GUEST OPINION: SMART's charade of accountability

Voters of all political stripes can agree that their government should be accountable to the voters. That's the American way. Government action that does not meet with approval by a majority of voters typically leads to voters throwing the rascals out.

So that leads us to take a closer look at the Sonoma Marin Area Rail Transit District, an animal created not by voters but by their government. To begin with, the directors of SMART are all appointed by other elected officials. None is elected directly by voters. So voters, to express their dissatisfaction with SMART, must first bring pressure on other officials.

It's easy to see that this process is one that insulates the SMART board from any meaningful accountability to voters — an unappealing arrangement for voters but one that may provide a measure of comfort to board members.

But wait, the ballot measure that authorized a local sales tax increase to fund SMART also called for a citizens' oversight committee. So maybe things aren't so bad in the accountability department after all.

Think again.

The oversight committee members are themselves appointed by the board members they are supposed to exercise oversight over. Such cozy relationships are not likely to provide any measure of true oversight or enhance accountability.

At the federal level, we have three independent branches of government to provide checks and balances on the activities of the other branches. One of the key duties of Congress is to exercise oversight over actions of the executive branch. The SMART oversight committee has no independence whatsoever. In fact, its members are reliant on the board they are to oversee for their very appointments.

A quick review of the oversight committee members suggests that this committee is more of a cheerleader for the SMART board than any sort of check and balance. It is interesting to note that several members of this committee were active and vocal supporters of Measure Q, the quarter-cent sales that helps fund SMART.

As a consequence of this lack of independence and accountability, the door has been left open to some questionable practices. There appears to be some self-dealing among those lobbying for favored treatment from SMART and those responsible for management and oversight of the district.

The SMART board has required the developers of the transit-oriented development projects at Railroad Square in Santa Rosa to enter into a "community benefits agreement" with a group named the Accountable Development Coalition (ADC). Such an arrangement is very likely to reduce competition for contracts and raise the cost of the projects. Even The Press Democrat editorial board, a reliable supporter of SMART, has criticized this requirement.

According to SMART records and those of the ADC, two of the SMART oversight committee members are key members of the ADC group. Based on these observations, it appears there's plenty of room for improvement in the accountability of the management and oversight of the SMART district.

Fred Levin is executive director of the Sonoma County Taxpayers' Association