Commentary: Urging residents to pass Measure T

For The Madera Tribune

Executive Director of Madera County Transportation Authority Patricia Taylor.

---

When the old Measure T initially didn’t pass in 2022, the Madera County Transportation Authority and all our member agencies had to take a hard look at how to better deliver a package of investments that would reflect the needs and expectations of our residents and business community. So, to make sure this happened we started over. The new Measure T expenditure plan on this year’s ballot reflects almost two years of reassessing, adapting, and changing the form and structure of the Measure to meet those needs and expectations.

As part of this process, a steering committee was formed of regular people from across the County. Rather than being appointed by elected officials (which is commonly done), interested individuals volunteered to serve. As a result, the steering committee consistent of members and alternates with varying viewpoints from across the entire spectrum. The independent steering committee toured the county and met six times over the past year. After looking deep into the numbers and the details of the Measure, and forming its contents, they then unanimously recommended and supported the Measure.

To be clear, this is the same Measure that was used by a group of citizens who separately gathered signatures to place the Measure on the ballot. While the citizen’s initiate comes with a lower threshold for passage (as do all citizen’s initiatives), it is the same Measure that was also unanimously recommended the steering committee.