Silicon Valley's Transportation Tax For Alleviating Traffic Remains Gridlocked
SAN JOSE (KPIX 5) -- Traffic relief in Silicon Valley will have to wait now that a half cent transportation tax has been delayed until the 2016 election.
"We know when to press ahead when the opportunity is right," said Silicon Leadership Group CEO Carl Guardino. "And painfully we know when to pull back and wait."
The Silicon Valley leadership group thought there might have been enough support to put it on the ballot this November. The group is notorious for getting measures passed, touting a perfect 5-0 record over the last 30 years.
The group's polling showed 63 percent of likely voters would say yes to a transportation tax. That's pretty close to the two-thirds majority needed to pass.
But turnout for midterm elections is notoriously low. And so the group says to put a tax measure on the ballot this November is just too risky.
"The shame of having to wait two years until the presidential general election in November 2016, is that we all lose," Guardino said. "We all lose out on two years delayed, stuck in traffic gridlock here in Silicon Valley and we also run the risk of not knowing what the economy is going to look like two and a half years from now."
So when it comes time to hit the polls, voters may have to think about what they hate more: taxes or traffic.