As Bay Area transit agencies scramble to find new revenue sources to deal with multimillion-dollar deficits, LGBTQ Democratic leaders in San Francisco are moving to condemn a Trump administration policy they consider to be not only homophobic but also disastrous for the future of public transportation in the region.
A memo released by U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy states that when it comes to the federal agency's financial support for transit projects, preference would be given "to communities with marriage and birth rates higher than the national average." It specified the directive includes the Federal Transit Administration's Capital Investment Grant program, which funds heavy rail, commuter rail, light rail, streetcars, and bus rapid transit projects across the U.S.
"I think it is well established under the law that you can't determine funding allocation by race or political party. But I think what they have landed on, if you look at what states are better lined up for federal funding under this proposal, it is places that are white, places less hospitable to LGBTQ people, and perhaps more hostile to queer and trans people," said Edward Wright, a gay man who represents San Francisco on the board overseeing regional subway system BART.
For San Francisco, a city famous for having more dogs than children, and the Bay Area in general, the impact of such a policy could be devastating for the region's transit service, warn local transit and civic leaders. The San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency, which oversees the city's Muni transit system, is already trying to plug a $13 million budget deficit and projecting deficits of $50 million then $320 million in the next two fiscal years.
As for BART, which operates in five of the nine Bay Area counties, it is dealing with a $35 million deficit in its fiscal year that begins July 1 and projects having to close a deficit between $350 to $400 million in 2026.
Despite seeing a slight increase last year in births, which numbered roughly 6,870 according to state data released last month, San Francisco registered a 20% decline in births compared to 2019 figures. According to a 2022 report by NewGeography, San Francisco had the lowest fertility rate of any major metro area in the country at 1.49.
At the February 26 meeting of the San Francisco Democratic County Central Committee, fourth vice chair Emma Hare introduced a resolution titled "Condemning Funding Prejudice At The U.S. Department of Transportation And Urging Bay Area Transportation Agencies to Seek Additional Funding Sources." It is set to be heard at the DCCC's March 26 meeting, where 17 of the 32 members will need to vote to adopt it.
"San Francisco, as the resolution states, is home to a really large LGBTQ community, and for reasons of choice and biology, these communities are less likely to have children. So, this is a direct attack on San Francisco," said Hare, who had been elected last March to the DCCC under her maiden name of Heiken and has since gotten married and changed her last name.
Hare, who identifies as bisexual, is a legislative aide to District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar. She will be overseas next month on her honeymoon and plans to send a proxy to vote on her behalf for the resolution at the DCCC meeting.
To date, three gay members of the committee have signed on as co-sponsors, Mike Chen, Joe Sangirardi, and Peter Gallotta. Chen sits on the board that oversees the SFMTA, while Sangirardi lost to Wright in last fall's race for the BART board's District 9 seat covering the eastside of San Francisco.
Possible pushback
Hare told the Bay Area Reporter it is likely her resolution could receive pushback due to how contentious transit policy issues in the city are right now. Debates have flared over everything from what cuts to make to balance the SFMTA's budget to allowing larger and denser housing developments along the city's transit corridors, plus gay District 4 Supervisor Joel Engardio is facing a recall attempt for his leading the successful ballot measure campaign last November to turn the Great Highway along Ocean Beach into a new park and greenspace.
"I think there is a lot of division in our city right now about transportation and land use. So, any discussions on that have been recently leading to extremely heightened emotions and division," noted Hare.
Nevertheless, she stressed that, "Trump is aiming to derail our country, no train pun intended," and local Democrats need to stand up to his administration in new ways just as the Republican president has been doing with his various executive orders and other initiatives aimed at dismantling the federal government.
"We shouldn't be surprised, because Trump 1.0 came for San Francisco. Trump 2.0 has gotten a lot more creative. He is coming at us in new ways, different ways and legal ways very different than Trump 1.0," said Hare. "I want San Francisco Democrats to be just as creative in our response and thinking going forward about how we defend ourselves from this. We can't do resistance 1.0 against Trump 2.0; we have to do resistance 2.0."
Wright, a former president of the city's progressive Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, told the B.A.R. he is supportive of seeing the DCCC adopt Hare's transit resolution.
"I think it is wrong for anyone to play politics with infrastructure investments and with the services that so many communities and so many people rely on," said Wright, who until December had been working as a transit strategy and communications adviser for the SFMTA.
As for the "additional and creative funding sources" that Hare's resolution wants local transit agencies to pursue, it includes such things as "joint development, road use pricing, and/or taxation, to keep our public transportation system and regional economy running and ensure equal opportunity for all communities in San Francisco."
When asked by the B.A.R. if "road use pricing" meant having San Francisco impose a congestion pricing toll on vehicles entering its downtown area, similar to what New York City recently began charging, Hare said it does but explained that as a county, San Francisco is the only one in the Bay Area region that doesn't have the authority to toll vehicles. It is something being discussed by City Hall leaders, she said, about possibly seeking such authority though no decision has been made yet on doing so.
"I didn't want to call out any recommendation specifically because I want us to explore every option. I don't want us to leave any stone unturned," said Hare about the language of her resolution. "We can't count on our eggs from the federal government because it is so unlikely they are going to hatch."
Tax measure explored
One option being explored by regional leaders is placing some kind of tax on the 2026 ballot to fund local transit agencies. Gay state Senator Scott Wiener (D-San Francisco), with co-sponsor Assemblymember Jesse Arreguín (D-Berkeley), is again carrying legislation to grant Bay Area transit officials the authority to put such a tax measure before voters.
Such a measure would need a two-thirds vote to pass. And recent polling by the Metropolitan Transportation Commission on three different funding mechanisms found none would receive the required threshold to take effect.
Thus, the polling firm that conducted the poll noted the "likely path" for getting a transit tax approved would be via a citizen initiative. If such a ballot measure drive was able to gather enough signatures to make it onto the ballot, then it would only need a simple majority to win.
"Although there is interest in preventing cuts to transit, voters are simply hesitant to raise taxes and lack trust that more money is the solution," noted EMC research in its polling report to the regional transit commission this month.
"As funding in the Bay Area for transit has been predominately a county issue, it is a challenge, I think, we all face as we figure out how to move forward," Julie Kirschbaum, the SFMTA's newly named director of transportation, told San Francisco supervisors Tuesday meeting as the San Francisco County Transportation Authority Board.
BART leaders favor a variable sales tax to be charged over 11 years in four of the five counties it operates in, which would generate $650 million annually for various transit systems. It would have San Francisco paying a higher 7/8-cent tax, with Alameda, Contra Costa, and San Mateo counties paying a 1/2-cent tax.
"It doesn't look like the federal government is coming to save us, so this is something the Bay Area has to take care of on its own," said Wright. "BART is critical to the regional economy, and downtown San Francisco will not recover if BART does not survive."
From 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday, February 27, Wiener is hosting an opening reception for a new exhibit titled "Transit: How We Move" in his local offices overlooking San Francisco's Civic Center. It is curated by queer artist Joseph Abbati and runs through March 30 in Wiener's Suite 14800 in the State Building at 455 Golden Gate Avenue.
RSVP is required in order for attendees to enter the building. Find out information to do so here.
Web Extra: For more queer political news, be sure to check http://www.ebar.com Monday mornings for Political Notes, the notebook's online companion. This week's column reported on the designs for a new San Francisco park that is the first to be named after a leather community leader.
Keep abreast of the latest LGBTQ political news by following the Political Notebook on Threads @ https://www.threads.net/@matthewbajko and on Bluesky @ https://bsky.app/profile/politicalnotes.bsky.social.
Got a tip on LGBTQ politics? Call Matthew S. Bajko at (415) 829-8836 or email [email protected]
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