Argument in Favor of Measure BB

A Yes vote on Measure BB is a vote to protect lives in an earthquake.

A YES vote on Measure BB will keep BART up and running and keep traffic and our economy moving.

In 1989, we learned just how vulnerable the Bay Area is to traffic gridlock following a major earthquake. BART is the backbone of Bay Area transportation, carrying 45% of all Transbay traffic during the peak commute. If BART were put out of service, traffic jams would choke the region. It would threaten jobs and impair emergency response. It would affect our quality of life, forcing commuters to spend more time in traffic and less time with our families.

Earthquake safety experts say modern engineering methods will help keep the system up and running after a major temblor -- but only if we Vote YES on Measure BB.

A YES vote on Measure BB will benefit all of us, whether we use BART or not. It will strengthen the Transbay Tube under San Francisco Bay and make other seismic safety improvements to 3O-year-old elevated tracks, older stations, and other BART facilities.

Funds from a YES vote on Measure BB will be dedicated only to seismic safety projects recommended by geologists, safety experts and engineers.

A YES vote on Measure BB will protect your investment with an independent oversight committee to make sure every cent goes to seismic repair and safety.

We all know there will be earthquakes in the future. Now is the time to prepare, by voting YES on Measure BB.

Vote YES to protect lives.

Vote YES to keep traffic moving.

Vote YES to protect our investment in BART.

Vote Yes to keep our economy strong.

Vote Yes on Measure BB. For our Safety. For our Future.

Joel Keller
BART Board of Directors, President

Dr. Jack P. Moehle, PhD
Pacific Earthquake Engineering Research Center, Director

Mark C. Shaw
East Bay League of Conservation Voters, President

Eva Alexis Bansner
League of Women Voters of the Bay Area, President

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ARGUMENT AGAINST MEASURE BB

"Bay Area residents and commuters be aware. BART is setting its sights on our
pocketbooks" ("BART Asks Riders, Taxpayers to Balance Budget," Oakland Tribune 06/23/02).

• Last year, BART "knuckled under to union demands in a ridiculous contract" (Contra Costa Times, 8/5/02).

• In May, BART's general manager, now facing predictable deficits, reported
having "to defer many new projects.. including system rehabilitation... and seismic improvement" (FY 2003 Preliminary Budget).

• Two months later, BART's bureaucrats rolled out Measure BB, expected to to cost Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Francisco taxpayers $2.2 Billion (principal + interest) if passed.

• As the Times editorial continued: [BART,] "You have increased fares... cut
back services... laid off... union workers because of the contract you signed...
Talk about your bad timing..." ("Expect Voter Backlash," 8/5/02).

BART-tax promoters will advertise Measure BB's "minor cost.” But notice:

• Taxes already consume half the next dollar earned by many Bay Area families. That happened gradually—one "price of a hamburger" at a time.

• Already, "Americans spend more money per capita on taxes ($10,447) than on food ($2,713), clothing ($1,436), and shelter ($5,913) combined" ("Tax Facts," San Francisco Chronicle, 3/27/02).

• $19 Billion in new state bonds (plus interest) appear on this same ballot.
Meanwhile, the PUC voted in August to force ratepayers to fund a $12 Billion bond ransom for energy blunders by statehouse politicians.

• Taxpayers cannot continue financing every out-of-control program, or imagined solutions to every contingency. Regarding BART's demands, the Tribune wisely advised "looking at alternatives that include paybacks of funds Californians have already sent to Washington."

Bonds = taxes! Special-interest beneficiaries of BART's spendthrift habits will richly fund BART's campaign for higher taxes. In contrast, we are grassroots campaigners for fiscal sanity.

Please join us in voting NO on BART Bonds!

Kenneth E. Hambrick Management Consultant; Chairman, Alliance of Contra Costa Taxpayers

Elsa C. Cheung Coordinator, Citizens Opposing Unreasonable New Taxes, San Francisco

Ralph A. Hernandez Career Peace Officer, 32 Years; Chairman, Citizens for Democracy, Antioch

Scott A. Wilson Equipment Service Manager; Contra Costa Chairman, Libertarian Party, Concord

Kenneth D. Steadman Personnel Manager and Director of Labor Relations, Retired; President, Waste Watchers, Inc., Fremont.