Please contact the Board of Supervisors ASAP

Tomorrow the Board of Supervisors will hear a report on a survey which was intended to inform a “road tax” that would go on the 2024 ballot. 350 Humboldt and other environmental groups have supported the position that it is critical that improvements for public transportation be included in the measure.

Below is a letter that the environmental groups are sending to Board of Supervisors members. We request that you call or email your supervisor to make the basic point: Do not approve any road tax or transportation ballot measure that doesn’t increase and improve public transit options, as that is one of the major ways we can reduce greenhouse gas emissions in Humboldt County.

Here is contact information for each supervisor.

Steve Madrone: [email protected]

Mike Wilson: [email protected]

Natalie Arroyo: [email protected]

Rex Bohn: [email protected]

Michelle Bushnell: [email protected]

Better yet if you can attend the meeting and make a public comment to the same effect. The agenda shows the item will be heard at 2pm; it also explains how to attend or comment: https://humboldt.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=A&ID=1092539&GUID=2AFAD939-56BF-4891-ABB7-5E453B7A90C9

Thank you.

350 Humboldt Steering Committee

LETTER FROM ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS

Dear Supervisors,

As you consider your options for a transportation revenue ballot measure for 2024, we are writing to remind you that the environmental community strongly supports including funding for public transit in any such ballot measure and will oppose any “road tax” measure that fails to include public transit and other work to decarbonize transportation.

Improving public transit is not just a fundamental requirement for social and economic justice in our region—public transit is also perhaps the most important step we can take to combat the climate crisis. Transportation accounts for more than half of local climate pollution, and diverting private vehicle trips to public transit has significant potential for climate mitigation.

We also remind you that public support for ballot measures is strongly dependent on framing. In the polling results you will be reviewing, support for road improvements ranged from 30% to 72% depending on framing. Respondents were not offered the same variety of transit-related options to consider (particularly options with positive framing), but support nevertheless varied from 42% to 61% depending on framing.

The polling results also show that climate change is a top issue of concern for Humboldt County voters, ranking higher than road conditions. But follow-up questions from the pollsters neither gauged support for funding climate action nor tied public transit to the climate issue. Nor did the polling assess support for a hypothetical ballot measure that included transit funding. These oversights must be considered when interpreting the results.

Again, we strongly urge you to include public transit funding in your revenue measure for November 2024, and to develop strong and appropriate messaging in order to activate existing public support for transit investment and climate action.

Colin Fiske, CRTP executive director

On behalf of:

Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities

Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC)

Northcoast Environmental Center (NEC)

Redwood Coalition for Climate and Environmental Responsibility (RCCER)

350 Humboldt