Assemblywoman Marie Walron is holding SANDAG accountable for their reckless spending, and the transportation giant isn’t taking it very well. Her recent bill, AB 1398, would require two-thirds of San Diego’s voters to approve any changes to TransNet spending.
TransNet, SANDAG’S voter-approved sales tax, has been abused for years in order to sap more money from taxpayers. Now, perhaps, voters will finally be able to rein in the endless spending.
Many of us are all too aware of TransNet’s financial crisis. Revenue has been coming in far below expectations, and the costs of projects have only increased over time. Elected officials are finally beginning to acknowledge the fact that nothing they’ve promised voters is feasible, which is a step in the right direction, but knowing is only half of the solution.
Stopping SANDAG won’t be easy. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzales continues to demonstrate her incredible lack of common sense, especially considering how her bill, AB 805, practically exempts SANDAG from any and all fiscal responsibility while simultaneously providing a myriad of potential financial sources for lavish bureaucratic projects.
In order to reduce the power and wasteful spending of SANDAG, Assemblywoman Waldron would have to fend off attacks from Gonzalez and her Democratic supermajority in the State Legislature. Taxpayers need to know that TransNet is a complete disaster; the only question that remains is how we’re going to stop it.
