City of Costa Mesa Toll Lanes Advisory Question, Measure P (November 2014)

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A City of Costa Mesa Toll Lanes Advisory Question, Measure P ballot question was on the November 4, 2014 election ballot for voters in the city of Costa Mesa in Orange County, California. It was approved.

Upon approval, this measure indicated that the voters of Costa Mesa supported the city council in disapproving of the construction and operation of toll lanes on the I-405 Freeway. The Costa Mesa Council Members voted unanimously to oppose such toll lanes.

A "yes" vote indicated disapproval of the toll lanes, and a "no" vote indicated approval of the toll lanes.

Not all city council members, however, approved of putting this measure on the ballot. Some said it was ineffectual, costly and simply a political stunt by Mayor James Righeimer and his "cronies." Costa Mesa Council Members Wendy Leece and Sandra Genis, who voted to oppose the construction of toll lanes on the 405, wrote an official "argument against" Measure P. In that argument they claimed, "This advisory measure has no binding effect on anyone and won't affect toll policy in any way, just like the leadership style of Righeimer and the other signers. It's completely ineffectual in altering meaningful public policy, entails a taxpayer subsidy of their political careers, and demonstrates disrespect for Costa Mesa voters."

Nowhere in the argument, however, did the council members urge electors to vote "no" on the advisory question, since that would indicate approval of the toll roads opposed by both council members. The only conclusion, some are left to believe, was that Leece and Genis wished city electors to avoid voting on the measure altogether in order to send a message.

Supporters of the advisory question responded to accusations of using Measure P as a political stunt by affirming opposition to toll lanes and questioning why Leece and Genis would write an argument against Measure P when they also opposed the toll lanes. They also questioned why the argument "against Measure P" only included an appeal to voters with regard to candidates and politicians but not concerning the measure itself, implying that Leece and Genis used Measure P as an opportunity for a political stunt themselves.

Election results

Orange County, Measure P
Result		Votes	Percentage
a Yes		10,558	54.5%
No		8,806	45.5%

Election results via: Orange County Registrar of Voters

Text of measure

Ballot question

The question on the ballot appeared as:

“

Do you agree with the Costa Mesa City Council, which unanimously opposes the establishment of toll lanes on the I-405 Freeway in Orange County?

”

Impartial analysis

The following impartial analysis was provided for Measure P:

“	The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), in association with the State of California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and the cities adjacent to the I-405 Freeway Corridors between the SR-73 and I-605 freeways, has been working on the I-405 Freeway Improvement Project (Project). As part of the Project, OCTA and Caltrans intend to convert existing High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes into High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. With the conversion from HOV to HOT lanes, commuters will pay a toll for the use of the HOT lane. The Costa Mesa City Council (City Council) unanimously opposes the current plan to establish HOT lanes on the I-405 Freeway in Orange County based upon their determination that the socially, economically, and politically responsible action is to construct the greatest transportation improvements that best utilize taxpayer funds without requiring motorists to pay tolls for use of the improvements. The purpose of Measure P is to determine whether the Costa Mesa’s qualified voters agree with the City Council’s opposition to the current plan to establish HOT lanes on the I-405 Freeway in Orange County. Measure P is submitted by the City Council as an advisory ballot measure, and will have no legal effect. A “Yes” vote would mean that the voter agrees with the City Council’s opposition to the current plan to establish toll lanes on the I-405 Freeway in Orange County. A “No” vote would mean that the voter disagrees with the City Council’s opposition to the current plan to establish toll lanes on the I-405 Freeway in Orange County.	”
—Costa Mesa City Attorney

Support

Supporters

The following individuals signed the official arguments in support of Measure P:

• James Righeimer, Costa Mesa Mayor
• Matthew Harper, Huntington Beach Mayor
• Diana Carey, Westminster Council Member
• State Assemblyman Allan Mansoor (R-74)
• Johm M. W. Moorlach, Orange County Supervisor for District 2

Arguments in favor

The following was submitted as the official arguments in favor of Measure P:

“	Caltrans wants to raid your tax dollars that are earmarked for widening the I-405 Freeway, and use them for toll lanes that would cost commuter who could afford it $10 to $15 for a 14-mile one-way trip between Seal Beach and Costa Mesa. We need to tell Caltrans NO. We don't want our free lanes hijacked and turned into Lexus Lanes for the rich - especially if you're constructing them with $1.3 billion that we raised for other purposes. The Costa Mesa City Council has unanimously voted to oppose any toll lanes on the I-405. Six cities along the I-405 corridor have banded together to fight the conversion of free lanes to toll lanes. Instead, we want to expand the freeway without the use of high-fee toll lanes - and without the need to demolish and rebuild the Fairview Road Bridge. Costa Mesa recently spent $7 million and several years to expand the bridge. Now, under Caltran's plan, we will be forced to spend $50 million to destroy and then put the bridge back over several years. In 1990 and again in 2006, Orange County residents approved a half-percent county sales tax (Measure M) to fund local transportation improvements - to widen freeways, expand bridges, build interchanges and improve intersections. In particular, adding lanes to the I-405 Freeway was one of the reasons the voters approved the half-cent sales tax. The taxpayers didn't vote to fund toll lanes with Measure M, but that's what Caltrans proposes to do. We the undersigned elected officials represent almost 1,000,000 residents in Orange County. We need to send a loud and united message to Caltrans officials and Sacramento politicians. We didn't pass Measure M to pay for your toll lanes. We like our freeways free. Please vote yes on Measure P. (quote)	”
—James Righeimer, Matthew Harper, Diana Carey, Assemblyman Allan Mansoor and Johm M. W. Moorlach

Opposition

Opponents

The following Costa Mesa Council Members signed the official arguments in opposition to Measure P. It is important to note that these council members did not approve of the construction of the toll lane in question. Rather, they disapproved of how this advisory question was put on the ballot and thought that it was an unnecessary and wasteful political stunt.

• Wendy Leece, Costa Mesa City Council Member
• Sandra Genis, Costa Mesa City Council Member

Arguments against

The following was submitted as the official arguments in opposition to Measure P:

“	Every member of the Costa Mesa City Council is on record opposing toll lanes on the 405 freeway. Residents and businesses submitted 100,000 letters opposing the toll lanes. Elected officials for Seal Beach to La Habra to San Clemente oppose the toll lanes, including Todd Spitzer and Shawn Nelson (Orange County Supervisors), Dianna Carey (Westminster), John Collins (Fountain Valley), and Keith Curry (Newport Beach). The opposition's overwhelming. Do Costa Mesa taxpayers really need to incur the cost of placing this measure on the ballot, and then pay for expensive citywide, taxpayer-subsidized "public education" mailers? As Orange County Supervisors Shawn Nelson stated when asked to vote yet again on the I-405 matter, "It's gotten outside our jurisdiction. To tell (Caltrans) yet again what we've already told them is exactly what it sounds like: ... repeating, 'this is not what we choose.' They know that." So why is this on the ballot? One reason: Jim Righeimer's using it in a thinly-veiled effort to promote his own and his cronies' political campaigns at taxpayer expense. He manipulated the process to only hand-picked cohorts could sign the ballot argument, benefiting from a taxpayer campaign subsidy. This advisory measure has no binding effect on anyone and won't affect toll policy in any way, just like the leadership style of Righeimer and the other signers. It's completely ineffectual in altering meaningful public policy, entails a taxpayer subsidy of their political careers, and demonstrates disrespect for Costa Mesa voters. Don't be fooled by phone "fiscal conservatives" who claim to want to reduce spending, except when it applies to themselves politically. To stop toll lanes on the 405, we must elect serious, mature, problem solving individuals to city council and the state legislature, people who'll engage in real policy change, not waste your tax dollars on meaningless political stunts.	”
—Costa Mesa City Council Members Wendy Leece and Sandra Genis

See also

• Local transportation on the ballot
• Orange County, California ballot measures
• November 4, 2014 ballot measures in California

External links

Suggest a link

• Orange County Elections Office website
• Costa Mesa City Elections Office website