At a meeting yesterday to decide the fate of $4.6 million in newly discovered transit funds, Supervisors McGoldrick and Sandoval led five of their colleagues in voting to cut parking fees rather than stopping layoffs, fare hikes, and service cuts. For anyone questioning whether San Francisco is indeed a transit-first city, as MUNI officials keep insisting it is, the Board's decision serves as a response in the negative. As one community member put it, "We are a world class city without a world class public transportation system."

Supervisors Aaron Peskin, Fiona Ma, Bevan Dufty, Sean Eslbernd, Sophie Maxwell, Jake McGoldrick, Gerardo Sandoval and Michela Alioto-Pier voted yesterday that half of the $9.2 million found in the MUNI budget should go towards lowering parking fines and fees.

Sandoval and McGoldrick were the most vocal proponents of this plan, voicing their oppositing several times towards working to stop the MTA from increasing fares or laying off transit operators. Both supervisors cited loss of funding if they delayed in their decision-making, and concern for car drivers and small-business owners, who they claimed would be devastated by even a $5/month increase in permit fees.

However, neither the small business owners nor the car drivers had representatives at yesterday's meeting. As Supervisor Chris Daly pointed out, "I've received two emails from merchant owners. Meanwhile we've heard hundreds of people and received thousands of postcards in opposition [to fare increases and service cuts]."

The "thousands of postcards" Daly mentioned urged supervisors to stop MUNI from raising fares and cutting service. "San Franciscans depend on affordable and reliable bus service to get to school and work and we can't afford more for less," they read. Distributed by the Coalition for Transit Justice at intersections and bus stops, and on the buses themselves, more than 3,000 people signed a yellow, blue, or green card.

In addition to agreeing to prioritizing lowering parking fines and fees over lowering fares and stopping cuts to services, the Board also rejected a motion to send the entire MTA budget back to the agency for further review. Approval would have forced the MTA to prioritize stopping fare hikes and service cuts in their budget-making process.

"I support the rejection of the budget not because I think everyone is a demon over at MTA, but in many ways, it's a class issue," explained Supervisor Tom Ammiano, the third of the three supervisors in support of returning the MTA budget for revision. He added that while the demographic has expanded, meaning some people with cars chose to take MUNI for environmental, social, or political reasons, "The majority who take MUNI do not have a choice. I don't think it fair to say "you don't have a choice, so live with it."

Yesterday's results came as a surprise to many, particularly to the more than one hundred people who rallied outside City Hall just an hour before the meeting began. Carrying "Don't Cut My Bus" picket signs and chanting "No fare hikes, No service cuts, Transit justice now!" protesters included a wide variety of concerned citizens, transit workers and activists.

Local 2's Mike Casey, Sister Bernie Galvin, and Supervisors Chris Daly and Ross Mirkarimi spoke at the rally. Daly commended those opposing fare hikes and service cuts for making the MTA budget an issue for the Board of Supervisors and Mayor Gavin Newsom to consider, and both supervisors criticized those opposed to making San Francisco a "truly" transit-first city by voting in favor of reducing parking fees and fines.

"We should not nickel and dime or amend our way to having a first class transit-first policy," said Mirkarimi. He added that doing so would have global impacts that reached far beyond our city's boarders to places such as Iraq, where we have troops fighting, in great part, because of our reliance on fossil fuels. "How in the hell, in good conscience, when there are people fighting our war, can we vote for a budget that basically spells their certain death?" he asked.

Several activists at the rally felt that Michael Burns must shoulder much of the blame of the MTA budget. Sarah Norr for the Coalition for Transit Justice said she was "disgusted that our system is being run by a man who pays himself the highest salary of any city offical."

Other transit advocates agreed. James Muszalski proposed that MUNI's problems lie in greed. "I suggest Burns retire and go find some brotherly love," he said, referring to Burns' former home of Philadelphia. Mission Agenda's Richard Marquez, referring to the stem cell researchers who might soon be calling San Francisco home, said, "We don't need to clone Michael Burns. Leave his cells alone."

Beri McGrueer, a MUNI driver, said she did not think it fair that MUNI officials cut services and hike fares again. "They've been cutting services all along, ever since Michael Burns was appointed manager," she said. She confirmed that during the past two years MUNI employees agreed to relinquish 5 days of their pay as well as any overtime in order to ensure that hikes and cuts didn't happen. "They happened anyway," McGrueer steamed. "We've done our part, they haven't done theirs."

While outside City Hall, a passionate Marquez proclaimed "People thought we were downright crazy to take on the MTA. It takes conscious and committed people to fight transit justice and that ain't crazy. It's all right to ride the rails and buses 'til the wheels fall off. Power to fast pass holders!"

But the Board, with the exception of the progressive core of Mirkarimi, Daly and Ammiano, had a different agenda.