Intensified!]

OCTA has demonstrated that they don't have the backbone to significantly expand the 405.

Has the OCTA built ANY new freeway miles with Measure M?

With no new freeways on deck and an unwillingness to significantly improve existing freeways, it looks like it's time to shut off the money spigot known as Measure M.

[Irvine Ernie]

I hear Adam Probolsky has already done a poll for OCTA and will sell it to whomever gets the PR contract.

Jeff Flint has already got both Yes and No art work for mailers depending on where the contract goes.

Dana Reed is doing the legal work on both sides.

Rodger Faubel and F/M are all at the Porsche dealship looking for a new drive.

Allan Bartlett is written his third post at Power Blue opposing it.

Todd Spitzer is handing out Assembly Resolutions congradulating the PR firm the gets the contract.

Jim Gilchrist is protesting the contract because it has Hispanic outreach in it.

[calwatch]

Remember when the 55 kinda pooped out in Costa Mesa nbear Triangle Square? How about the expansion of the 73 freeway (the free portion) near South Coast Metro? Widening of the Santa Ana freeway from 3 lanes in each direction to 4 in Buena Park and Anaheim? And we are not counting the carpool lane projects, which some people keep objecting to, despite the fact that they are always being used at extremely high rates.

[Screech]

An example of a liberal transportation project is a centeline light rail system that no one wants, or a bus system where the busses are running empty.

I have seen quite enough buses around OC with the driver and two other passengers on the 66 passenger bus.

I am sure you have seen the signs all over telling us how swell Proposition M is. They talk about road projects. But hundreds of millions of dollars of Proposion M money have been spent on mass transit. They don't advertise how swell that is since the voters won't vote for it for mass transit. What we want is better roads.

The roads are 80% or more done. Proposition M has done it's job, and we have paid greatly. Road money will not stop if Prop M sunsets, there will be normal funding, not extraordinary funding. It will be fine.

[Allan Bartlett]

Screech,

The buses are full in Santa Ana and empty everywhere else. What does that tell us? It's just another taxpayer subsidy for illegal aliens. Why break precedent I guess. We subsidize everything else for them. Let's buy em a house, car, and every other modern luxury while we're at it.

Powder Blue Report

[MrWhipple]

An example of a conservative transportation project would be converting HOV lanes into HOT lanes.

[(Recycled) Cholo Knows]

Bartlett etcetera ... public transportation is smart transportation ... if sanTana buses are in fact full, then hey, that's parato use of transportation space and means we're headed to the shopfloor for productivity ... it's the empty buses in your hood, that you claim, that drive up the cost of PT and actually make PT inefficient ... but more important, it's us in sanTana et al who subsidize the more expensive congested freeways so you can all sit in fumes ...