Donald Babadalir: Council candidate decides against Measure B

Fellow Turlockers, as I have stated before, the poor state of the roads is no secret. The roads need improvement and I commend the proposed aim of Measure B – improving our roads.

However, while I once offered conditional – and reluctant – support for this measure, waiting for certain things to be clarified (scheduling of road improvements if and when a county-wide tax passes; status of funds collected from other taxes, etc.), I can assuredly say now that I cannot offer my support for it.

These revelations include the campaign propaganda inserts provided by “The Citizens for YES on Measure B” group sent out by the city of Turlock in our utility bills. That is misuse of public funds. Can you imagine the city putting an insert for the “Donald Babadalir Campaign” in your utility bill?

This is beside what the FPPC has revealed in terms of the campaign finance reporting violations as well as who donated what to that campaign (i.e. a road construction company). Regardless of the success of Measure B, we need to take a look at the roads issue in depth.

As a citizen, taxpayer and voter, I think we should all ponder a few things. Before asking citizens to pay more in sales tax, we must first ask our government and elected officials to tell us how and why the roads have been neglected in the first place. The city has not spent any general fund dollars on street repair and maintenance for years, neglecting a major infrastructure necessity that should have been a priority. Then we need to ask our leadership to present a solution so we don’t end up in such a bad position again.

When businesses visit towns they want to invest in, they look at the roads and interchanges as one indicator of whether or not they should invest.

Second, we already pay taxes for roads – a Federal excise tax of 18.4 cents per gallon (24.4 cents per gallon of diesel) along with a California excise tax of 52.9 cents per gallon (49.6 cents for diesel). The U.S. Highway Trust Fund also receives a boost from truck-related taxes on tires. Additionally, our general fund is receiving funds from all the retail purchases made in Turlock. What does that tell you ? The funds are not being spent on Turlock roads.

We should address the problem of why our roads have been neglected before citizens are asked to pay even more taxes. This is a vote about government waste, lack of accountability and mistrust. Vote no on Measure B. Hold government officials accountable before giving them more money. If you vote yes on Measure B, you give them more money to waste.

This story was originally published November 3, 2014 at 6:22 PM with the headline "Donald Babadalir: Council candidate decides against Measure B."