Quick Take:
The Santa Cruz Metro board of directors decided against advancing its own resolution to place a half-cent sales tax measure on the November ballot, citing cost concerns and little time to build and promote an effective campaign. The board will instead throw support behind the ongoing citizen’s initiative effort to place its own measure on a ballot by 2028.
The Santa Cruz Metro Board of Directors will put its support behind a group of advocates gathering signatures for a half-cent sales tax ballot measure to fund Metro operations instead of advancing its own measure for this November.
At a special meeting on Monday, the board voted to not adopt an ordinance to place a half-cent sales tax ballot measure on the November ballot as a way to secure funding as its major service expansion, Reimagine Metro, nears the end of its one-time state funding. Instead, the board plans to put its support behind the citizen’s initiative effort, spearheaded by the advocate group named Friends of Santa Cruz Metro, which is aiming to qualify a ballot measure for the March 2028 primary election at the latest.
Without a local funding source by 2028, Metro could see major 40% service cuts, mass layoffs, and the discontinuation of some popular programs, including Youth Cruz Free.
Board Member and Santa Cruz City Councilmember Scott Newsome introduced the motion to not adopt the ordinance, and it passed by an 8-2 vote, with only Board Member Fabian Leonor and Vice Chair Melinda Orbach, also a Capitola city councilmember, voting “no.” Most of the board members were concerned with the cost of an election for a prospective ballot measure, which could be more than $800,000, as well as not having ample time to build and run an effective campaign before the November election.
“The question before us is not whether or not we support public transit, it’s whether or not this particular path is a viable and fiscally responsible route to support public transit,” said Board Member and County Supervisor Monica Martinez. “Based on my best thinking and consideration, I’m not seeing that we have a viable path in 2026 to support Metro with a ballot measure. I am committed to supporting this as we move towards 2028 and want to help support that [citizen’s initiative] effort.”
Board Member and Watsonville City Councilmember Maria Orozco agreed, and added that a 2026 measure could face major challenges. She said the board should instead focus on ensuring that the Friends of Santa Cruz Metro measure succeeds by 2028.
“We know that there will be several competing measures on the ballot and the polling we’ve seen suggests that the measure does not currently have the level of voter support needed to achieve the required two-thirds approval,” she said. “If the likelihood of passage is low, I question whether placing the measure on the ballot this November is the best use of our time and resources.”
Board Member and Santa Cruz City Councilmember Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson was not present at the meeting, so she was not able to cast a vote, but Board Chair and Santa Cruz County Supervisor Manu Koenig read a statement she had prepared prior to the meeting. She wrote that she would not support moving forward with a November ballot measure for many of the same reasons shared at the meeting, and added that while Assembly Constitutional Amendment 22 (ACA 22) could raise the threshold for citizen’s initiatives in the future, including the Friends of Santa Cruz Metro measure, the risk isn’t worth the board rushing to place a measure likely to fail on this year’s ballot.
“I believe voters are taxed out right now, and asking again this November risks failure that could make a future, better-timed measure harder to pass,” she wrote. “I respectfully ask to consider waiting for a better window, one with stronger polling, a funded campaign, and less overlap with the Friends initiative.”
Many public commenters didn’t see it the same way. Daniel Dodge Sr., president of the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council and former Metro board member, advocated for voting in favor of placing the measure on the November ballot.
“We’re talking about real lives, working families, seniors, students, members of our community who depend on it, because public transportation is a right,” he said. “I ask you to invest in us, to invest in our community, to invest in all these working families here.”
James Sandoval, vice president of the transportation department of the International Association of Sheet Metal, Air, Rail and Transportation Workers, said that Friends of Santa Cruz Metro needs roughly 2,500 signatures to qualify its own measure, and believed a measure this November would be another chance.
“I know it comes at a cost, but we’re a big agency and it’s coming out of our marketing fund. That’s not the operation fund or the capital budget fund,” he said. “We’re talking about people’s lives here, whether it’s the operators that are going to be laid off and trying to put food on the table for them and their families or the people trying to take the bus to their doctor’s appointments.”
Nahara Villalobos, a Cabrillo College alum and employee, said she relied on Metro to get her to and from school.
Transit advocate and former Santa Cruz County supervisorial candidate Lani Faulkner urged the board to put the measure on the ballot, even though she has collected more than 1,000 signatures for the citizen’s initiative.
“If for some reason we don’t get the two-thirds, we will be prepared as the Friends of Santa Cruz Metro to get it on the next ballot,” she said. “A lot of very well-educated people understand how important public transportation is for our community. That is an investment, so please do invest.”
Friends of Santa Cruz Metro has until Aug. 12 to qualify for the March 2028 primary.
