The Lincoln Club of Fresno County has come out in opposition to the social-justice backed Measure C successor.
The organization is calling on Fresno County residents to not sign the initiative to place the Moving Fresno Forward plan onto the ballot.
The backstory: The Moving Fresno Forward plan, backed by groups such as the Central Valley Community Foundation and Fresno Building Healthy Communities, takes the plan proposed by the Measure C Steering Committee that was abandoned by the Fresno Council of Governments.
- The half-cent sales tax proposal would span for 30 years and would be expected to raise $7.4 billion in total. It allocates 65% of proceeds for existing streets, 25% for public transportation, 5% for regional connectivity, 4% for transportation innovation and 1% for administration.
- Local elected leaders and transportation experts unveiled a competing plan last week: a 20-year, half-cent sales tax that would allocate 82% for roads, with the remaining funds set for public transit.
What they’re saying: Lincoln Club Vice Chair Brooke Ashjian issued a statement saying the Moving Fresno Forward plan “slams the entire county into reverse and stomps on the gas.”
- “This dumpster-fire proposal flushes 40 years of proven road-building success straight down the toilet while gleefully embracing every failed experiment in American transportation,” Ashjian said.
- He said the plan fails to fix local roads, crush traffic congestion and connect the county’s communities.
- “Here’s the brutal truth: this measure wastes nearly 30 cents of every single dollar on empty buses that hardly anyone rides, while dedicating slightly more than half of the funds to actual roads,” Ashjian said. “Meanwhile, it gives absolutely nothing – zero dollars – to the popular recreational trail systems our residents actually love and use. That means Reedley, Parlier, Kingsburg, and every other community can forget about ever building those gorgeous, Clovis-style trails their families deserve.”
- Ashjian said Measure C succeeded because it was simple, honest and focused on building, maintaining and expanding local roadways.
- “This measure is the total, bloated opposite,” Ashjian said. “For those reasons, the Lincoln Club of Fresno County vehemently, unapologetically opposes this tax grab and demands that every Fresno County voter refuse to sign the petition to place it on the November 2026 ballot.”
