Jul. 15--Sacramento County leaders on Wednesday dropped their plans to put a half-cent transportation sales tax measure on the November ballot after recent polling showed the measure was unlikely to pass.
Measure A, which would have raised about $8 billion over 40 years for road and transit improvements, appears to have been supported by about 62 percent of potential voters, but would have needed two-thirds majority approval to pass.
The Sacramento Transportation Authority board, made up of county supervisors and council representatives from cities, voted 13-0 to shut down its effort to offer the transportation package to voters.
Officials cited the economic and social shock of the coronavirus pandemic and the upheaval of recent police protests, saying that the voting public had become less in the mood to agree to increase the sales tax.
"We understand the public sentiment at this time given the pandemic and social unrest, people are focused on other things," said STA board chairman Darren Suen, a member of the Elk Grove City Council.
The tax supporters were attempting to position the program as an economic development tool during the COVID-19 crisis, adding thousands of infrastructure jobs as well as improving mobility in the county.
While a majority supported the measure, a vocal group of advocates against increasing taxes positioned itself to campaign against the measure, dampening chances that proponents could win support necessary.
Suen said the need for transportation improvements remains. "People will travel again and we will have to face these issues, and that is where the conversations will need to continue."
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