Hey LACBC Fam,
It’s September. Fall is starting, students are back in school, and the election season is in full swing. At LACBC we’re in campaign mode and on Tuesday we launched our #makeLACounty Measure M campaign. We’re excited to inform and educate you on Measure M and how it will #makeLACounty more bikeable, livable, and connected. We helped Mayor Eric Garcetti kick off the Measure M campaign two weeks ago with many of our partners.
We’re going all in on Measure M because for the first time it gives LA County a chance to have dedicated and sustained funding for people who walk and bike–over $4 billion worth of investment.
Now, we know there are some skeptics out there and we get it, it’s not perfect. I’ve had internal conflicts myself. It is a sales tax, which is regressive and historically negatively impacts low income folks of color more than others. It also doesn’t get every region’s projects done at once. It doesn’t really address how displacement and the housing crisis and lack of green space play into transportation. These things are real. These things can’t be ignored. These things keep me up at night. We’re working on other ballot initiatives like Proposition HHH (Help House the Homeless), Measure JJJ (Build Better LA) and Measure A (Parks for All) to address some of these things. We’re continuing to work at the intersections of transportation and other issues like race, homelessness, housing, and health in every single thing we do. No ballot campaign will change that or distract from our values to make fighting inequity a key value in our work.
But we’re also fighting for a yes vote on M, because without it, we lose the dedicated funding we stand to gain. We lose the local returns that start right away and are controlled locally. We lose a chance for LA County to be more bikeable, livable and connected.
We will continue to fight for the just and equitable implementation of transportation policies, money, and infrastructure throughout LA County. But we have nothing to implement if this doesn’t pass. So when you go to the ballot, we ask that you #VoteYesOnM. Stay tuned on Tuesdays the next few weeks for our updates and if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out.
We’re here to educate and engage. This is a big election and no matter how you decide to vote, making your voice count is key. Visit our #makeLACounty campaign page and make a pledge to vote.
Ride On,
Tamika Butler
LACBC Executive Director
p.s. Firefly Ball is coming up on 10/27. Did you see our winners announced here? We want you to celebrate with us, so buy tickets now!