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Ready for some good news? Voters around the country got to decide on 29 transportation-related ballot initiatives yesterday. According to an analysis by the Center for Transportation Excellence, transportation advocates and reformers won 73 percent of them. If you add in other initiatives that passed earlier this year, the victory rate jumps to 77 percent.

Voters in Michigan's Wayne, Oakland and Macomb counties overwhelmingly approved a property tax renewal to fund local bus service in their communities. Photo: CBS

“In the midst of an election framed as a revolt against the size of government and the scope of taxes and spending, we not only saw transportation investment measures meet the 10 year success rate average but exceed it,” said Jason Jordan, executive director of the Center for Transportation Excellence. “In all cases, there was a direct impact on taxpayers. And about 75 percent of the time we saw voters standing up and saying yes, we’re willing to pay for investment in our transportation infrastructure.”

Many of the initiatives were non-binding referenda, but they set the stage for concrete action later.

In five California counties, people voted for new automobile registration fees to pay for transportation improvements. Historically, sales taxes and property taxes (as well as the gas tax) have been the primary sources of revenue for these investments. California is opening up a whole new revenue stream.

California also adopted Prop 22, which bans state raids on transportation funds, and rejected Prop 23, which would have delayed implementation of the state’s new emissions standards until unemployment is reduced.

The 29 ballot measures decided last night aren’t the only ones this year. Back in April, St. Louis voters gave the green light to a half-cent sales tax increase to fund mass transit – the biggest tax increase any jurisdiction voted to give itself this year. It had failed in November 2008 but with some re-tooling and organizing, it got 63 percent of the vote in the spring.

David Goldberg, communications director of Transportation for America, agrees that the ballot measures were a reason to “take heart.”

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The current governors map, before yesterday's winners are seated. Several blue states, including Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin, will turn red. California will flip from red to blue.

The biggest news from last night, of course, is that the GOP won control of the House of Representatives. That means Republicans now control all the House committees, and Ohio’s John Boehner — a believer in wider highways — will wield the Speaker’s gavel. The Democrats hung on to the Senate, though, and pundits are forecasting two years of gridlock.

Streetsblog has mainly been profiling races for governor where transportation issues had a high profile. Here are some results with big implications for smart growth and sustainable transportation.

Governor Results

California: Jerry Brown (D) 54 percent – Meg Whitman (R) 41 percent
Whitman would have said no to high speed rail, Brown has a record of curbing sprawl and fighting highway expansion.

Colorado: John Hickenlooper (D) 50 percent – Tom Tancredo (AMC) 37 percent – Dan Maes (R) 11 percent
The GOP hangs on to major party status by a hair after bike-paranoid Maes costs them the election. Hickenlooper is a bike and transit advocate who really gets it.

Florida: Rick Scott (R) 49 percent – Alex Sink (D) 48 percent
Scott has said he’ll kill high speed rail, giving back federal dollars. Sink is a transit supporter who said bike infrastructure could improve street safety.

Georgia: Nathan Deal (R) 53 percent – Roy Barnes (D) 43 percent
Barnes has environmental concerns about a highway expansion project Deal supports. Barnes wanted to “unclog Atlanta” through transit.

Maryland: Martin O’Malley (D) 56 percent – Bob Ehrlich (R) 42 percent
Incumbent O’Malley will move forward with building a light-rail Purple Line expansion of the D.C. Metro. Ehrlich said he favored bus rapid transit but some thought he was just trying to cause delays.

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This is the final installment of our series on high-stakes governor’s races. We hope you’ll be watching along with us tonight as the results come in for the races we’ve followed in Florida, Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Texas, Maryland, Colorado, and Tennessee. Now, we turn to Georgia.

Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood told Georgians two weeks ago, “If Georgia wants a rail line and wants to be connected to high-speed intercity rail, you can make it happen.” But he warned that they’ll need leadership from the governor’s office.

Separated at birth? The candidates for GA governor may look like identical twins, but they have different priorities for transportation. Image: TPM

“Whoever gets elected governor will be getting a phone call from me,’” LaHood said. He wants to know if Georgia’s going to be “in the mix” on high speed rail. “They should be. They’re an important region of the country.”

Today, Georgia decides who will be in the governor’s mansion to answer LaHood’s phone call. It’s a time of transportation innovation in the state. Atlanta was recently awarded a TIGER II grant to build a streetcar line, and the federal government topped that off with $4.1 million for a multistate plan for high speed rail between Atlanta and Charlotte, North Carolina. But the state of Georgia has many unmet transportation needs, and the two men facing off in today’s election each have their own ideas about how to proceed.

Democrat Roy Barnes declares on his campaign website, “The days of only big road projects are gone.” In a section called “Unclog Atlanta,” he says:

Instead of simply pouring more concrete, we must implement a mass transit plan that addresses Metro Atlanta’s tremendous population growth and unique problems. MARTA is convenient for Atlantans who want to travel short distances within the city, but it is completely unusable for suburban and exurban commuters. An elevated light-rail system running over metro Atlanta’s interstates, rail lines, and existing rights-of-way would move commuters to outlying suburbs more efficiently, unclog our interstates, and reduce our reliance on foreign oil, all while putting Georgians back to work.

Republican Nathan Deal is giving up his seat in the U.S. House of Representatives for a chance to replace Sonny Perdue as governor. In Congress, he voted against federal funding subsidies for Amtrak and an increase in emissions standards.

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Rep. Jim Oberstar (D-MN) will likely lose his chairmanship of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, as control of the House is widely expected to shift to the Republicans after today’s election. But Oberstar could also lose his seat in Congress.

Oberstar, right, and DeFazio share a ride in a pedi-cab. Willamette River Bridge Project

As committee chair, Oberstar has been a strong advocate for transit investment and livability reforms. He’s also the architect and chief proponent of the six-year $500 billion transportation bill that’s been stalled in the House since last summer.

Oberstar has easily won 17 consecutive elections, but the 18th is proving to be a little sticky. The LA Times reports:

[R]ecently, American Crossroads, an independent group affiliated with GOP strategist Karl Rove, started running spots on the Duluth stations that blanket the area. A group formed by Democrat-turned-Republican Dick Morris also launched a spot against Oberstar.

Then a third group called 60 Plus, which bills itself as a conservative alternative to AARP, began broadcasting $100,000 worth of ads saying it was time for the 76-year-old incumbent to retire.

Now, Oberstar’s seat is in play.

According to polling by SurveyUSA, he’s currently just one point ahead of challenger Chip Cravaack, within the margin of error. And he’s not the only champion having to fight harder than usual to retain his seat.

It’s being portrayed as a testament to the power of anti-incumbent sentiment this year that Peter DeFazio (D-OR) finds himself in a surprisingly close race against Republican Art Robinson. DeFazio, as chair of the Highways and Transit Subcommittee, has strongly advocated for including livability measures in the transportation bill.

He won his last race with 82 percent, and no independent polls were even commissioned this time around — his chances were considered that good. Conservative money has helped Robinson close the funding gap, though. And the only poll that’s been conducted — admittedly, by a Republican polling firm — shows DeFazio just six points ahead. That’s a lot closer than he expected this race to be.

Heading to the polls at the Elijah Stroud middle school in Brooklyn.

How are those ballot scanners working today, NYC?

Leave your forecasts, analysis, hopes and fears in the comments. My contribution: I predict the Dems will not sweep the statewide races.

We’re keeping the news coming on the governor’s races we’re following most closely. Check out our previous coverage of Wisconsin, Ohio, California, Texas, Maryland, Colorado, and Tennessee. This one could be the most important yet.

The most high-profile election in Florida is the three-ring circus of a Senate race, with Republican-turned-Independent Charlie Crist trailing badly in the polls against handsome Tea Partier Marco Rubio (who, by the way, has some unfortunate ideas about transportation), and Democrat Kendrick Meek bringing up the rear.

Republican Rick Scott isn't so sure about transit or high speed rail. Democrat Alex Sink has her mind made up. Image: News 13

But let’s turn our attention to another Florida race that will also have big repercussions for transit and safe streets – and where the outcome tomorrow is anybody’s guess.

I’m talking about the contest for governor between Democrat Alex Sink and Republican Rick Scott, who are in a dead heat heading toward Election Day. At stake? The federal government’s second biggest investment in high speed rail.

In recent days, Scott has softened his opposition to the proposed rail line connecting Orlando to Tampa, now saying he just wants to know the final costs. But as recently as last week, he said in a debate that he’d withhold any state money required for the project. The state has already received $1.25 billion from the feds but will need to kick in at least that much to get it done.

Sink, the state’s chief financial officer, supports the rail line. It’s part of her plan to change Florida’s status as, in her words, a “super donor state” that gets back 86 cents for every dollar Florida sends to the federal government in gas taxes. She makes clear that some of that should be for transit. She’s also a proponent of freight rail, and is considering offering tax incentives for businesses that ship by rail instead of trucks.

The state is working on commuter rail lines, which the Florida Public Transportation Association deems to be “as important, if not more important, to the economy of Florida as the sexy high speed rail project.” The SunRail line, already with a dedicated funding source and established right-of-way, will follow existing freight tracks in Central Florida. And TriRail, which already runs 50 trains a day in South Florida, recently got a boost from the governor.

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Repealing the MTA payroll tax is one of the top priorities of Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos, who may be poised to regain control of his chamber. Image via his website.

With the MTA at least $9 billion short on funding for its five-year capital plan, New Yorkers who ride buses and subways should be counting on legislators to secure a new revenue stream for transit. But after tomorrow’s elections, the first transit fight in Albany may not be over new revenue at all. Repealing the payroll mobility tax, passed along strict party lines as part of the 2009 MTA funding package, is a top priority for many suburban State Senate candidates, especially Republicans.

Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos is a fierce opponent of the payroll tax and could gain control of his chamber if the GOP picks up just two additional seats. Gubernatorial favorite Andrew Cuomo hasn’t had anything good to say about the payroll tax either. That means over $1.1 billion a year in transit funding is potentially on the chopping block.

Perhaps the fiercest fight over the payroll tax is happening in southern Suffolk County, where incumbent Brian X. Foley is defending his seat against Republican Lee Zeldin. Zeldin has made the payroll tax perhaps the number one issue in the campaign, going so far as to call his opponent “Brian ‘MTA Tax’ Foley” in press releases on subjects unconnected to transit or tax policy.

Zeldin has called for eliminating the payroll tax. “Entities paying the tax have been forced to lay off employees, cut payroll and watch their profits shrink,” says Zeldin’s campaign website. “We must also reform the MTA’s pattern of wasteful spending and mismanagement instead of supporting bailouts like the Foley Payroll Tax.”

Foley, in contrast, is pushing a compromise where the payroll tax is reduced by one-third in Nassau and Westchester Counties and by two-thirds in the rest of the MTA service region [PDF]. “Mr. Foley doesn’t like the tax and is working to make it less burdensome to businesses,” his campaign manager told the Wall Street Journal. “It was either that or let them raise fares 35 or 40%, cut service dramatically.”

Foley’s grudging support for the payroll tax is mirrored by a number of incumbent Democratic senators, all of whom voted for the MTA rescue package. In Westchester County, Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer said on a radio show that she “didn’t support it nor do I know anyone who likes this tax.”

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In the latest installment of our series on key governor’s races, here’s the news from Wisconsin and Ohio. Check out our previous coverage of California, Texas, Maryland, Colorado, and Tennessee. Let them serve as a reminder to vote on Tuesday.

“I’m Scott Walker. And if I’m elected as your next governor, we’ll stop this train.”

GOP's Scott Walker wants to knock out HSR in Wisconsin. Image: TPM

That’s the rhetoric from Wisconsin’s Republican gubernatorial hopeful. He calls the high-speed rail line planned to link Madison and Milwaukee a “boondoggle,” estimated to cost Wisconsin $7 million to $10 million dollars a year in operating costs. Stopping the rail line – which is eventually meant to link Chicago to Minneapolis – would mean sending $810 million in federal rail construction funds back to Washington. Walker says President Obama’s “radical environmental agenda” is killing jobs. [PDF]

As much as $100 million could already have been spent on the rail line by the time Walker would take office. But he says that won’t stop him from putting the brakes on it. He’s suggested using the money for other transportation projects, but the federal grant is earmarked for rail. If Wisconsin doesn’t want it, some other state will claim it.

Walker has years of experience fighting transit. As Milwaukee County Executive, he’s tried to cut funding for buses and by refusing to allocate more funding to transit, he forced a choice between service cuts and fare hikes.

Democrat Tom Barrett would keep the trains rolling. Image: Cap Times

His Democratic opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, supports the rail project as part of his broader promotion of public transportation. Barrett has a 98 percent lifetime score from the League of Conservation Voters. He’s pushed for clean sources of energy and worked to convert the city’s vehicle fleet to hybrid and biodiesel cars.

Wisconsin’s transportation budget comes from gas taxes and vehicle registration fees. It’s frequently been raided – to the tune of $1.3 billion over the last eight years – to pay for unrelated projects. Meanwhile, the state has documented almost $700 million in annual unmet transportation needs.

Both candidates are against the raids, and Republican Walker even goes so far as to support a constitutional amendment banning such behavior. But the candidates’ proposed solutions to the crumbling infrastructure are worlds apart. Walker’s a roads-and-bridges guy. Barrett says increasing transit use will take the burden off roads and reduce wear and tear on highways.

Walker has also suggested re-routing sales tax revenue from new vehicle purchases to the transportation fund. That could add up to about half a billion dollars. (However, he wants to repeal the corporate income tax, which brings in about $1.6 billion every two years. How that will help balance the budget is anybody’s guess.)

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Image: Rails to Trails Conservancy.

The outcome of New York’s Congressional races on Tuesday may end up determining federal transportation policy for years to come.

The state has a number of very close House races, from the tip of Long Island to the Canadian border, and those could be the difference between a Democratic or a Republican majority. The unparalleled importance of transit to New York state also means that its delegation shoulders a critical responsibility to advance progressive federal transportation policy. The transportation reauthorization bill will be dramatically affected by who’s representing New York in Congress next year and what they choose to fight for.

That’s why the survey of House candidates by the New York State Transportation Equity Alliance is so valuable. NYSTEA just released the survey results, putting candidates on the record with their positions on transportation policy.

To read about the candidates’ top priorities for the transportation bill, check out Mobilizing the Region, which has compiled all of them. Here are a few answers that leaped out at us:

• Tim Bishop, who represents the eastern end of Long Island and is locked in one of the closest races in the state, showed he was willing to support sustainable transportation in no uncertain terms, without pandering towards drivers. “One of my top priorities for the Surface Transportation Authorization Act is to decrease the nation’s reliance on automobile travel and increase funding for transit improvements and operations,” he wrote. Bishop also said he was working on supporting smart growth policies in Congress.

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At the rally last night, Al Sharpton urged New Yorkers to unify in support of transit. Photo: Noah Kazis

At Union Square last night, more than a hundred people rallied for better transit in a kick-off event for the Rider Rebellion, a new campaign led by Transportation Alternatives.

With Reverend Al Sharpton headlining, the rally urged New Yorkers to “vote transit” on Tuesday and presented state politicos with the chance to make their case to transit riders reeling from service cuts and fare hikes. Working Families Party chair Dan Cantor was the most prominent political figure to take up the offer.

The Rider Rebellion signals the addition of more community organizing muscle to NYC transit advocacy, and a coordinated effort to make elected officials more accountable for their transit policy decisions. While opportunities to vote transit will be hard to come by this November, with neither major party candidate campaigning on a sensible public transportation platform, last night’s rally put elected officials on notice: Advocates are committed to making transit a voting issue.

“You better have the Rider Rebellion in mind, because we are coming for you,” warned Brodie Enoch, the campaign’s lead organizer. So far, the campaign has gathered more than 10,000 members (a number that continues to grow, said Enoch), who can be mobilized to pressure Albany to stand up for transit.

T.A. executive director Paul Steely White said that three anti-transit leaders had already been given the boot this election cycle: Pedro Espada, Hiram Monserrate, and Richard Brodsky. “We’re going to keep this going,” he promised.

Speakers also framed support for transit as an essential but missing piece of New York’s ostensible commitment to social justice. “Everyone has got slick commercials [but] not one commercial explains how we have a state that can find money to build stadiums and developments but can’t find money for people to ride to work and to school every day on mass transit,” said Sharpton.

“Right now there are nannies leaving the most privileged homes in the Upper East Side, Park Slope, on their way home to cook and see their own children,” said Elizabeth Yeampierre, the executive director of the Sunset Park community organization UPROSE. “All of those people who are the heart of our community are on the train right now.”

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