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Many people in Santa Clara County tend to trace the history of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) back to November 1996. This was when voters approved two (2) ballot measures authorizing a 1/2-cent sales tax countywide for mass transit and highway projects.
However, research thru the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters office revealed that the VTA you know today was approved by a ballot measure in November 1993. In that ballot measure, Santa Clara County voters were asked to separate the County Transit District from the Board of Supervisors (who ran the Transit District since 1972) and merge it with the County's Congestion Management Agency.
SCVTARU has obtained the actual ballot text to that ballot measure - known as Measure B. The scanned document from the County Registrar of Voters (287K Adobe Acrobat PDF) is available. For your convenience, the full text of Measure B from 1993 is below.Key Players Supporting and Opposing Measure B in 1993
Supporting Measure B in 1993:
Opposing Measure B in 1993:
1993 Measure B Ballot Question
ADVISORY VOTE ONLY. Shall the Santa Clara County Transit District be separated from the Board of Supervisors and consolidated with the Santa Clara County Congestion Management Agency to for a more efficient, cost-effective and accountable local transit agency saving a projected minimum $200,000 per year? A new part-time, sixteen-member governing board will consist of five directly-elected members and city and county representatives, whose compensation shall be limited to meetings attended and authorized days' service plus incidental expenses, with two advisory committees to streamline the policy-making process.
YES 134 NO 135
1993 Measure B - County Counsel's Impartial Analysis of Measure B
This is an advisory measure concerning the consolidation of the Santa Clara County Transit District with the Santa Clara County Congestion Management Agency. It is proposed that the two agencies be merged into a single public entity with a sixteen-member governing board. The membership of the board would consist of five directly-elected members (one from each county supervisorial district) and eleven appointed representatives of the cities and county. The members would be non-salaried; their compensation would be limited to payment for each meeting attended and days' service authorized, plus incidental expenses. The elected representation would not be allowed to serve more than three successive four-year terms.
The Santa Clara County Transit District was established by an act of the California Legislature to provide for the public transit needs of the County of Santa Clara. The legislation establishing the District provides that the District is governed by the Santa Clara county Board of Supervisors. It is proposed that the Board of Supervisors would be replaced with the separate, part-time governing board described above.
State law requires a congestion management program to be developed for each county to help coordinate transportation and land use planning within the county. The legislation leaves some local discretion to designate the agency responsible for undertaking this program. In Santa Clara County, a separate Congestion Management Agency was established in 1991 by a joint powers agreement between the fifteen cities and the County of Santa Clara. That agency is presently governed by a twelve-member board. The proposed consolidation would merge the Transit District and the Congestion Management Agency into a single public entity with one governing board.
Both the Transit District and the Congestion Management Agency each have separate advisory committees and boards. These would be replaced by a single Policy Advisory Board consisting of one representative of each city and the county. In addition, a Technical Advisory Committee consisting of staff of the cities and county would continue to provide technical support.
Implementation of the foregoing proposal requires, among other things, legislation by the California Legislature to amend the Santa Clara County Transit District Act and elections for the five elcted members of the new governing board. A "yes" vote is an expression of support for undertaking these activities. A "no" vote is an expression of disapproval for the proposal. The vote has no binding legal effect because any change in the governance of the Transit District can be accomplished only through a change in state law.
STEVEN M. WOODSIDE
County Counsel
by: ROBERT A. WEERS
Deputy County Counsel
THE ABOVE STATEMENT IS AN IMPARTIAL ANALYSIS OF MEASURE B. THE FULL TEXT OF MEASURE B IS AS FOLLOWS:
Shall the Santa Clara County Transit District be consolidated with the Santa Clara County Congestion Management Agency and governed by a board, separate from the County Board of Supervisors, consisting of sixteen (16) members selected as follows:
Five (5) members elected by district, one from each Santa Clara County supervisorial district;
Five (5) members representing the City of San Jose, appointed by the San Jose City Council;
Five (5) members representing all of the other cities within Santa Clara County, appointed as currently provided in the Santa Clara County Congestion Management Agency Joint Powers Agreement;
One (1) member representing the County of Santa Clara, appointed by the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors;
The five directly elected representatives shall have four-year terms and be limited to a total of three successive four-year terms.
The compensation of the governing board members shall be limited to payment for each meeting attended by the member or for each days' service rendered as a member by request of the board, together with any expenses incident thereto, as provided by law for governing board members of sanitation districts.
The governing board shall have the following advisory committees: (a) a Policy Advisory Board consisting of one representative of each city and one county representative and (b) a Technical Advisory Committee consisting of the appropriate technical staff members from the cities and county with one vote per member agency.
The rights of the employees transferred to the consolidated agenfcy will be protected according to applicable law.
Argument In Favor of 1993 Measure B
It is time to reduce bureaucracy in government.
Measure B merges two transportation agencies into one agency and streamlines government.
It is time to demonstrate responsibility in government.
Measure B implements the recommendations of four different grand jury reports which suggested that the Transit District be separated from the Board of Supervisors. Measure B does this, and reduces the number of government agencies while saving money.
It is time for greater accountability in government.
Measure B separates the Transit District from the Board of Supervisors and merges it with the voter-approved Congestion Management Agency. The new agency will be governed by a 16-member board with representation based on population. The board will have both appointed and directly elected officials.
It is time to link land-use and transportation planning.
Measure B established a governing board that has the power to make transportation decisions in connection with land-use decisions. Most transportation agencies currently don't have the authority to make this critical link.
It is time to reduce costs and set limits in government.
Measure B saves the taxpayers at least $2 million over the next 10 years. It also requires that the board members serve on a part-time and non-salaried basis. The directly elected officials have a three-term limit.
It is time for greater efficiency in government.
There are too many agencies with overlapping responsibilities making decisions about our transportation future. The process is cumbersome, confusing, inefficient and costly. By merging agencies, Meausre B helps untangle the maze. It also helps ensure the county will receive its fair share of state and federal dollars for priority transportation projects.
Measure B is a good government proposal that saves money. Vote Yes on Measure B.
JEAN MCCOWN, Mayor, City of Palo Alto
MEL SOLOMON, Executive Director, Sunnyvale Chamber of Commerce
DIANNE MCKENNA, Board Member/Former Chair, Santa Clara County Congestion Management Agency
MARGARET LEATHERS, Executive Director, American Lung Association
NORMAN Y. MINETA, Chair, Committee on Public Works and Transportation, U.S. House of Representatives
Rebuttal To Argument In Favor Of 1993 Measure B
GRAND JURIES RECOMMEND PUBLIC HEARINGS
Several Grand Juries recommend a separation of our inefficient transportation bureaucracy. The 1984-85 Grand Jury recommended a 15 member blue ribbon committee representing all cities of the county to study and submit recommendations. However the politicians threatened with loss of power because of voter-mandated term limits, hurriedly formulated Measure B without community input and drew districts to help themselves.
DON'T BE DUPED BY THE SUPES
VOTE NO! ON MEASURE "B"
CREATES BUREAUCRACY NEW POLITICAL JOBS
Measure "B" creates NEW POLITICAL JOBS while eliminating none. It increases a 5-member board to 16 politicians and an additional 32 "policy and technical" advisors. The measure increases people officiall involved in the transportation planning to an inefficient 143.
VOTE NO! ON MEASURE "B"
POLITICIANS HIDE COST.
Politicians hid a $2.6 million start-up cost reported by an independent audit and the County Transportation Agency. On August 17, 1993, the politicians who drafted this proposal voted against a request to analyze Measure "B's" total cost to taxpayers.
VOTE NO! ON MEASURE "B"
ADVISORY VOTE IS NOT LEGALLY BINDING.
There are no legal guarantees that Measure "B" will be implemented as written. Sacramento politicians will decide final details without voter consent. Therefore they can legally remove the TERM LIMITS OF THE NEW TRANSIT BOARD and will increase salaries.
DON'T BE DUPED BY THE SUPES
VOTE NO! ON MEASURE "B"
MURPHY SABATINO, President, Santa Clara County Taxpayers Association, Foreman, 1984-85 Grand Jury
CHARLES M. RIEKER, Treasurer, Santa Clara County Taxpayers Association
GILBERT A. GARCIA, President, Retired Teamsters - Past Grand Juror
ROBERT E. PECK, Foreman, 1984-85 Grand Jury
JAMES A. MOWEN, People for Efficient Transportation
In 1992 we urged you to vote term limits on the Board of Supervisors. It was in the interest of good government.
In the same spirit, we ask a NO vote on Measure B.
It is a blank check, wasting tax dollars to create more politican jobs.
COSTS MORE MONEY
The ballot statement reports cost savings, but fails to report start-up costs of $2.6 million. The politicians ignored an independent audit commissioned to study costs when the facts did not fit their purpose.
The independent audit report concludes:
CREATES MORE BUREAUCRACY, NEW POLITICAL JOBS
This effort creates new political jobs and eliminates none.
It increases a 5-member board to 16 politicians, who will have 32 "policy" and "technical" advisors.
The politicians drew new transit district boundaries and made them IDENTICAL to current supervisorial boundaries. Current Supervisors can run for new office in their OWN districts to avoid term limits.
Board Chairman Ron Gonzales criticized this as "a job creation program for politicians."
SACRAMENTO POLITICIANS TO DECIDE DETAILS WITHOUT VOTER APPROVAL
Since this measure is "advisory," it can be changed by Sacramento politicians without voter approval. Term limits can be removed and salaries increased for new politicians at any time.
Politicians placed this proposal on the ballot with no public hearing and limited public discussion to just minutes before their vote.
BETTER, COST-SAVINGS ALTERNATIVES NOT EXPLORED
Citizens asked for more information and for a better measure to be placed on the June 1994 ballot. This would allow for more public input and alternatives which could save tax dollars.
Reject the politicians proposal. It gives inadequate information.
DON'T BE DUPED BY THE SUPES!
Vote NO on Measure B. We can come up with a better plan than the politicians.
MURPHY SABATINO, President, Santa Clara County Taxpayers Association
LU RYDEN, Former Member, San Jose City Council
ROBERT F. COLEMAN, Chairperson, People For Efficient Transportation
HARRY KALLSHIAN, Former Mayor, Los Altos, Past Member, Santa Clara County Transportation Commission
GILBERT A. GARCIA, President, Retired Teamsters
Rebuttal To Argument Against 1993 Measure B
Now is the time to act.
For the past 15 years, people have suggested separating the Transit District from the Board of Supervisors to save money and improve government efficiency. Measure B does that, but the opponents want us to conduct more studies and wait.
Measure B is a "Political Reduction Act."
It replaces the 29 members currently paid to serve on the Transportation Commission, 5 County Supervisors and 12 Congestion Management Agency members with a new governing board of 16 persons. This is a reduction of about 65 percent in positions.
Measure B tells the legislature what we want.
It tells the Legislature how we want the Transit District to be governed. The Legislature won't act to change state law until we provide the instructions.
Measure B saves taxpayers' dollars.
The new governing body is made up of part-time positions, with no salary and with term limits. Measure B reduces the number of governmental agencies, and saves a minimum of $2 million over 10 years.
Measure B promotes sound environmental planning.
It strengthens the link between transportation and land use, and ensures that our future will be properly planned.
Measure B cuts government red tape and waste.
It reduces bureaucracy and improves efficiency by combining agencies with similar functions. It untangles the confusing and costly process for making transportation decisions.
Fifteen years is long enough for inaction. Vote yes to save taxpayers' dollars. Vote yes f or good government. VOTE YES ON MEASURE B.
NORMAN Y. MINETA, Chair, Committee on Public Works and Transportation, U.S. House of Representatives
DIANNE MC KENNA, Board Member, Transit District, Board of Supervisors, Board Member, Santa Clara County Congestion Management Agency
WILLIAM F. MILLER, Professor, Stanford Graduate, School of Business, Past President, SRI
MARY CHARLES, Senior Advocate, Columnist, Spectrum Newspapers
RICHARD NAPIER, Council Member, City of Sunnyvale, Former Member, Santa Clara Transportation Commission
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Results of 1993 Measure B Vote
According to the Santa Clara County Registrar of Voters, of the 234,959 people who voted on Measure B, 130,722 (55.6%) votes YES, and 104,237 (44.4%) voted NO. In 1996, the voter-approved merger of agencies eventually became known as the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority, or VTA.
Harry Kallshian died in 2005 at the age of 92.
Dianne McKenna was termed out of office as County Supervisor in 1996. She is currently on the Planning Commission in Sunnyvale.
Norman Mineta would go on to become U.S. Secretary of Commerce under President Bill Clinton. He would later become U.S. Secretary of Transportation under President George W. Bush. He resigned as U.S. Secretary of Transportation on July 7, 2006.
County Supervisor Ron Gonzales would go on to become Mayor of San Jose. In 1998, he vowed to bring the BART system into San Jose as one of his campaign promises during the race to be Mayor of San Jose. Gonzales would serve two terms as Mayor of San Jose. He would serve as the Chair of the VTA's Board of Directors in 2002. He would use his power and influence as Mayor of San Jose to push VTA - the merged transportation agency he once called "a job creation program for politicians" - to make the BART project a top long-term priority.
The final result of the approved measure was a California State Assembly bill (AB 2442) which led to the creation of the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) we know today. The original bill in May 1994, coauthored by Senator Elaine Alquist and several other menbers of the Legislature, included language allowing for five (5) directly-elected VTA board members. However, revisions to that bill in June 1994 changed the language of the bill such that the five (5) officials were appointed from within city councils or the County Supervisors. The actual history of AB 2442 can be traced here.
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