http://www.vtaridersunion.org/vtameetings/vtaboard-10072004.html

--eugene

========== FORWARDED SCVTARU ACTION ALERT ==========

HELP FIGHT VTA'S LATEST ATTEMPT TO WASTE YOUR TAX
DOLLARS

We Say to VTA: Best Way To Enhance Your Public Image:
Repeal the Fare Hike You Approved in June

Background
==========
You already know about the transit service cuts and
fare hikes the Santa Clara Valley Transportation
Authority (VTA) has made since 2001. Recently, the
Santa Clara County Grand Jury recommended that VTA
disband its Board of Directors.

Now, the VTA wants to waste another $7.7 million of
your tax dollars (and transit fares) in an effort to
improve its public image. Worse, the money will also
be used in an effort to get you to vote for another
transit sales tax, possibly in November 2006. This
despite the fact that VTA has nearly a $100 million
deficit on a $328 million budget to keep its buses and
light rail running.

Two excellent stories in early September by
investigative reporter Barry Witt in the San Jose
Mercury News give all the sordid details - even as VTA
continues to state that the money is only to "educate
the public."

The media attention given to this story was so
intense, the VTA Board had to back away from the
proposal at its September 2 Board meeting.

Who Benefits?
=============
The following groups BENEFIT from VTA's latest
proposed waste of your tax dollars:

* Catapult Strategies - with offices in San Jose and
Alexandria, VA. Its CEO is Jude Barry, former chief of
staff to San Jose Mayor (and VTA Board member) Ron
Gonzales. Mr. Barry ran the (in)famous 2000 Measure A
"BART Tax" campaign. Catapult's clients include BART
and the San Jose/Silicon Valley Chamber of Commerce.
Their specialty is in press relations.

* Burson-Marsteller - with offices worldwide including
one in Los Angeles. According to Barry Witt's
articles, VTA spends nearly $200,000 of your tax
dollars on this firm, which lobbies for federal
funding for VTA in Washington, DC. Public affairs and
media "spin" are amongst their specialties.

* Fairbank, Maslin, Maullin & Associates - with
offices in Oakland, Santa Monica, and Madison, WI.
They were the public relations machine behind the
(in)famous 2000 Measure A "BART Tax" campaign as well
as the 1/2-cent sales tax for transportation in Santa
Clara County in 1984. They were also the public
relations machine behind the San Jose Airport
Expansion Initiative in 1999. Using surveys and focus
groups, their client base include BART and the City of
San Jose.

* The IW Group - with offices based in San Francisco,
Los Angeles, and New York. Their specialty is public
relations in traditional Asian languages. For Santa
Clara County, this firm might perform surveys and
focus groups in Chinese, Vietnamese, Japanese, Korean,
and Tagalog.

* Public Affairs Management - with offices in
Philadelphia, PA and throughout the East Coast. They
do government lobbying and other legislative advocacy.
Clientele is based on the East Coast but includes
Wal-Mart, BFI Waste Systems, and Novartis. Their
specialize in media damage control for their
clientele. From their web site: "Public Affairs
Management LLC develops proactive communications
strategies to help prevent, minimize or quickly
diffuse difficult situations...Our principals serve or
have served in local, state and federal government
positions."

* Thier PR - small office in San Francisco but without
a web site. They specialize in community outreach and
press relations. Named after its CEO, Holli Thier,
former President of the League of Women Voters who ran
unsuccesfully for the 13th State Assembly in San
Francisco. Listed in VTA's Prospective Vendors web
page.

Who Loses?
==========
The following groups _LOSE OUT_ from VTA's latest
proposed waste of your tax dollars:

* Santa Clara County Taxpayers. Many of the firms due
to work on VTA's proposed public relations expenditure
have offices outside Santa Clara County. This means
that the vast majority of the $7.7 million of your tax
dollars will benefit the local economies in Oakland,
Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC -
enhancing their local economies at the expense of
Santa Clara County's economic recovery.

* Bus and light rail commuters. SCVTARU says there is
a better and cheaper way for VTA to enhance its public
image: repeal the fare hike its Board of Directors
approved in June. $5.5 of the $7.7 million of your tax
dollars can be used to offset the fiscal gains
VTA claims to make upon its latest fare hike its Board
of Directors approved back in June. That same $7.7
million of your tax dollars could have also been used
to restore some of the transit service VTA has slashed
since 2001.

What Can I Do About This Latest Attempt To Waste My
Tax Dollars?
===================================================
1. Contact the VTA Board member for your city or area:

City of San Jose
----------------
Cindy Chavez, City Council Member
(cindy.cha...@ci.sj.ca.us)
(408-277-5231)
David Cortese, City Council Member
(dave.cort...@ci.sj.ca.us)
(408-277-5242)
Pat Dando, City Council Member (pat.da...@ci.sj.ca.us)
(408-277-5251)
Ron Gonzales, Mayor (MayorEm...@ci.sj.ca.us)
(408-277-4237)
Forrest Williams, City Council Member
(forrest.willi...@ci.sj.ca.us)
(408-277-4282)
Ken Yeager(Alternate), City Council Member
(ken.yea...@ci.sj.ca.us)
(408-277-5166)

Palo Alto, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Mountain View,
Santa Clara
-----------------------------------------------------------------
David Casas, Los Altos Council Member
(dca...@pepalum.com)
Dean Chu, Vice Mayor of Sunnyvale
(CouncilDean...@yahoo.com)
John McLemore, Santa Clara City Council Member
(jmclem...@aol.com)
(408-984-3250)

Campbell, Cupertino, Los Gatos, Monte Sereno, Saratoga
------------------------------------------------------
Joe Pirzynski (VTA Board Vice Chair), Los Gatos City
Council Member
(j...@joep4lg.com)

Milpitas
--------
Patricia Dixon, Vice Mayor (pdi...@ci.milpitas.ca.gov)
(408-586-3028)

County Supervisors
------------------
Don Gage (VTA Board Chair), District 1 (Los Gatos,
Monte Sereno,
Morgan Hill, South San Jose)
(don.g...@bos.co.santa-clara.ca.us)
(408-299-3273)
Pete McHugh, District 3 (Milpitas, North San Jose,
Sunnyvale)
(pete.mch...@bos.co.santa-clara.ca.us) (408-299-2443)

2. ATTEND and SPEAK OUT at the VTA Board meeting on
October 7, 2004 at 5:30pm at 70 W. Hedding Street in
San Jose. Tips on handling VTA Board meetings can be
found at http://www.vtaridersunion.org/.  VTA's
latest tax waste proposal is item #24 on their
agenda.

Talking points:
---------------
* A cheaper and more effective way that VTA can
enhance its public image: repeal the fare hike it
approved in June. It can be done at 3/4 of the
proposed $7.7 million expenditure on public relations
firms. By repealing the fare hike, VTA will show the
taxpayers that it is committed relieving the
automobile gridlock that has returned to the county.
With stable public transit fares enabling more people
to use public transit as an alternative to automobile
gridlock, it can enable the county's economy to recover
even faster.
* The very legality of using public tax dollars to
fund campaigns for transit tax measures has not been
questioned.  Where have similar initiatives like what
VTA wants to undertake occurred, and have they
been successful?
* Many of the firms involved with VTA's "public
relations expenditure" proposal are outside Santa
Clara County. If approved, this money will benefit
those communities at the expense of the County's
economic recovery.

See you at Thursday's meeting...

=====
Eugene Bradley
Founder, Santa Clara VTA Riders Union
http://www.vtaridersunion.org/
Yahoo!/AOL/MSN messenger: eegenebradley