Election Roundup: Transit Notches Wins In California, Colorado, and New York

Transportation wasn’t explicitly on the ballot yesterday in Massachusetts, but the major “blue wave” that swept the country will eventually have major implications for federal transportation policy, and stave off the Republicans’ proposals for disastrous budget cuts for public transit and safer streets.

When StreetsblogMASS interviewed our newly re-elected Senator Ed Markey earlier this summer, he predicted this result, and pledged that the Democrats would “etch-a-sketch” the next transportation bill to start over with a new version that centers their own priorities.

“We’re not passing any bills before the election. So, let’s just etch-a-sketch. We win the House and Senate, let’s start all over again,” Markey told StreetsblogMASS. “Let’s use our power in order to make sure that we get it right. Not come hat in hand, oh pretty please, you know, allow us to have a little more from here for something else. Let’s do it right, right from the get-go.”

Ballot questions for conservation projects, housing

Massachusetts voters approved two ballot measures that will have some impact on transportation programs in the Bay State.

Question 6, the “Protect Water and Nature” ballot initiative, will carve out a portion of existing sales taxes on sporting goods equipment, RVs, and golf courses to create a new “Nature for All” fund for conservation projects. This new fund is expected to generate around $100 million a year.

A new 15-member board appointed by the Governor would make recommendations for the fund’s expenditures, but proponents say that the spending could include new trail projects and support the MassTrails grant program and support the buildout of the Commonwealth’s priority trails network (lawmakers in the state legislature will ultimately have the last word on how the money gets spent, because ballot questions can not technically dictate state budget decisions).

The ballot initiative explicitly does not create any new taxes, but instead carves out a portion of existing sales taxes for the new conservation fund. However, the wording of the law stipulates that won’t affect the MBTA’s dedicated one-cent share of the sales tax.

Another ballot question, Question 7, aims to legalize more housing in built-up areas of the state that already have water and sewer infrastructure – and these are also areas of the state that are either in more walkable downtown districts, or have access to public transportation.

As of 10 a.m. Wednesday, question 7 was still too close to call, but the ballot measure was leading in many of the Boston-area suburban areas where it would have made the most impact.

Elsewhere in the nation

Some notable results from other parts of the country:

• Bay Area voters approved an increased sales tax to support regional transit, including BART and Caltrain, while San Francisco voters approved an additional new property tax to support Muni bus and streetcar operations. San Francisco voters also voted, by a 2-to-1 margin, to keep the Sunset Dunes park on the city’s beachfront, instead of reverting it back to the four-lane highway that it had been before 2020. StreetsblogSF has more details.
• In Los Angeles, City Councilor and urban planner Nithya Raman (who grew up in Massachusetts) is leading against incumbent Karen Bass in the mayoral race, but the contest is still too close to call.
• Seattle voters overwhelmingly approved a sales tax increase to avoid cuts and make small increases to service on local buses and the city’s streetcar.
• Colorado voters approved a new regional sales tax to fund a new “Colorado Connector” intercity passenger rail service. With the new funding in place, Colorado plans to run 8-10 daily trains along the state’s most densely-populated corridor at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, between Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, and Fort Collins.
• In New York, Gov. Kathy Hochul faced her first election challenge since implementing New York City’s congestion pricing program in 2024. Her challenger, Republican Bruce Blakeman, promised to cancel congestion tolls, and warned that “whether it’s New York City, Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Albany, Binghamton or any town in between… congestion pricing will come to you if Kathy Hochul is reelected.” Don’t threaten New York’s voters with a good time: they gave Hochul an overwhelming 20-point victory.
• Closer to home, Providence’s new mayor-elect David Morales has a transportation platform that includes pledges to build more raised crosswalks throughout the city to calm traffic and to provide free RIPTA transit passes to Providence public school students.