Broken SANDAG Needs Comprehensive Fix

Sometimes, a government agency seeks to raise our taxes by offering to the voters an initiative, which the voters then can vote up or down. In the recent election, SANDAG did just that, (indirectly) placing on the ballot a permanent sales tax increase called “Measure G.” Such measures normally require a supermajority of voters to approve it, but there is an exception: If the measure is put before the voters by fellow citizens, instead of a government agency, the new tax can become law with only 50 percent plus one vote.

In one of its many scandals, SANDAG has admitted to knowingly overcharging users of the state Route 125 toll road it operates. U-T

How many voters knew that Measure G, which was sold to them as such a “citizens” initiative, was really designed exclusively to fund a government agency, which in turn would distribute the money to private contractors? Is it really possible that SANDAG did not have a hand in drafting the initiative, sizing the funding goal and in other ways supporting the requested tax increase? Were the “citizens” who funded the signature-gathering campaign, and the media project, our friends and neighbors, good people who got together at their kitchen tables and came up with this enormous tax increase? Or was this proposed tax increase financially underwritten by those who would most benefit from the hundreds of millions of taxpayers’ funds that would come their way if it passed?

The Union-Tribune’s recent editorial about the dysfunction at our regional planning agency was spot on. This strange tale of a “citizens” initiative is just one example of that dysfunction.

The root cause of SANDAG’s many failures is that it is a public agency fully captured by its private clients: trade unions, big construction companies and the ecosystem of consultants, well-intentioned but benighted “greens” and armies of highly paid consultants. If you doubt it, just consider who paid for the so-called “citizens initiative” (Measure G) that the voters wisely (but barely) voted down last month.

There is a board, of course, made up mostly of local city council members, but they are manifestly ineffective at governing the career bureaucrats. Many board members lack the expertise, institutional knowledge and necessary attention span to be effective overseers. These members rotate on and off the board, have many other duties that compete for their time and often have day jobs too. This type of governance often results in no governance at all, leaving the career bureaucrats and their clients to run the show.

SANDAG has deteriorated into just a big honey pot; billions of dollars of our money looking for something to do, some pet project, some megalomaniac’s fantasy, all absurdly costly, almost none sensible. Its plans and projects typically are value-destroying, costing much more to build and operate than they can possibly return to the taxpayers. Watch the empty Coaster trains roll up and down our coastline day after day, burning diesel fuel and hundreds of millions of dollars of the taxpayers’ money, year after year. And SANDAG is working very hard to make sure this failed experiment continues to burn through our money, leaving less and less for actual transit solutions, like express buses.

SANDAG’s problems run deep. If we are serious about keeping it alive and turning into a useful planning agency, root and branch reform is needed, from ethics rules, to better transparency, better board governance, and, most importantly, a professional, financially responsible approach to transportation planning. No project should ever reach a board agenda that hasn’t been thoroughly analyzed from a cost-benefit perspective, taking into consideration all alternatives and fully informed of the broader regional economy and technological advances. '

SANDAG is an example of “when you find yourself in a hole, stop digging.” So let’s take away its shovels, hit the pause button, and as a first step bring in an independent, qualified, serious experts’ group to fix it.

Written by Don Billings | December 19, 2024 | Opinion | San Diego Union Tribun (Billings is a bank consultant and lives in Rancho Santa Fe)

Editor's Note: Who sits on the SANDAG Board?

SANDAG Board Officers are Chairwoman Nora Vargas, First Vice Chair Sean Elo-Rivera and Second Vice Chair Lesa Heebner.

SANDAG Primary Members are from the County and cities within SDC:

City of Carlsbad Melanie Burkholder, Councilmember, Hon. Priya Bhat-Patel, Mayor Pro Tem, Hon. Keith Blackburn, Mayor

City of Chula Vista Hon. Carolina Chavez, Councilmember, Hon. Alonso Gonzalez, Deputy Mayor, Hon. Jose Preciado, Councilmember

City of Coronado Hon. John Duncan, Councilmember, Hon. Mike Donovan, Councilmember, Hon. Richard Bailey, Mayor

City of Del Mar Hon. Terry Gaasterland, Deputy Mayor, Hon. Tracy Martinez, Councilmember, Hon. Dave Druker, Mayor

City of El Cajon Hon. Bill Wells, Mayor, Hon. Steve Goble, Deputy Mayor

City of Encinitas Hon. Bruce Ehlers, Mayor, Hon. Luke Shaffer, Councilmember, Hon. Joy Lyndes, Councilmember

City of Escondido Hon. Dane White, Mayor, Hon. Judy Fitzgerald, Councilmember, Hon. Joe Garcia, Councilmember

City of Imperial Beach Hon. Jack Fisher, Councilmember, Hon. Mitch McKay, Mayor Pro Tem, Hon. Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez, Councilmember

City of La Mesa Hon. Jack Shu, Councilmember, Hon. Patricia Dillard, Councilmember, Vacant

City of Lemon Grove Hon. Racquel Vasquez, Mayor, Hon. George Gastil, Councilmember, Hon. Alysson Snow, Councilmember

City of National City Hon. Luz Molina, Councilmember, Hon. Ron Morrison, Mayor, Hon. Ditas Yamane, Councilmember

City of Oceanside Hon. Ryan Keim, Councilmember, Hon. Rick Robinson, Councilmember

City of Poway Hon. Steve Vaus, Mayor, Hon. Caylin Frank, Deputy Mayor, Hon. Brian Pepin, Councilmember

City of San Diego Hon. Todd Gloria, Mayor, Hon. Raul Campillo, Councilmember, Hon. Joe LaCava, Council President Pro Tem, Hon. Sean Elo-Rivera, Council President, Hon. Vivian Moreno, Council member, Hon. Marni Von Wilpert, Council member

City of San Marcos Hon. Rebecca Jones, Mayor, Hon. Ed Musgrove, Councilmember, Hon. Sharon Jenkins, Deputy Mayor

City of Santee Hon. John Minto, Mayor, Hon. Laura Koval, Councilmember, Hon. Ronn Hall, Councilmember

City of Solana Beach Hon. Lesa Heebner, Mayor, Hon. David A. Zito, Councilmember, Hon. Jewel Edson, Deputy Mayor

City of Vista Hon. Katie Melendez, Deputy Mayor, Hon. Dan O’Donnell, Councilmember, Hon. John Franklin, Mayor

County of San Diego Hon. Nora Vargas, Chair, Hon. Joel Anderson, Supervisor, Hon. Terra Lawson-Remer, Supervisor, Hon. Monica Montgomery Steppe, Supervisor

SANDAG Advisory Members are as follows:

Imperial County Jesus Eduardo Escobar, Supervisor, Vacant

California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Tony Tavares, Executive Director, Everett Townsend, Acting District 11 Director, Roy Abboud, Acting Deputy Director

Metropolitan Transit System Hon. Matthew Leyba-Gonzalez, Hon. Patricia Dillard, Hon. Ronn Hall

North County Transit District Hon. Jewel Edson, Hon. Priya Bhat-Patel, Hon. Sharon Jenkins

United States Department of Defense Dennis Keck, Executive Director, Navy Region Southwest, Anna Shepherd, Navy Region Southwest, Muska Laiq, Navy Region Southwest

Port of San Diego Dan Malcolm, Commissioner, Job Nelson, Commissioner

San Diego County Water Authority Mel Katz, Representative, Nick Serrano, Alternate, Consuelo Martinez, Alternate

San Diego County Regional Airport Authority Gil Cabrera, Chair, James Sly, Board member

Southern California Tribal Chairmen's Association Hon. Cody Martinez, Chairman, Sycuan Band of the Kumeyaay Nation, Hon. Erica Pinto, Chairwoman, Jamul Indian Village of California

Mexico (Consulate General of Mexico) Hon. Alicia Kerber-Palma, Cónsul General of Mexico, Hon. Gilberto Luna, Deputy Cónsul General of Mexico

Association of Planning Groups Hon. Robin Joy Maxson, Hon. Eileen Delaney

(Hon. is abbreviated from "Honorable")

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