Muni Rider Voter Guide

Debra Walker - District 6

Name: Debra Walker

Age: 57

Occupation: Artist / Small Business Owner

District: 6

URL for website: www.votedebrawalker.com

Neighborhood You Live In: North Mission

Date Questionnaire Returned: September 7, 2010

1. How often do you rely on Muni to get you around town? If not, what do you use instead? What would make it easier for you to choose Muni over other forms of transportation?

I use a bicycle as my primary transportation and I often augment this with Muni and Bart.  In rare cases I use City Car share.  Most often I combine two or three of these modes of transportation to get where I am going.

2. What are the primary concerns of Muni’s owners (aka riders) about transportation and Muni in your District?

I think that the primary concerns of Muni riders/owners in District 6 are the frequency and reliability of the buses.  Certainly the restoration of frequency in some routes is a priority, also the restoration or addition of stops to accommodate the elderly and those needing assistance in getting around.  I think that the inconsistent wait time for buses is a huge hurdle that prevents many from making it a primary source of transportation.

3. As a Supervisor, you will serve on the Board of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. What is the role of the SFCTA, and what would you set as priorities for the agency in the next 4 years?

The San Francisco County Transportation Authority administers and oversees the local transportation sales tax program (Prop K) and New Expenditure Plan, passed by voters in November 2003.  Since 1990, the Authority has been the designated Congestion Management Agency for San Francisco. The Authority leverages state and federal transportation dollars to complement local tax revenues and performs project oversight.  The Authority also tracks transportation system performance to ensure that San Francisco gets good value for its transportation investments and prepares a long-range Countywide Transportation Plan to guide future investment decisions.

I would suggest that priorities for the next four years are to implement the bicycle plan, to invest funds in the system to grow ridership, to help implement the major BRT projects to increase ridership across the city and to continue to “green” our system with the cleanest equipment.

4. Difficult decisions often have to be made regarding transportation in San Francisco. Sometimes a well-researched project may have loud, angry opponents, or a popular project may not be the best for City residents and for San Francisco’s transportation infrastructure.

How would you make a decision under these kinds of circumstances?

(Feel free to cite a similar situation from your past experience as an example – it doesn’t have to be transit related)

There have been many situations that I have been faced with as a DBI Commissioner and elected DCCC member that have had passionate members of the public on both sides of particular issues.  For example, I have worked with members of the housing advocate’s community as well as building owners to build consensus around the seismic retrofitting of buildings for years, and it has resulted in the placement of Prop A on the ballot this year.

We brokered a compromise that everyone is happy with and will hopefully result in the seismic retrofitting of many of our at-risk affordable housing units. I believe that it is my duty to keep an open dialogue and work to broker compromises that bring communities together and as supervisor, I will strive to build coalitions. In the absence of compromise, I will do what I believe is best for city residents and our future.

5. What is the Fix Muni Now charter amendment? Do you support it? (Y/N) Why or why not?

The Fix Muni Now ballot measure is sponsored by Supervisor Elsbernd and put on this November’s ballot by signature. The aim of Fix Muni Now is primarily to rescind the portion of the San Francisco Charter that sets the formula for Muni workers wages. I believe this is the wrong approach for dealing with our Muni problems and that this proposal does a lot more harm than good.  Prop G does not deal with the structural issues of governance for Muni that are, in my opinion, the main dysfunction with Muni.

6. One (of many) causes for Muni’s perennial budget woes was the illegal of state gas tax money by Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature which left a large hole in Muni’s income (as well as every transit agency in CA).

How would you make up this gap in Muni revenue? Would you support

– a local funding source or sources (fees, taxes, or other type of revenue) future problems caused by the state?

– would you achieve savings through cuts to Muni’s budget, fare increases,

– or, do you have other ideas on how to get Muni out of its annual financial (You can choose more than one option, but just explain it clearly)

7. Finally, tell us a story about a funny or unique experience you’ve had on Muni.

I use a mix of modes to get around the city, and at least on this occasion, my transportation merry-go-round got the best of me. Recently, I loaded my bike on the front of a bus to get to my next meeting. I exited the bus, helmet in hand, and walked to my appointment, inadvertently leaving my bike to cruise around the city aboard Muni unaccompanied. I finished my meeting, and, thinking I had locked my bike at the corner, walked there and found nothing. As I sat there, convinced my bike was gone and quite despondent about petty crimes and the state of our City, the bus on the same line I had taken earlier returned headed the other direction, with my bike perched in front like a hood ornament. The driver was very happy to see the unloading of my free-riding bike and multi-modal I remain.

Mark Farrell - District 2

Name: Mark Farrell

Occupation: Small Business Venture Capitalist

District: 2

URL for website: www.markfarrell.com

Neighborhood You Live In: Jordan Park

Date Questionnaire Returned: September 7, 2010*

1. How often do you rely on Muni to get you around town? If not, what do you use instead? What would make it easier for you to choose Muni over other forms of transportation?

I use MUNI as often as possible – especially to/from work.  However, there are days when I can’t because I am taking my kids to school or am attending a meeting where vehicle access is required.

It would be easier to use MUNI if we increased the level of reliability which includes necessary improvements in infrastructure and access.

2. What are the primary concerns of Muni’s owners (aka riders) about transportation and Muni in your District?

Primarily it’s about reliability and ease of use.  The people that live in my District, that use MUNI like I do (primarily to get to work downtown), need a system that will be as reliable as possible to ensure they can get to work and back home in a reasonable time, and count on service times.  This is particularly true for parents and families who want and need an effective MUNI system for their daily lives.  Residents in District 2 have also voiced concerns over articulated buses in purely residential parts of District 2, as well as the location of various bus route terminals in District 2.

I believe that having an engaged Supervisor that understands these issues, and works with both the community and MUNI, will be key to MUNI’s perception in District 2 going forward, and I would look forward to being a central part of that dialogue.

3. As a Supervisor, you will serve on the Board of the San Francisco County Transportation Authority. What is the role of the SFCTA, and what would you set as priorities for the agency in the next 4 years?

SFCTA is a key planning organization for transit in San Francisco that also administers a public sales tax dedicated to improving transportation and mobility.  I believe the top priorities for the SFCTA should be (1) Accountability for public funds – making smart investments of public transportation tax revenue, (2) Oversight of SFMTA Expenditures to ensure SFMTA projects are efficiently implemented and service plans make sense for the City, and (3) the Environment – reducing emissions from transportation and through better land use planning.

4. Difficult decisions often have to be made regarding transportation in San Francisco. Sometimes a well-researched project may have loud, angry opponents, or a popular project may not be the best for City residents and for San Francisco’s transportation infrastructure.

How would you make a decision under these kinds of circumstances?

(Feel free to cite a similar situation from your past experience as an example – it doesn’t have to be transit related)

San Francisco needs an infrastructure overhaul – it’s that simple.  While it is tough and financially painful decision, this has to happen if we are going to move our City forward on economic development and job creation.  As the Supervisor in District 2, my role will be to listen to my constituents, and also make decisions based on what is best for San Francisco.  I do believe that this City-wide perspective has been missing at City Hall for some time, and we are starting to pay the price as residents.

5. What is the Fix Muni Now charter amendment? Do you support it? (Y/N) Why or why not?

Yes, I do support Fix MUNI Now – in fact, my campaign made it a priority to gather signatures during 2010 to help place the initiative on the November 2010 ballot.  I believe that this initiative is an essential step towards fixing MUNI, and completely endorse the measure.

I am supporting Fix MUNI Now because I don’t believe the pay of our MUNI operators should be locked into our City Charter, and because I believe a number of the current work rules MUNI operates under are both astounding and fiscally unsustainable.  For example, workers that are allowed to not show up for work without cause has caused huge gaps in MUNI service.  From a taxpayer perspective, this is simply wrong.

Fix MUNI is a great first step to helping our public transportation system get back in better fiscal shape, improve service and provide resources to rebuild infrastructure.

6. One (of many) causes for Muni’s perennial budget woes was the illegal seizure of state gas tax money by Governor Schwarzenegger and the Legislature. This has left a large hole in Muni’s income (as well as every transit agency in CA).

How would you make up this gap in Muni revenue?

Would you support – a local funding source or sources (fees, taxes, or other type of revenue) to avoid future problems caused by the state?

– would you achieve savings through cuts to Muni’s budget, fare increases, etc.

– or, do you have other ideas on how to get Muni out of its annual financial woes? (You can choose more than one option, but just explain it clearly)

I think we need to have a top down review of MUNI’s budgeting and contracting process.  Those of us with actual financial management and budget experience know that, in any budget, efficiencies can and should be made – whether that’s a review of service, eliminating duplicative positions or simply a better cash management process.

However, we need to start with – as stated in question 5 – a complete overhaul of the current labor contract.  While I support the incredible work that the men and women of the MUNI system are doing every day, we need a contract that is both fair to our City and to the workers that support us.

7. Finally, tell us a story about a funny or unique experience you’ve had on Muni.

Still to date my favorite memory on MUNI was as an 8^th grader growing up in the Marina.  I used to take the 22 Fillmore and then 30 Stockton home from school each day (in high school that turned into the 28 and 29), and one day my friend and I transferred onto the 30 Stockton and sat right in front of Ronnie Lott, who at the time was a star safety for the San Francisco 49ers.  We rode the bus with Ronnie for about 10 minutes, and as a young 49er fan, had the most incredible conversation.  He was one of my football idols at the time, and by riding MUNI and laughing together, demonstrated he was truly part of the fabric of our City – not just a star football player.  Chance encounters with friends, colleagues or even star football players is part of what I love about MUNI.

*Mr. Farrell returned his questionnaire on time – but because I didn’t have time to post it right away, it got posted late. However, he did manage to turn it in at deadline.