San Mateo may seek new tax

Politicians that take money from auto and fossil fuel industry cater mostly to very expensive car infrastructure.

Just look at that mountain of downtown garages and empty office parking around the county that have little to chance of ROI. Or the "Lexus Lanes" that give right-wing-turned tech CEOs and carpool cheaters a faster drive from Silicon Valley to SFO.

We can assume the money of this measure would mostly go to the "Lexus Intersection" of 101 and 92, which requires very expensive eminent domain.

The cities in this county also can't make up their minds if their cities and schools are underfunded or overfunded? They never get their stories straight:

- pools are either really cheap or how else could every single high school or community college afford to have one.

- or they are really expensive than the question is how can every single high school or community college can afford one, when they also have below-average education outcomes.

Every city should have several large indoor pools in a rec center and then rent out space to schools and clubs to use for cheap. But here schools spent more on athletic facilities than on education. And cities spend more on car collectors and car-centric commuters leaving the county than on residents that stay in town.

The City of SM would have more money for pools and other crumbling infrastructure if they stopped wasting money on the Humboldt bike lane quagmire. They have had multiple meetings with 15+ staff and consultants present, pushing proposals that are nearly universally unpopular (moving the bike infrastructure from Humboldt to Fremont or Idaho).

The cost of the project is estimated at $3 million, money that would be better spent on other needs.

I don’t think it’s a matter that San Mateo “may” seek a new tax. It is more likely they “will” seek a new tax. It’s just a matter of how much and via which taxing method. Remember, this is the San Mateo that wasted money to institute bike lanes and remove parking spots and then wasted money, again, to remove those bike lanes. This is the San Mateo that institutes a higher city minimum wage than that of California. Ultimately, don’t fall for the sob stories – vote NO on any tax measures for infrastructure upgrades unless you’re okay with your money being squandered to support ever-increasing union salaries, pensions, and benefits. It is better for the city to consolidate properties such as schools and sell their excess properties and other unused locations. Of course, San Mateo will need to relax their building and development costs, too, to make properties more attractive for developers to develop.