There are moments in public service when the infighting has to stop, the facts have to speak, and the work needs to take place. Measure C, our local road tax, is one of those moments.   

By Luis Chavez

Opinion

Measure C is not a new tax. It has been in place for decades and has helped build our region into the economic powerhouse it is today.   

This is a half-cent transportation sales tax that Fresno County voters first approved in 1986 and extended in 2006.   

What is on the table now is simple: Do we continue to invest in our community and coalesce around one initiative, or do we place competing measures on the ballot? The stakes could not be higher.   

If the tax expires, the local transportation funding it provides disappears, and the consequences will be devastating.   

In the county, we estimate employee layoffs will number between 60 and 80 people. Roads will decay and damage vehicles. Potholes will worsen and become part of the landscape, and neighborhoods will continue to wait to fix and repave their streets. The City of Fresno will be forced to reduce bus routes, service frequency, and likely lay off employees. 

Related Story: Dyer Touts Fresno Progress, Backs Transportation Tax at Hispanic Breakfast

Review of Maps Tell a Powerful Story

A review of rural transit route maps maintained by regional transit agencies tells a powerful story. Those lines represent farmworkers getting to the fields, packing houses, and food processing plants; seniors getting to doctors; veterans accessing life-saving services; students getting to school; and families who do not have access to a car having mobility for an affordable fee.   

Right now, those routes are supported in part by Measure C funding, which helps keep rural transit operating throughout Fresno County. If Measure C is not renewed, that locally controlled funding stream is gone.   

No replacement. No backup plan.   

No ability to leverage millions of dollars and secure federal or state matching funds for roads, affordable housing, transportation, or transit-oriented development.   

We would hurt the very populations we advocate for: farmworkers, rural residents, seniors, veterans, students, and those who depend on public transportation.   

Recent conversations have stalled the official renewal process, opening the door for multiple groups to pursue their own ballot measures. While these efforts may be well intentioned, competing measures risk confusing voters and ultimately jeopardizing the future of Measure C altogether.   

Here are the real data points people need to understand:   

• Fifteen cities across Fresno County rely on Measure C funding for streets, roads, transit, and housing.   

• Those cities also use Measure C dollars to leverage millions in state and federal transportation and housing funds.   

• Less local funding means fewer road repairs, slower housing-related infrastructure, fewer services, more traffic congestion, more pollution, and stalled development projects.   

That is not politics. That is math. And it hurts people in both urban and rural communities. And it devastates people.

Related Story: Fresno Activists Unveil Measure C Replacement for Ballot

Becoming Less Competitive for Grants, Infrastructure Funding

When local dollars disappear, so does our leverage. We become less competitive for grants and infrastructure funding while other regions move forward and become destination points for housing, industrial, and economic development.   

Some argue this should only be about roads. But roads, transit, bike lanes, and trails are not enemies; they are partners. They are options for residents to choose when they move around.   

You cannot fix traffic without transit. You cannot support working families without mobility. You cannot grow an economy if people cannot get to their jobs.   

This is not theoretical. Businesses rely on workers showing up. Hospitals rely on staff and patients commuting. Schools and colleges rely on students attending. When transportation systems fail, everything downstream feels it.   

And let’s be honest, the reality we had in 2022 is vastly different than today. People are scared of the word “tax.” They are already stretched thin. Gas, groceries, rent, and utilities all cost more, and that will weigh on voters’ minds as they decide which measure to support.   

We are deciding whether to continue something that has been in place for decades and has helped build the transportation infrastructure we use today.   

Bottlenecks of Traffic Symbolize Something Greater

The bottlenecks of traffic on our roads are a symbol of economic development, commerce, and prosperity. If we walk away from it, we do not just lose funding, we lose progress.   

I have met with community groups, transportation advocates, labor leaders, and local stakeholders across the county. One thing is clear: a divided approach puts everything at risk. They all want a unified, collaborative effort before they commit to endorsing and supporting any initiative. Nobody wants to financially support a ballot measure or measures that are likely to fail. Spending millions of dollars trying to persuade voters that one idea is the best will likely face a roadblock and fail. 

Competing measures confuse voters. Confused voters often vote no. And when that happens, everyone loses.   

We have a narrow window to get this right. Measure C must be renewed in the November 2026 election to avoid a funding gap and devastating cuts when it expires in 2027.   

Because this is about people. And if we do not get it right, this turns into a situation where both sides get 100 percent of zero, and that will hurt our county for the next 30 years.   

Farmworkers who feed this valley. Seniors who built it. Veterans who served it. Students trying to build a future. Families just trying to survive.   

This is who pays the price if we get this wrong.   

Letting Measure C expire would be a failure of leadership.   

We can do better. We can choose facts over fear. Solutions over slogans. People over politics.   

And right now, that choice matters more than ever. 

About the Author

Luis Chavez serves as the Fresno County Supervisor for District 3. He is the son of immigrant farm workers and a longtime advocate for working families and education reform.