Ashley Swearengin, CEO and president of the Central Valley Community Foundation, is lobbying the legislature to pass special legislation to get a Measure C replacement onto the Nov. 3 ballot.
JUAN ESPARZA LOERA
jesparza@fresnobee.com
Supporters of a Fresno County transportation tax measure are using the big guns to pass legislation to guarantee the measure makes it to the November ballot.
Ashley Swearengin, president and CEO of the Central Valley Community Foundation and former Fresno mayor, said she would be in Sacramento on Tuesday to lobby AB 1923, legislation that would bypass election law to allow voters to decide on the “Better Roads, Safe Streets” in November, instead of March 2028.
Supporters of the tax also hired Sacramento lobbyist Olson Remcho on July 28 to help fast track the legislation. Swearengin’s group helped fund the signature effort to get the measure on the ballot. CVCF contributed $810,000 this year, through June 30, according to county campaign financial records.
After Fresno County supervisors found a way to effectively delay the “Better Roads, Safe Streets” plan — supported by social justice groups and Republican mayors, but opposed by a majority of supervisors — state Sen. Anna Caballero, D-Merced, and Assemblymember Esmeralda Soria, D-Fresno, introduced an amended version of AB 1923 on Monday. The amended legislation would bypass the role of the Fresno County supervisors and place the Measure C successor straight on the November ballot.
Swearengin said she didn’t know that changing state law to put the measure directly onto the ballot was an option until recently.
“If we had known, why didn’t we start sooner? So it’s just been incredible to see our local leadership team up with the Assemblymember and the Senator,” Swearengin said.
The legislators’ plan is the latest in the saga to replace Measure C, the Fresno County transportation tax expiring June 30, 2027. It raises about $150 million annually and is earmarked for local transportation expenses, such as mass transit and road maintenance.
Efforts to renew the measure last year pitted tax-conscious conservatives and socially-minded advocates over how the money should be spent. Only one of two competing plans, Better Roads, Safe Streets, garnered enough signatures to be considered by county supervisors for the Nov. 3 ballot.
How much should be spent on roads was one of the biggest points of contention. Better Roads, Safe Streets advocates set the spending at 65%; others, such as Fresno County Supervisor Garry Bredefeld, wanted a higher percentage. There were also battles over how much to spend on public transportation and the rules for deciding which roads to fix first.
The supervisors called for a 30-day financial impact study, allowed by law, which effectively kept the tax measure from meeting a key deadline to be on the ballot. The study would not be finished until after that Aug. 7 deadline.
Swearengin said that using the study to effectively block the measure for this election, which she called a “procedural delay tactic,” was underhanded.
“When that 30-day study is intentionally delayed by one business day past the state deadline, I’m calling foul on that,” she said. “This procedural delay tactic, which flies in the face of what the voters are expressing through their signatures, is really upsetting. And there’s a wrong that needs to be righted here.”
Opponents of the tax measure and the bill, including Bredefeld and Clovis City Councilmember Diane Pearce, said bypassing local elected officials with state legislation is corrupt and “rigging the election.”
Supervisor Nathan Magsig also questioned the legislation.
“It was shocking, but not completely surprising. As someone who believes in local control, this is another example of the state stepping in and intervening in a process where they don’t like the potential outcome,” Magsig said.
Mayors send a letter
The efforts for AB 1923 started with a letter from Fresno Mayor Jerry Dyer and Clovis Mayor Vong Mouanoutoua on July 31 to Caballero and Soria.
“We respectfully ask that you consider whether there are any legislative, administrative, or other lawful avenues available to preserve the ability of Fresno County voters to consider this measure. We ask for your assistance in protecting the integrity of the democratic process and ensuring that voters are afforded the opportunity to make this important decision under California law,” the mayors wrote.
The letter came one day after the Fresno City Council voted to place its own general sales tax measure on the November ballot, so it could replace money lost from the expiration of Measure C. Dyer has not signed that bill, and said he would veto it by Friday if AB 1923 passes and is signed.
Mayors from nine other Fresno County cities sent a similar letter.
On the fast track
Sen. Angelique Ashby, D-Sacramento, carried a motion on the Senate floor Monday, fast tracking the bill to be heard by the Senate election committee on Wednesday. The motion passed 27-8. Caballero was the only member of the Central Valley delegation to support.
Shannon Grove, R-Bakersfield, voted no. Melissa Hurtado, D-Bakersfield, and Marie Alvarado-Gil, R-Jackson, did not vote.
The Senate election committee meets on Wednesday at 1:30 p.m. The Assembly election committee will hear the bill 10 a.m. on Wednesday.
The bill would then need to pass on the Senate floor, and be sent to the state Assembly for hearings and a floor vote. If the bill survives, it would go to Gov. Gavin Newsom for his signature.
The Fresno Bee
David Taub joined the Fresno Bee in 2026 after reporting 10 years for digital publication GV Wire. He has worked in the Fresno market since 2007. Prior to moving to the Central Valley, he worked for TV and radio stations on the Central Coast. He has also worked behind the scenes in local TV and radio. During his career, he has covered City Hall, the state Capitol, the White House and several houses of government in between. When not in a reporting capacity, he works tracking stats for the Fresno Grizzlies as an official scorekeeper, and also with televised basketball and football games. He has worked the Super Bowl, NBA Finals, and several MLB games. Growing up in the San Francisco Bay Area, Taub is a die-hard Giants and 49ers fan. He graduated from the University of Michigan with dual degrees in communications and political science. Go Blue!