NII backers are bankrolling anti-Measure M campaign

Can you be anti-traffic but also anti-transit? The puppet masters behind the Neighborhood Integrity Initiative seem to think so.

The Coalition to Preserve L.A., the group responsible for the anxiety-inducing anti-development ballot measure, contributed $10,000 to the No on Measure M 2016 campaign, Curbed reported, citing a quarterly finance report. 

Measure M proposes a half-cent sales tax increase in order to fund a wide range of public transit projects, including an expansion of the light rail and bus routes. Proponents of the measure, including Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti, say it would drastically reduce traffic in L.A.

Ironically, the Coalition to Preserve L.A. frequently claims that by curbing development, it would curb traffic. The group has used jams on the 405 as a rallying cry.

Some of Measure M’s opponents — which include Council members Dennis Zine and Robert Farrell, as well as the mayors of Beverly Hills, Norwalk, Torrance and El Segundo — argue that Metro routinely postpones projects in working class communities and lacks transparency in its spending. The Metro tax’ lack of expiration date is also reason for concern, some say.

Coalition to Preserve L.A.’s director Jill Stewart called Metro a “development arm” in an interview with the Planning Report.

The group’s contribution was first noted in a tweet by Laura Nelson of the Los Angeles Times. [Curbed] — Cathaleen Chen