Community advocates scored a major victory in June in their fight for fairness and inclusion when the Transportation for All coalition gained 12 seats on the Measure C transportation sales tax renewal committee.
The move came after eight months of negotiations with the Fresno Council of Governments (COG) and a competing series of ongoing workshops between the two sides that saw the coalition of more than 30 community-based organizations outdraw the COG by a greater than 20 to 1 margin. More than 2,000 residents of rural and urban areas of Fresno County have participated so far with more ahead, including Selma on Aug. 2, Dunlap on Aug. 7 and Tollhouse on Aug. 8. (See transportationforall.com.)
Measure C is Fresno County’s current half-cent sales tax to fund local transportation projects, initially approved by voters for 20 years in 1986. Set to expire in 2027, the current goal is to place a measure to renew it on the ballot in November 2026. The tax was last renewed by voters for 20 years in 2006, after having first been defeated in 2002, which attempted to make it a 30-year-long measure dedicated mostly to continued freeway and highway expansion.
Recent years’ process is almost identical to what occurred in 2002 and 2006 when a community coalition was ignored by the status quo renewal committee. The groups defeated the first renewal attempt with their “Got Smog? Got Asthma? No on C” campaign and secured a better community engagement program in 2006. (“Can You ‘C’ the Mountains,” Community Alliance archives, May 2002)
“A people-driven process gives us the best chance to move forward a transportation measure we can all support in 2026,” reads a statement from Sandra Celedon, a member of the coalition and president and CEO of Fresno Building Healthy Communities.
“We know the community has the expertise to shape road, transit and mobility solutions to meet our everyday needs and make our county a better place to live and work for decades to come. People know what our neighborhoods need; we pay the taxes, and we deserve to have a say in how our hard-earned money is spent.”
“We all agree that we need a measure to fund critical projects across our county,” said Alma Beltran and Victor Martinez in the same statement. Beltran, mayor of Parlier, chairs the COG; Martinez, mayor of Mendota, is the vice chair. “Now more than ever, it’s important that we work together to put a plan in place that leads to a balanced ballot measure—one that Fresno County families can support and that truly benefits our entire region.”
“‘Moving Forward Together’ is not just the title for our campaign. It’s what we’ve wanted from the very beginning,” added Dave Rivas, a member of the coalition and a senior field representative with the NorCal Carpenters Union.
“We all need to work on a plan that includes as many voices as possible to ultimately build the best, most efficient and safest projects to benefit all of Fresno County—projects that help folks get to work, help students get to school and help parents take care of their kids.”
With the addition of the dozen community groups, a move supported by Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, the renewal committee now has 36 members and will be meeting monthly through November. The reformed committee first met on July 17. The Fresno City Council met earlier that day, and COG staff presented an update on the renewal effort.
Council Members Michael Karbassi and Tyler Maxwell criticized inclusion of the community groups and joined with City Manager Georgeanne White in calling for the reinstatement of committee member Brooke Ashjian, a Dyer appointment.
Ashjian was removed a few days earlier by the COG chair, Mayor Beltran, for repeated violations of the committee’s agreed-upon ground rules that prevent committee members from publicly criticizing the process; Ashjian had been vehemently objecting to the community groups’ involvement.
Also objecting to community representation is Fresno County Supervisor Buddy Mendes, who also serves as chair of the Fresno County Transportation Authority.
“They’ve been able to muscle their way into this,” said Karbassi. “It’s very frustrating for me. Who appoints them?” he demanded to know. Very late to the game, Karbassi wants the City to directly appoint a percentage of seats that reflects the city’s percentage of the county population.
“These folks have a history of not playing fair and safe,” he falsely claimed, adding misleadingly, “they went and reneged once they got what they wanted (in 2022). It’s going to happen again.”
Maxwell proclaimed the Transportation for All coalition has “commandeered” the Measure C renewal process and consists of “people who all think the same thing,” incorrectly describing these community leaders and activists as “outside folks.”
