As the legal battle over whether the half-cent Measure S transportation tax lands on the November ballot or is delayed until 2028 heads toward a conclusion, an important fact has been largely overlooked.

Most of the trauma and drama on this road paved with good intentions easily could have been avoided.

In fact, Measure S should already be on the ballot.

But it’s not, and there’s no guarantee it will be there in November. That decision is up to Judge Jonathan M. Skiles, who says he expects to deliver his ruling by Monday.

Profligate Spending by the Measure S Campaign

So, what went wrong?

Measure S campaign leaders blew it when they failed to successfully execute a ritual common to measures circulating signature petitions.

Veterans of these campaigns call it “the scrub.” The names on every petition are entered into a separate file and are searched for duplicates. If duplicates are found, one is crossed off. In addition, the list is frequently crossed-checked against the roster of registered California voters maintained by a company such as Political Data Inc.

In the case of Measure S, the need for accuracy was of the utmost importance because the effort was up against a tight, but not impossible, timeline.

By failing its random sample check at the Fresno County elections office, Measure S opened the door for opponents such as Board of Supervisors Chair Garry Bredefeld to construct hurdles while the measure’s backers awaited a laborious certification of signatures by Fresno County Clerk James Kus and his staff.

The initial Measure S failure was inexcusable in light of the fact that backers of Madera County’s transportation tax renewal successfully qualified their measure under a tighter deadline in 2024. In Fresno County, backers of the two Measure E sales tax campaigns to benefit Fresno State also qualified for the ballot under exceedingly tight deadlines.

Notably, those efforts operated on budgets that were pittance compared to the Measure S treasury. Fresno Unified Trustee Andy Levine is receiving $15,000 a month to manage the campaign, according to public records. Add payments to consultants such as former Fresno County Supervisor Steve Brandau ($8,000 a month), and the monthly tab exceeded $35,000 for the first half of 2026, campaign documents show.

Measure S Alone Is Responsible for This Mess

Veteran local campaign consultants tell me they have never seen such profligate spending on a petition drive. Early on, a campaign manager might make $5,000 monthly, they said. As duties and responsibilities ramp up, the rate would increase to $10,000.

Just as important, those rates are for seasoned political veterans with a history of success. When told that Levine, a neophyte, was getting $15,000 a month, two campaign consultants used the same word to describe his salary: “Ridiculous.”

They say that money doesn’t grow on trees, but it apparently does at the Central Valley Community Foundation, which spearheads Measure S. In the first half of 2026, Measure S spent nearly $1 million, public records show.

The shame of it for Measure S backers is that they’ve needlessly had to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on lawyers, lobbyists, and other experts in their ballot qualification battle. That’s all money that could have been reserved for convincing voters to pass the measure.

Not only is that money gone, but the incompetence of Measure S leadership has left many voters dazed, confused, and battling whiplash.

There’s a saying that for every dollar spent promoting a ballot measure, it only takes a dime to tear it down. Thanks to Measure S ineptness, opponents haven’t had to write a single check yet.

Should Measure S not reach the ballot this time, Ashley Swearengin and her surrogates surely will place the responsibility at Bredefeld’s feet. Not only would he accept it, he’d wear it as a badge of honor.

However, the truth is this: Swearengin, Levine, and the other Measure S field generals would have only themselves to blame.