Questionnaire for Mayoral Candidates - 2003

Below is the questionnaire we circulated to candidates for Mayor in November, 2003. Rescue Muni officially endorsed Gavin Newsom at our general meeting on August 9.

Archived responses are available from: Angela Alioto (HTML, RTF), Tom Ammiano (MS Word, HTML), Susan Leal (MS Word, HTML), Gavin Newsom (HTML, MS Word), Tony Ribera (HTML), and Jim Reid (HTML, MS Word).

General

1. Name

2. Address/Telephone/Fax/E-mail/Web Site

3. How often do you ride Muni?  Which lines?  Do you own a Fast Pass?

Proposition E & MTA Board

4. Did you support Proposition E in November 1999, the Muni Reform Charter Amendment?  Why or why not?  Do you think it has been successful?

5. Under Proposition E, the Mayor is responsible for picking all members of the Municipal Transportation Agency Board of Directors.  What criteria will you use in selecting new members of this board?

6. Did you support the current MTA board members' confirmation?  (If you were not a supervisor, how would you have voted?)  Are you satisfied with the results?

Muni Operations

7. As Mayor, you will have strong influence on the selection of any future director of transportation. Will you recommend that Michael Burns and his team be retained by the MTA board?  If it becomes necessary to replace Mr. Burns, what criteria will you use in making recommendations to the MTA board?

8. Due to budget deficits, the MTA has recently had to make difficult decisions on fares, parking fees, service levels, and so on.  Did you support this year's budget?  How would you recommend the MTA handle the next budget crisis - by raising fares, raising parking fees, cutting service, pursuing efficiencies, or by other methods?

9. Some advocates have lobbied the SFCTA to force Muni to buy compressed natural gas buses, despite their poor reliability. If you are a supervisor, how did you vote on this issue? If not, how would you have voted?

Transportation Policy & Planning

10. What to you see as the Mayor's role concerning transportation policy?

11. What does the city's Transit First policy mean to you, and how will you seek to implement it?  To what extent will you get involved in the policy debates on expanding transit lanes, electrification, bus rapid transit, bike lanes, and so on?  In particular, how would you recommend the MTA balance the need for transit right-of-way with demands for more parking, and the need for faster transit service with requests for traffic calming and stop signs?

12. What is your opinion on the proposed renewal of the county sales tax (Proposition X) and the Expenditure Plan recently approved by the Board of Supervisors?  Do you support the proposed Bus Rapid Transit network, Geary Rail line, and Caltrain/High Speed Rail extension to a new Transbay Terminal?

In Conclusion

Please feel free to attach supplemental information (max. 2 pages) explaining why you are running for Mayor, who is supporting you, etc.  Thank you very much for your interest in our Candidates' Forum!

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