An Open Letter from the Honorable Cheryl Brinkman

I am writing today to ask you to consider supporting Streetsblog San Francisco (SBSF) in their annual fundraising drive. SBSF has used their distinct brand of solutions journalism to help make the Bay Area a better place to live, work and play for nearly a dozen years and they rely on reader support to help make that happen.

To say 2020 has been a strange and unpredictable year would be an understatement. As a member of the SFMTA Board of Directors (for identification purposes only; acting in personal capacity), I never expected to be in a position to cast a vote that could determine whether or not Caltrain exists in the future. But that’s exactly where I found myself when I cast a lone vote against a convoluted ballot measure in favor of one supported by transit advocates, community groups in the Peninsula, and Caltrain riders.

In the end, that singular vote led to a more straightforward ballot measure that ultimately passed on election day. Now, instead of facing financial ruin, Caltrain is considering measures to expand service beyond its core ridership and will be able to fully exploit its new electrification infrastructure when it comes on line in a couple of years.

And while I found myself voting alone that day, I knew there were thousands of people that had my back and were cheering me on because of the work done by Roger Rudick and Streetsblog San Francisco. Rudick took painstaking time breaking down the different options, explaining the politics of the situation and ultimately cutting through the political talk to explain why the “clean” version of the proposal was the only one that would ultimately work for Caltrain riders, tax payers and the region.

Usually, Streetsblog reaches out to readers for support twice a year, in the Spring and again at the end of the year. This year, Streetsblog San Francisco cancelled their Spring drive, scheduled to launch on April 6, because of the uncertainty people faced in the early days of the COVID-19 stay at home orders. That makes this drive doubly important, as Streetsblog is hoping to raise $25,000 in donations in addition to our monthly donors and advertising revenue.

This kind of journalism is needed in the Bay Area and the world today, in 2021 and long into the future. Please consider supporting Streetsblog SF today, or make a recurring donation, by clicking here.