Advocates Celebrate Signature Gathering Success for Transit Measures
Over 150 advocates and politicians came to Two Pitchers Brewing, a beer garden in Oakland, on Saturday to celebrate an unprecedented victory in gathering signatures for the Connect Bay Area Act, a regional transit funding measure that will appear on the November ballot. Ultimately, over 300,000 signatures were gathered for the act—about 100,000 more than were needed to qualify. If it passes, it will provide $1 billion annually to support transit operations.
“Thank you, this was an incredible effort,” said State Senator Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley), co-author of 2025’s S.B. 63, which enabled the signature gathering effort.
More from Connect Bay Area, the group that organized the effort, specifically about the high number of signatures gathered by unpaid volunteers:
…over 77,000 grassroots signatures for Connect Bay Area gathered by over 1,000 advocates and transit supporters across the Bay Area! This labor of love has made a huge contribution to the overall signature gathering effort, signaling that public transit is a winning issue with strong on-the-ground support.
Many saw those large volunteer numbers as evidence that the transit-advocate community constitutes a potent force—one that politicians can’t afford to ignore.
“We just witnessed the power of the transportation justice community,” said 12th District Congresswoman and former BART Board Director Lateefah Simon. Simon, who can’t drive and depends on BART, said that transit is intertwined with all social justice fights. “Mobility can not be a privilege.”
However, not all politicians have taken notice, at least not yet. The celebration was tamped by news that on Friday, Governor Gavin Newsom’s California Air Resources Board (CARB) sided with Chevron and other big polluters and voted to cut transit and housing programs from the state’s cap-and-trade program. Analysis presented to the BART Board of Directors and shared with Streetsblog indicates the cuts to various transit programs will come to $2 billion annually. See Streetsblog California’s coverage for the full breakdown.
Many advocates were disgusted by the governor’s actions, CARB, and what they view as a betrayal of their efforts and the environment. They still hope to convince the legislature to find a way to override the CARB decision. Planning has started for a trip to the capitol. “It’s time for another ‘transit funeral‘ in Sacramento,” said Arreguín.
Keep up with Streetsblog coverage for details on upcoming protests.
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