Could Fresno County voters see two Measure C initiatives on the 2026 ballot after all?

After a compromise deal between Measure C and a social justice coalition quelled an alternative plan on the transportation tax, another proposal may be brewing from familiar names.

Clovis City Councilmember Lynne Ashbeck — also a member of the Fresno County Transportation Authority board — said Monday that it is not Transportation for All “working in a dark room somewhere” on an alternative measure, but two former Measure C executives who are writing their own plan.

“Two former county employees, Mike Leonardo and Tony Boren … are working in dark room — maybe not really — to do their own measure, using the 2022 measure, and they are working independently of COG,” Ashbeck said.

Leonardo is the former executive director of FCTA, and Boren is the former Fresno Council of Governments executive director. They retired from their positions in 2023 and 2024 respectively.

“Now we have government working against government and then we have community collaboratives. Don’t believe what you see that there’s this environmental conspiracy. That is not at all what is happening,” Ashbeck said.

Transportation for All, a collaboration of several groups including Fresno Building Healthy Communities and Faith in the Valley, has held its own series of community meetings. The group floated the idea of writing its own ballot initiative for Measure C.

All sides agreed that competing Measure Cs would be both doomed to fail and formed a compromise to work together.

Measure C, the half-cent Fresno County-wide sales tax for transportation projects, expires in 2027. Voters first passed the measure in 1986 and renewed it for another 20 years in 2006. A 2022 renewal failed at the ballot box.

If Measure C expires, it could put several cities in infrastructure shortfalls. FCTA, the organization that oversees the measure, says it has raised $2 billion in 40 years, with another $8 billion in matching state and federal funds.

Boren: ‘Backpocket’ Option

Boren said he met with a group of transportation professionals to write their own Measure C.

“We want to make sure we have an alternative in our back pocket so if something goes sideways with the COG process, we don’t find ourselves flat-footed, don’t have something to give to the voters,” Boren said.

His informal group includes Leonardo, former Caltrans executives Diana Gomez and Malcom Dougherty, and former county supervisor Henry R. Perea.

Boren said the proposal would be based on the 2022 measure, which received 58% approval but needed two-thirds to pass.

“Most of us don’t believe the demands that the Transportation for All are going to ask for will have money available for streets and roads,” Boren said.

Boren’s plan would have more money for roads and less for trails. About 52% would be for local road projects, another 14% for local governments to decide how to spend, 12% for public transit, and the remainder for regional planning and other spending.

Qualifying for a countywide measure would require approximately 21,000 signatures. Approval on the ballot would only require a simple majority to pass. An initiative placed on the ballot by a government organization requires two-thirds majority to pass. The higher threshold applies to tax measures for a specific purpose, like transportation.

Boren said his group has not raised any money for signature gathering — he estimates $500,000 is needed. He said the money is there to raise if needed.

Calls to Transportation for All were not returned.

Dyer: ‘Optimistic’ About Current Plan

Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer said the “energy” renewing Measure C is with Fresno COG.

“I’m optimistic that we are going to be able to get a measure that goes through that will benefit everyone in Fresno County. But as mayor of Fresno, I want to make sure that we get our appropriate dollars,” Dyer told GV Wire.

He is aware of the Boren group.

“If for some reason (Fresno COG-Transportation for All) doesn’t work out, then we’ll take a look at other alternatives,” Dyer said.

Dyer said he’s spoken with Boren and others from his group.

“They’re not running a competing measure against COG. This would only be in the event that things fall apart and we can’t continue to work together within the COG and Transportation for All. Again, my hope is that we can,” Dyer said.

Compromise on the Steering Committee

Fresno COG is the regional government planning agency for transportation projects.

The policy board — composed of the 15 mayors in the county and a member of the Board of Supervisors — established a steering committee, a citizen board to advise on what the future Measure C will look like.

The board includes 26 members who meet monthly — the next meeting is Thursday at 3 p.m. Each of the 15 cities and one from the county are represented — Fresno has three because of its greater population. There is one vacancy — the member representing the city of Orange Cove.

The remaining eight positions are from various community groups.

To avoid competing ballot measures, Fresno COG agreed to merge its plan with input from Transportation for All. Transportation for All would drop its plan for an alternative measure, although that’s not guaranteed.

At its June 26 meeting, the Fresno COG Policy Board revised the composition of the steering committee. It granted Transportation for All 12 members on the committee, expanding its size from 26 to 38.

“The coalition is fragile. The relationships are tentative. We’ve had a lot of mistrust over the years, but the only way through this … was to try to do this together,” Ashbeck said.

“I’m not saying it’s going to work, but I’m saying we’re going to give it our very best shot to pull this off,” she said.

Ashbeck said Monday any final spending plan decision will be made by elected government leaders — city and county boards representing a majority of the population must approve it.

Ashbeck said the combined Fresno COG-Transportation for All measure would also leverage $6 million to ensure its passage in 2026.

A Fresno COG spokesperson said Transportation for All has not named its 12 members. They will take their seats for the July 17 meeting — an extra meeting added to the calendar.

Pearce Criticizes Coalition

Measure C became the subject of an impromptu debate at the Clovis City Council after Ashbeck’s comments. Councilmember Diane Pearce provided “a whole long list” of “what people are afraid of.”

Pearce criticized the percentage of seats Transportation for All has on the steering committee.

“(Transportation for All is) really kind of a leftist social justice activist grouping. And so the idea that they have a controlling interest on the steering committee I think has given a lot of people incredible pause and concern for what is even possible to come back to COG to approve,” Pearce said.

One steering committee proposal was any plan needed a 70% consensus to be put on the ballot. Ashbeck said that “was just a suggestion.”

Pearce did not like that the city of Clovis only has one member on the committee — Adam Holt. Ashbeck responded that several other members on the committee live in Clovis, such as Mark Keppler, the former Maddy Institute executive director representing Tree Fresno.

Transportation for All’s perceived spending plan also irked Pearce.

“They do not represent our interests. They are pushing for a lot of the money to go toward not roads, highways, and improvements and maintenance and expansion of the roads and highways that we all depend on, they want it to go to public transit,” Pearce said.

While Pearce praised Clovis’ public transit and trails, she said others should not have to pay for it.