FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Cary Catalano, (559) 355-0751
Broad Coalition of Fresno County Leaders, Including Republican Mayors, Unite Behind Measure S to Fix Roads and Improve Transportation Safety
Safe, well-maintained streets are essential to public health and county-wide prosperity
FRESNO COUNTY, Calif. — Supporters of Measure S, the countywide transportation funding measure on the November ballot, today pointed to the growing and unusually broad coalition behind the initiative — spanning cities, business, labor, and community organizations across Fresno County — as evidence that voters are tired of do-nothing politicians and ready to invest in safer, better-maintained roads.
There is only one solution on the ballot to fix potholes, repair neighborhood streets, and improve safety in Fresno County without raising taxes: Measure S.
Measure S was developed to address deteriorating streets and roads, improve transportation safety, strengthen public transit, provide safer routes to school, and make long-term transportation investments throughout Fresno County. Sixty-five percent of revenue generated would go directly to local road repairs, that’s twice the amount dedicated under the current transportation measure.
Among the measure’s strongest supporters are Republican mayors from across the county, including Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer, Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua, Coalinga Mayor Nathan Vosburg, Mendota Mayor Victor Martinez, and Parlier Mayor Alma Beltran — leaders who say the measure’s funding formula corrects decades of underinvestment in local streets and smaller and rural communities.
“It’s not based on party affiliation whatsoever,” said Coalinga Mayor Nathan Vosburg, a self-described conservative and vocal Measure S backer. Vosburg and other Republican mayors have pushed back on characterizations of the measure as a partisan issue, arguing instead that it’s about which communities finally get the funding to fix roads that have gone without for years.
Andy Levine, elaborated on the scope of support:
“There is a reason Measure S has attracted widespread support across Fresno County. Mayors and councilmembers representing large cities and small rural communities, along with business, labor and community leaders, support Measure S because their communities need dependable transportation funding and because the plan invests throughout the county.
“It provides transportation investments for communities throughout the region — from neighborhood road repairs and potholes to safer routes to school, public transportation and improved regional connections.
“Measure S gives Fresno County voters a clear choice about the future of their transportation system. We are confident that when voters examine what the measure actually provides, the accountability protections it contains and the broad coalition supporting it, they will understand why so many local leaders and community organizations have come together behind Measure S.”
Measure S includes strong accountability provisions such as citizen oversight and independent financial and performance audits, intended to ensure funds are spent as promised.
Safe, well-maintained roads carry direct public health benefits — reducing traffic injuries, improving access to schools and medical care, and improving safe walking, biking, and transit options in every neighborhood, without raising taxes.
Measure S goes before Fresno County voters on the November 3 ballot.