Doubts over SMART flare up in supervisor's race

<p>When voters in Sonoma and Marin counties gave their overwhelming endorsement two years ago to a commuter rail line -- and a sales tax increase to pay for it -- the project's political and financial future seemed secure.</p><p>Then came the Great Recession.</p><p>Today, the train's most stalwart backers are saying they need half a year to figure just how much money they will have, how much the train will really cost and whether key segments north to Cloverdale or south to Larkspur will be delayed.</p><p>Windsor Councilwoman Debora Fudge, who this year took over leadership of SMART's board of directors with high hopes of high visibility and positive publicity, is now enduring a withering attack from her opponent, Healdsburg Councilman Mike McGuire, for a seat on the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors.</p><p>The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which serves as a funnel for federal transportation funding, says SMART remains on its priority list. But it acknowledges a rail line in a low-population area sits far below BART and Muni extensions in the urban corridor between San Francisco and San Jose.</p><p>And long-term critics say prospects are only getting worse, prompting talk -- but not yet action -- about asking voters to rescind the SMART sales tax.</p><p>Meanwhile, SMART's quest for federal funds produced charges from McGuire that Fudge put Marin County's interests ahead of her home turf when she directed staff to check out a funding option that might delay completion of the Cloverdale to Santa Rosa portion by about two years.</p><p>Fudge counters that McGuire is playing into the hands of SMART opponents who failed at the ballot box but now are seizing a monkey wrench to derail the project.</p><p>While the two candidates vying for the seat held by retiring Supervisor Paul Kelley offer different interpretations of recent SMART board votes, others are troubled by what they see.</p><p>"I feel we owe it to the folks in the north county who supported SMART to give them an answer," said Tim Smith, a longtime SMART supporter and former Rohnert Park councilman. "You need to keep your promises. Still, I suppose a promise delayed is better than a promise broken."</p><p>Meanwhile, longtime SMART critic Mike Arnold said resurrection of the rail line funding issue demonstrates that "the ball game is over."</p><p>"The reality is that SMART did not have the funds promised to voters in 2008, the money is not there today and it is not going to be there tomorrow," said Arnold of Novato who led the North Bay Citizens for Effective Transportation effort against the sales tax. "They are going to have to make a choice and tell people what segment they are going to build. And it won't be north of Santa Rosa that gets the service because their own ridership surveys don't support it."</p><p>SMART officials, however, say it is premature to debate reduced service options until an "advanced conceptual engineering" study is completed by next fall.</p><p>Timing for submission of the study to the SMART board puts prickly political issues raised by funding questions well beyond the date of the June 8 primary in which Fudge and McGuire are pitted against each other and butts up against a November runoff, if there is one.</p><p>SMART spokesman Chris Coursey said the study is designed to detail costs on everything from track construction and station design to rail line crossings and bridges.</p><p>"We need to have this information before we make any decision on phasing options," Coursey said. "Sonoma County is not going to be left out. Our board members are keenly aware where the support for this tax came from."</p><p>Arnold acknowledged he's heard talk of a possible citizen-initiated drive to revisit SMART at the ballot box but concedes this election year may be too early.</p><p>"At this point, nobody knows what SMART is going to build, so you don't know until the dust settles in Sonoma whether there will be enough sentiment for repeal," Arnold said. "I have no intention of running another campaign."</p><p>County Counsel Steven Woodside confirmed that under provisions of Proposition 218, a re-vote on the sales tax vote would require a majority, not a two-thirds, margin for disapproval. However, he said that once the SMART board begins entering into grant agreements and contracts for things, such as purchases of rail cars, the amount of any sales tax reduction would be limited.</p><p>Still, lack of predictability surrounding SMART funding and resurgent debate over merit of the rail line come at an uncomfortable time for Fudge. She became chairwoman of the board in January after serving as vice chairwoman in 2009 and is in the middle of her campaign for the supervisorial seat that she nearly won in 2006 when she came within 242 votes of Kelley.</p><p>With Kelley not seeking re-election, Fudge's path would seem to be easier, but McGuire has mounted an aggressive and well-funded challenge. Fudge has retained support from key environmental groups, but backing of most unions and some key Kelley supporters have gone McGuire's way.</p><p>McGuire gained political mileage from an online petition signed by nearly 1,000 people that called upon SMART directors to ensure "the SMART train will serve us all from day one."</p><p>"Ms. Fudge voted for a plan that put Marin County first when it came to building the SMART train and would have delayed the Sonoma County portion," McGuire wrote in a an e-mail blast.</p><p>But Fudge fired back, accusing McGuire of "cheap political grandstanding" and added, "It is sad to see someone willing to jeopardize our project in order to try to win an election."</p><p>Debate over SMART in the supervisorial race has dismayed some longtime board directors who thought the battle was over and done with two years ago.</p><p>"It is unfair to try and blame Deb Fudge for the SMART deficit," said Mike Kerns, a county supervisor and former SMART board member. "It is not her fault that the economy went into the tank. This is a project with a 70-mile corridor that is big and is long and not going to be without challenges like this one."</p><p>You can reach Staff Writer Bleys W. Rose at 521-5431 or bleys.rose@pressdemocrat.com.</p>