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Will Commuter Anger, Political Concerns Dictate Elk Grove City Council's e-Tran Restructuring Decisions?

Although last Thursday night's transit workshop conducted by the City of Elk Grove was billed as a means of gathering input for a comprehensive transit analysis that is underway, most of the audience had their mind on other transportation topics.

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The topic on the minds of the audience was what effect the recently opened Sacramento Regional Transit’s Blue Line light rail will have on Elk Grove's e-Tran bus system. Specifically, the audience was interested to find out if their coveted e-Tran's commuter buses to downtown Sacramento will be eliminated, and if a spate of recent e-Tran operational failures were a ploy by the city to justify such a move.

After hearing presentations from city transit manager Jean Foletta and lead consultants Steve Wilks of IBI Group, Terry Thompson General Manager of MV Transportation, the contract operator of Elk Grove's e-Tran bus service also spoke to the approximate three dozen people on hand.

In her introduction of Thompson, Foletta sought to assure riders in attendance of the city's actual intentions.

"We absolutely recognize that we been having service challenges, we know that, we know that's not good,” Foletta said. Trust me, there is no ploy, we've hear that from so many people, that there is some sort of conspiracy to move our riders and passengers off of our service to light rail, that's not the case."

When he spoke, Thompson said the service failures were the result of driver shortages and acknowledged they were going through some "rough patches." Thompson said once they hire drivers, and after they gain experience, they flee for higher paying jobs with employers like Sacramento Regional Transit.

Thompson echoed Foletta and sought to squelch the rumors that there was a ploy to divert riders to light rail.

"I want to reassure you that we are fully committed," Thompson said. "There is no theory on trying to move people to light rail."

After the presentations, the audience broke into three groups to discuss transit needs in the city. While the city sought to spark on conversations on the entire spectrum of the city's transit needs, most participants were most interested in discussing commuter routes.

At one table, five state government workers expressed concern that they will be forced off existing commuter express routes to Downtown Sacramento and compelled to use light rail. A few of the state workers said co-workers in Folsom complained when their commuter routes were eliminated once light rail was brought in there.    

"I don't want to be like Folsom," one female participant said. "They had it forced on them."

Among the common complaints cited by participants was if they were compelled to use light rail commute times would substantially increase, and female riders also noted safety concerns. Several participants also said they believe the city has done a poor job of communicating the possible changes.

"I am not a conspiracy theorist, but no one knows about this," one participant said of possible route changes.

When asked if commuter routes were eliminated, would they take their anger out at council member on next November's ballot, there was unanimous agreement. They all said they would vote against anyone who cut the downtown commuter express routes.

So as riders prepare for the findings of the analysis, which are expected by March 2016, Mayor Gary Davis and Council Members Steve Detrick and Darren Suen will undoubtedly watch voters' moods, and make their political calculations in the time leading up to elections one year from now.  

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Money Pours in Bera's, Ose's Campaign Warchests

April 16, 2014 |

If money were a gauge of popularity, the two front-runners in the Seventh Congressional District race would be freshman Democratic Congressman Dr. Ami Bera in first and former Republican Congressman Doug Ose in second.

Read More Today both campaigns released recent fundraising totals for the first quarter of the year, and between Bera and Ose, the total approached three-quarters of a million dollars. Bera raised over $485,000 while Ose brought in over $225,000.

Bera, who outpaced fundraising efforts of former Congressman Dan Lungren, who he narrowly defeated in 2012, the first quarter totals brought his cash on hand to about $1.5 million. Ose's totals brought him to about $465,000 on hand.

In their announcements, both candidates stressed the source of their cash. Ose said 70 percent of his donations come from Sacramento County while Bera has pointed out that 85 percent of individual donations came from California and 70 percent of those were for less than $100.

"I am so grateful for the incredible continued help from our grassroots supporters who make this campaign possible," Bera said. “It's just further confirmation that Sacramento County families want a problem solver who keeps his promises and puts them ahead of politics representing them in Congress."

While Republican candidate Igor Birman trailed Bera and Ose in first quarter fundraising, Birman's campaign manager Keegan Conway noted they brought in over $110,000 in the first quarter.

"We are pleased with the level of support we continue to receive from donors who are excited about electing a strong conservative in 2014," Conway said.

Chaires Declares Candidacy For Elk Grove City Council

Elk Grove Planning Commissioner Nancy Chaires filed her Candidate Intention Statement forms with the City of Elk Grove this morning, officially launching her campaign to become Elk Grove’s newest city council member representing district four.

“I’m running for City Council to ensure that the residents of the 4th district, and those across Elk Grove are represented with integrity, accountability and respect,” Chaires said.

Read More A planning commissioner for five years now, Chaires was appointed by Council Member Jim Cooper.

In a press release this morning Chaires said her top priorities are to protect the city's safety and quality of life, maintain high standards of government transparency and accountability and enhance the city’s reputation as the best place to live, work and do business in the Sacramento area.

"We owe it to the residents, to ensure that we do everything we can to bring good quality jobs to our city, she said said. "There is much we can do to facilitate investment, and to make Elk Grove the model of customer service for businesses.”

Chaires is the first candidate to formally announce a candidacy for the seat currently occupied by Robert Trigg who is expected to vacate the seat in 2014.

- See more at: http://www.elkgrovenews.net/2013/08/chaires-formally-launches-campaign-for.html#sthash.5Nrr9vCQ.dpuf

Presumed Frontrunner Nancy Chaires Jumps Into Elk Grove City Council Race

Elk Grove Planning Commissioner Nancy Chaires