Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit eyes 2026 election cycle for tax pitch

By Adrian Rodriguez | Marin Independent Journal

PETALUMA, CALIF. — SMART leaders are preparing a sales tax renewal that could be pitched to voters next year.

The Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit board took no formal vote, but directed staff to get working on a proposal that could be placed on the June or November 2026 ballot.

The move came after general manager Eddy Cumins told the board at its March 19 meeting that he wanted the directors to be aware of all the work that is involved in developing a ballot measure.

"If we really want to consider 2026 then my recommendation would be that we would start working on some of this stuff," Cumins said, "start drafting some of these materials, bring them back to the board and the public and just start to get some feedback on these things: What's good, what's bad, what needs to change."

The agency's existing quarter-cent sales tax, netting about $51 million annually, expires in 2029. In 2020, a renewal measure was shot down, failing to win the required two-thirds voter approval.

Polls conducted last year suggested that the agency could win voter support if it placed a measure on the presidential ballot in November 2024.

Out of 642 responses from Sonoma County and Marin County voters, 65% indicated they would support a measure renewing the quarter-cent sales tax for 30 years netting about $51 million annually, while 30% said no.

The survey was done in response to a 2023 Marin County Civil Grand Jury report. The report said the rail service needs to convince Marin and Sonoma voters to support a tax renewal to keep the agency from financial collapse after a measure failed in 2020.

However, SMART officials took a wait-and-see approach as potential new paths for tax revenue came into play.

Gov. Gavin Newsom approved a bill in the fall enabling voters in the two counties to place a SMART train sales tax renewal measure on the ballot via citizens' initiative. This method would lower the approval threshold to a simple majority, down from a standard two-thirds requirement.

At the same time, the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the regional planning agency for the nine-county Bay Area, was revamping a regional transit tax pitch to submit to the voters in November 2026. That effort aims to address the fiscal cliff faced by the larger transit operators, including Bay Area Rapid Transit and San Francisco Muni.

However, Marin and its North Bay neighbors are now being left out of the proposal, which now focuses on San Francisco, Alameda and Contra Costa counties. There is a provision that allows San Mateo and Santa Clara county officials to decide whether they want to participate by July 31.

Cumins said right now the No. 1 task for SMART is to "determine readiness."

"It's been about a year since we've done any surveys, so it would probably be good to take a look at that, see how we're doing, see if we're continuing to make progress," Cumins said.

In addition, staff would need to come up with an expenditure plan, detailing what the new revenue would fund. Then, the agency would draft and adopt a resolution that calls for an election, and request Marin and Sonoma county supervisors to consolidate the election with others held on the same date.

The resolution would have to be approved at least 88 days prior to the election.

Sonoma County Supervisor Chris Coursey, the SMART board president, said he supports moving forward.

"I think it's important to have a timeline that lays it all out, that looks at June and November, but that we try to get things moving as quickly as we can so we don't miss June if that's something that we want," Coursey said.

Board member Ariel Kelley, a member of Healdsburg City Council, said she wants the polling or surveying to gauge whether voters would prefer June or November.

"I support this direction and definitely want to see us move forward and be prepared as opposed to sprinting at the last minute," Kelley said.

Officials noted there is still also potential for a citizens' group to launch an initiative, a method that is out of the control of the agency.

"I think at this point we want to keep all options open," said Marin County Supervisor Eric Lucan, a board member. "And we don't want to eliminate an option because we didn't do something by a certain date."

Jack Swearengen, chair of the Friends of SMART advisory organization, said he and his group are ready for duty.

"I want Eddy and the board to know that Friends of SMART is not only eager to help when we can and where we can, but we have been brainstorming, we have some thoughts," Swearengen said. "Please feel free to use us however you can. We can increase your numbers without increasing your trouble."

Novato resident Mike Arnold, an economist who worked on the opposition campaign against SMART's tax renewal measure in 2020, remains skeptical of the agency.

Arnold said the agency "is stuck between a rock and hard place," because it went for a renewal too early in 2020, and they lost votes.

"This means they have to change those voters' minds back," Arnold said. "On tax measures that's not so easy. And Eddy Cumins knows it."

Arnold said the agency can't wait any longer than 2026 because then they run the risk of losing grant opportunities and potentially staff to jobs at other agencies with more financial stability.

SMART has been touting its success in getting more people on trains and off the highway. The agency has a goal of reaching 1 million riders for the fiscal year ending June 30, and it is 70% of the way there. But for the past year, the district has also ran a temporary program offering free rides to youths and seniors to help drive up numbers. That ends in June.

Arnold said the agency doesn't have the paid ridership to justify the cost of running a passenger rail service.

Cumins said last year's polling found that 82% of the respondents who have used SMART say service is "excellent" or "good."

"So the more people that get out and ride the train the more supporters we gain," Cumins said "So getting people on the train is extremely important."

Cumins said staff is returning to the April board meeting with another presentation.

Originally Published: April 8, 2025 at 11:58 AM PDT

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