Every driver in Fresno County knows our roads need work. Measure C, the half-cent transportation tax approved in 1986, expires next June.

We need a replacement. Measure S is not it.

Before you vote, look at what’s in it.

Darius Assemi
Opinion

It Doesn’t Tell You What You’re Buying

Measure C told voters what they would get. It helped build freeways on Highways 41, 168, and 180. Its 2006 extension named projects and prices. Its motto was “Promises Made, Promises Kept.”

Measure S does not name a single major highway project. Those decisions come later. It requires audits, oversight, pavement targets, and school-safety projects. But none of that tells taxpayers which interchange will be built.

You are voting on the bill before even seeing the shopping list.

Thirty Years Is Far Too Long

Measure S would collect a half-cent on taxable purchases through 2057, an estimated $7.4 billion. A child born this year will be past 30 when it ends.

The funding percentages cannot change without another vote, even if transportation needs shift. If the formula is wrong, we could be stuck with it for a generation.

It Doubles Down on Public Transit

Measure C set aside about $412 million for public transit over 20 years to help grow ridership. Yet only about 1 in 100 Fresno commuters takes public transit to work.

Measure S puts 25% of its revenue, an estimated $1.85 billion, toward public transit.

Another 4%, or approximately $280 million, prioritizes free fares for eligible riders before other access and innovation grants.

Ridership is measured, but there is no numerical growth target or automatic cut if it falls.

That is nearly $2 billion for public transit without specific ridership goals voters can measure.

It Favors Bike Lanes Over New Car Lanes

Measure S sets a target of 120 miles of protected bikeways and separated paths by 2057.

Some existing facilities and maintenance may count.

Certain active transportation resurfacing projects must accommodate bicycles, subject to engineering exceptions.

Cities may also convert car lanes to bike lanes where officials find excess roadway capacity.

Lane conversions aren’t required, but they’re allowed.

It Offers No Congestion Relief

The word “congestion” appears nowhere in Measure S, with no dedicated relief funding. Signal timing, intersection improvements, and highway projects are allowed. That is not the same as promising them.

Cities generally can spend no more than 5% of local road funds on widening, and only after every local street reaches a pavement score of 65, with limited safety exceptions. Fresno’s average is 64.

Regional road and highway projects receive just 4%, compared with roughly 30% for regional transportation under Measure C. The Highway 99 interchange at Shaw Avenue alone has been estimated at more than $200 million.

With limits on new car lanes and no guaranteed congestion relief, that’s not much of a traffic plan. It’s a traffic jam!

It Came in Through the Back Door

Supporters gathered enough signatures for a citizen initiative. But after Fresno County supervisors moved the vote to 2028, Sacramento passed a special law putting it on the November 2026 ballot. A judge upheld the law.

Now it needs only a simple majority.

GV Wire reported that nonprofits including Leadership Counsel for Justice and Accountability and Fresno Building Healthy Communities helped drive the measure. Nonprofits may also apply for innovation grants through a local government sponsor, though no grant is guaranteed.

One Foundation’s Vision

As of Oct. 2, the Yes campaign had raised more than $1.8 million. About $848,000 came from the Central Valley Community Foundation, led by former Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin.

The foundation says it helped build the coalition years ago and encouraged people to rethink “what and who roads are for.”

Measure S answers with more transit, bicycle infrastructure, and limits on expanding car lanes in Fresno County. Your sales tax would help pay for that vision until 2057.

Supporters warn road funding will suffer if Measure S fails. They have a point: Measure C expires in June 2027, and voting no could mean a funding gap. But the need for a transportation tax is not an excuse to approve the wrong one.

Lets bring back a shorter, roads-first plan with named projects, clear pavement commitments, and real attention to traffic.

You vote in nearly every election because you know the details matter. On Measure S, the details add up to one answer.

Vote No on S.

About the Author

Darius Assemi is the publisher of GV Wire and the CEO/president of Granville Homes.