League of Women Voters of California Education Fund
	Los Angeles County, CA November 6, 2012 Election
	Measure J Accelerating Traffic Relief, Job Creation County of Los Angeles Continuation of Voter-Approved Sales Tax Increase - 2/3 Approval Required Fail: 1,893,340 / 66.11% Yes votes ...... 970,611 / 33.89% No votes See Also: Index of all Measures

Arguments For Measure J

Arguments Against Measure J

Measure J will create hundreds of thousands of jobs in LA County over the next decade by speeding up local highway and transit projects. Measure J accelerates the completion of public transit projects and provides more funding for countywide highway, transit, and local street improvements by continuing the County's voter-approved one-half cent traffic relief sales tax without a tax rate increase. CREATES OVER 400,000 JOBS. With LA County suffering 12 percent unemployment, Measure J will create over 410,000 local jobs, according to the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corporation. SPEEDS UP PROJECTS. Measure J will speed up the completion of light rail, subway and airport connection projects in just 13 years rather than 27 years. It enables local cities to fix thousands of potholes annually and repair congested and deteriorated roads countywide. IMPROVES FREEWAY TRAFFIC FLOW. Measure J will improve traffic flow on the 5, 10, 14,60, 101, 110, 134, 138,210,405,605 and 710 freeways. Measure J will upgrade our aging freeway and highway system, including bridge and tunnel improvements, and help prepare for hundreds of thousands of additional cars expected in coming decades. IMPROVES EARTHQUAKE SAFETY. Measure J will speed the earthquake repair of aging bridges, tunnels and overpasses. KEEPS SENIOR FARES LOW. Measure J keeps bus fares low for seniors, students and the disabled. ALL FUNDS STAY LOCAL, WITH STRICT ACCOUNTABILITY PROVISIONS. Measure J requires that all revenues stay in Los Angeles County, with no money for Sacramento. By law, funds can be used ONLY for transportation improvement projects and services with annual independent audits and full public review of expenditures. Jumpstart local jobs and traffic relief. Vote YES on J. For more information, visit MeasureJ4Jobs.org. GARY L. TOEBBEN President & CEO Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce ROBERT HUNTER Executive Secretary Los Angeles/Orange Counties Building and Construction Trades Council BARBARA A. MESSINA Mayor, City of Alhambra President, San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments MARY LESLIE President, Los Angeles Business Council ADRIANO MARTINEZ Director Southern California Environmental Justice Project, Natural Resources Defense Council Rebuttal to Arguments For Measure J is filled with FALSE PROMISES of job creation and accelerated traffic relief. It manipulates voters into paying more taxes without accountability or protections on how that money is spent. Measure J falsely promises accelerated projects but the truth is: NO ACCELERATION of the Green Line connection to LAX without outside funding NO FUNDING for rail connections to our regional airports--Long Beach, Ontario, Bob Hope, Palmdale NO FUNDING for the Crenshaw Line's Leimart Park Station and Wilshire Extension NO FUNDING to extend the Gold Line to Claremont NO FULL FUNDING for the I-405 Corridor Project NO HELP for the Exposition Line to Santa Monica Measure J proponents intentionally overstate the creation of jobs in Los Angeles County. Jobs can only be created if struggling federal and state agencies give us billions of dollars to complete Measure J projects. Measure J won't fix gridlock. The same projects were already promised in 2008, but will now take 60 years of taxation instead of 30. Measure J DOESN'T MANDATE "funding ... bridges, safety and traffic flow improvements; fixing potholes." Measure J DOESN'T MANDATE "keeping senior, student, disabled fares low." Measure J SHORTCHANGES Metrolink's fair share of funding to improve passenger safety and travel speed--by locking in Metrolink at 3%. Measure J disenfranchises growing cities and unincorporated communities + by tying funding to frozen 2004 population levels. Measure J forces a heavy burden onto taxpayers, creating massive debt for our grandchildren + all for one political, multi-billion dollar bloated subway. Join local business leaders, Chambers of Commerce and elected officials and vote NO on Measure J. DON FLEMING Santa Clarita Valley Economic Development Corporation DR. SANDRA E. THOMAS Former State Director, NAACP R. REX PARRIS Mayor, City of Lancaster CAROL CHEN Councilmember, City of Cerritos RICHARD P. MONTGOMERY Councilmember, City of Manhattan Beach

Measure J may sound great, but it's classic bait-and-switch! It is deeply flawed, inequitable, and ill-timed. In 2008, Measure R promised the voters of Los Angeles County that if they taxed themselves for the next 30 years through a half-cent sales tax, they'd have new transportation projects delivered on time and on budget to ease traffic congestion throughout the County. Now, just 4 years later, Metro is coming back asking for more of your money. Why? Because they know the higher taxes you're already paying aren't enough to finish the projects they promised you. Just because the money is accelerated doesn't mean the projects you were promised will get completed. Measure J relies on funding that is not guaranteed. For example, the Green Line to LAX cannot be built without outside funding. In fact, there is no money to connect rail to the Long Beach, Ontario, Bob Hope or Palmdale airports as Measure J promises. Because Measure J only accelerates projects already on the books, it won't create any new jobs that wouldn't have been created under Measure R. Measure J is just a way for all County residents to pay for the pet projects of one municipality and does not guarantee that all 88 cities get their fair share. For example, San Fernando Valley represents 37% of Los Angeles City population, but they only received 13% of the City's Measure R funding. Some Los Angeles County residents will be paying taxes until 2069 that will never be invested in their communities. Measure R listed specific projects for construction and only allowed changes to that list after 10 years. Measure J removes those taxpayer protections and allows special interests to move money right now. We need honest, responsible traffic relief - but a blank check that our kids and grandkids will pay for the next 60 years is not the answer. Vote NO on Measure J! MICHAEL D. ANTONOVICH Chairman, Los Angeles County MTA DON KNABE Los Angeles County Supervisor, MTA Board Member JOHN PARKER Chairman of the Board, United Chambers of Commerce of the San Fernando Valley MARIO A. GUERRA Council Member, City of Downey SAM PEDROZA Council Member, City of Claremont Rebuttal to Arguments Against Measure J rejects the old pork-barrel politics that gave us congested freeways in favor of immediate jobs and traffic relief. OUR COUNTY NEEDS JOBS NOW. Measure J creates jobs now, when unemployed workers in Los Angeles County need them most and construction prices are low. Accelerating highway and transportation projects will create 410,000 jobs over the next ten years. COUNTYWIDE PLAN. Measure J is a countywide plan. The first major project was the Orange Line extension in the San Fernando Valley, completed on schedule and under budget. Measure J will accelerate projects in the San Fernando Valley, South Bay, San Gabriel Valley, southeast Los Angeles County and North County. This includes a new transit line connecting the San Fernando Valley to West Los Angeles and highway improvements in all parts of the county. INDEPENDENT OVERSIGHT. Measure J mandates independent oversight by a committee of retired judges to make sure tax dollars are spent properly. LOCALLY-CONTROLLED STREET REPAIR. Measure J means every city and every part of unincorporated Los Angeles County will get 30 additional years of locally-controlled funding to invest in better streets, roads, sidewalks and transit. JOBS NOW, INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE. Measure J is an investment in the future. Measure J means jobs now and a modern, efficient transportation system that works for everyone for the long-term. Vote YES on Measure J! DAVID W. FLEMING San Fernando Valley Civic Leader SERGIO RASCON Business Manager, Laborers Local 300 BARBARA A. MESSINA Mayor, City of Alhambra President, San Gabriel Valley Council of Governments MARTHA DIAZ ASZKENAZY Chair of the Valley Economic Alliance JOHN FASANA Mayor of Duarte Chair SGV, COG Transportation Committee