MUNI Reform Coming to Fall Ballot, Sans Big Opposition

Well, this has been an interesting week. I’d refrained from commenting on the early reports about the ongoing shuffle behind the scenes as pro-parking and pro-MUNI reform folks were going back and forth, since I knew that commenting too early on endless speculation would be kind of silly.
From reports online and at the Chronicle, a suitable compromised was reached. The MUNI reform measure will go forth, without any high-dollar opposition from folks who were pushing a downtown parking measure that would have been trumped by the MUNI charter amendment.
This also lets the Mayor off the hook since he can now support the measure he was for, then against, and now seemingly can be for, without making anyone mad.
As I’ve said before, there’s some things to like in the measure, and some things I’m not particularly thrilled about. However, when you compare the original proposal (which angered both labor union bosses and developer/parking advocates) and compare it to the one we can vote on this fall, not too much has changed, and the two biggest funders of a “no” campaign are no longer opposing it. That’s no mean feat in the shark tank of local politics and policy.
In upcoming posts, I’ll be taking a closer look at different pieces of the plan and hope to start up some discussion this fall. However, no matter how you feel about MUNI, the fact is, we do have a chance to right some wrongs and plug some holes in the system, and rather than resign ourselves to cynicism, we should spend more time focusing on solving problems, and not just complain all the time.
After all, the bike people and the dog people get pretty much everything they want, because they’re organized and they push for solutions they want. More people ride MUNI than ride bikes or have dogs – maybe it’s time we got something that benefited us for a change!