Thanks to everyone who voted. If we're going to pass this ballot
measure, we're going to need a lot of help. At the beginning, we'll
especially need help with circulating petitions. Charter amendments
require a very large number of signatures to qualify for the ballot
(most local ballot initiatives are ordinances, which don't need nearly
as many signatures to qualify, hence our twice-annual vote on trivia
like "Police Officer Puppet").
Stay tuned for details on the kickoff of our petition drive. Our
petition volunteers will, I think, have an easier job than most. Muni
riders gather at bus stops and Metro stations, especially at rush hour.
I think our volunteers will get a very warm reception from a public that
wants real change. I don't think they'll have to twist any arms.
Rescue Muni spent about 18 months developing this ballot measure. Over
that time, we learned that the problems facing Muni are deeper, more
complex, and more interconnected than they appear. We think this
measure addresses the broad array of issues facing Muni and re-orients
the organization toward delivery of service to passengers.
Tonight's vote was a milestone in the history of the organization;
Rescue Muni's members put in a lot of time and energy to create an
organization with the credibility to float a ballot measure like this
and be taken seriously.
The work ahead of us is enormous, but I think it's worth taking a moment
to look back on how far we've come in the last two and a half years.
Muni was a back-burner issue and now it's the #1 issue in the city.
Rescue Muni was just an idea; now it receives press coverage weekly
(sometimes even more often). We've got a long way to go before we have
the kind of Muni service we all dream about, but we're a step closer
tonight.
-- Daniel