Last July, Mayor Gavin Newsom threatened to kill Muni Reform because Supervisor Aaron Peskin added a provision in the Charter Amendment about parking policy. But now that Proposition A is on the November ballot, the Mayor has indicated his support. Prop A’s passage, however, is far but assured – as turnout is expected to be low and early absentees will comprise over 50% of the electorate. Meanwhile, concerns that Prop A would take power away from an elected body (the Board of Supervisors) to an appointed body (the MTA) could be moot – if Supervisor Jake McGoldrick’s proposal to directly elect MTA Commissioners goes ahead. Prop A does consolidate power with the MTA, but it makes sense to have the same people who regulate Muni make basic decisions about parking and traffic.

Proposition A was the product of hours of negotiation by the Board of Supervisors, the Mayor’s Office, labor unions and transit advocates. Inevitably, it is not a perfect reform measure – the result of stakeholders meeting together where everyone agrees to give up a little. But on the eve of it being placed on the ballot, Mayor Newsom sent out a press release that he could not support it – because a clause was inserted to preserve our parking policy and deflect the potentially devastating consequences of Proposition H. This upset a few Downtown business types who clearly have the Mayor’s ear.

But now that Prop A is on the ballot, BeyondChron has learned that the Mayor signed a statement at Aaron Peskin’s request to endorse it. Newsom said that it wasn’t even a “big deal,” as he told Peskin that he goes around town stating his support while campaigning for his own re-election. Since becoming Mayor, Newsom has occasionally stood up for progressive causes – such as the hotel boycott and universal health care – even when it means offending his allies in the business community. Newsom’s support for Prop A appears to be an example of him making inroads with progressives.

And Prop A will need all the support it can get. While the campaign clearly has the broadest coalition of supporters on the November ballot, a lackluster Mayor’s race and an unopposed District Attorney means that turnout will be very low. The “Yes on A” campaign expects that early absentee voters – who are more conservative – will comprise over 50% of the electorate, which means that there isn’t much time to reach voters. Absentee ballots will be mailed out on October 10th, so the campaign is starting to phone-bank now.

As I reported last week, progressive Supervisors Jake McGoldrick and Gerardo Sandoval – who joined conservatives Michela Alioto-Pier and Ed Jew in opposing Prop A – have signed the official ballot argument against it due to concerns about accountability. It is true that Prop A takes some basic parking and traffic decisions away from the Board of Supervisors (an elected body) and into the hands of the MTA (7 Commissioners who are appointed by the Mayor.) This, says McGoldrick, “undermines the democratic principle of ‘consent of the governed.’”

But Prop A also reduces the number of Supervisors who can reject a Muni Budget from 8 to 7, making it easier in coming years to fight a budget with fare hikes and service cuts. And our transit system is dysfunctional in part because while the MTA runs the buses and the Department of Parking and Traffic, decisions about how to direct the flow of traffic, parking meters and parking fees are done independently by the Board of Supervisors.

Fortunately, McGoldrick has proposed a pro-active solution that should allay concerns about giving more power to an unelected body. He has asked the City Attorney’s Office to draft a Charter Amendment to elect the MTA Commissioners. An elected MTA is a promising step – we already elect the BART Board, and voters in the East Bay get to elect the AC Transit Board. If the MTA were elected, Muni would be less likely to balance its budget on the backs of low-income bus riders and other people who rely on Muni because they have no choice – by raising fares and cutting service.

It is too late to put a Charter Amendment on the February 2008 ballot, but it is not too late to do so in June. As I’ve written before, June will be a good ballot for progressive propositions – as the Leno-Migden race will ensure a healthy East Side turnout. When the Prop A campaign is over, transit advocates should look ahead to June and consider a Charter Amendment to elect the MTA. If June does not turn out to be a good ballot, November 2008 should also be favorable.

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