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Laying the Groundwork for Successful Campaigns

Laying the Groundwork for Successful Campaigns. BUILDING BROAD COALITIONS. Rachel DiResto, Executive Vice President CFTE Conference June 24, 2013.

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Laying the Groundwork for Successful Campaigns

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  1. Laying the Groundwork for Successful Campaigns BUILDING BROAD COALITIONS Rachel DiResto, Executive Vice President CFTE Conference June 24, 2013

  2. CPEX helps create highly functional, equitable communities throughout Louisiana that capitalize on their unique qualities through community driven planning and implementation.

  3. Overview • Baton Rouge had one of the lowest-funded and worst-performing transit systems in the country. • Capital Area Transit System (CATS) held a parishwide election in 2010. It fails 47% to 53%. • 2011: FuturEBR, a new comprehensive land-use plan for the Parish, put transit as crucial first-step toward long-term plan. • 2012, CATS would face a major short-fall, and would either have to cut service hours by 46% or shut down entirely in July.

  4. Background In Feb 2011, Mayor Kip Holden asked Together Baton Rouge and the Baton Rouge Chamber to form a Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) on public transit. • The BRC was charged with the following items: • Compile existing data • Gather community input • Create concrete plan of action for transit, including funding and political strategy • Considering all other factors that would impact FUTUREBR implementation and transit sustainability

  5. Baton Rouge vs. Peer Cities Research • Research based on “peer cities” to show how Baton Rouge stacks up (poorly!) against other places that have solid transit systems.

  6. BRC Recommendations Recommendation 1 – Implement Transit Proposal Focused on Ridership Expansion Recommendation 2 – Support New Public Transit Board Member Nominating Process and Criteria Recommendation 3 – Overhaul Existing Public Transit Legislation, Reform Governance Structure and Create New Capital Area Transit District Recommendation 4 – Create a Dedicated Revenue Source for Transit Recommendation 5 – Launch Public Engagement Campaign and Election Drive

  7. Coalition building The Baton Rouge Transit Coalition (BRTC) was formed to raise awareness of the condition of the Capital Region’s transit system Mission: Advocate for the adoption of the Blue Ribbon Commission’s recommendations Convene interested individuals, groups and stakeholders to promote dialogue and increase community awareness of the vital importance of public transportation Fulfill the vision of the FuturEBR Plan

  8. Diverse membership Raymond A. Jetson, Star Hill Church, Chair David Aguillard, Catholic Charities Nancy McPherson, AARP Ryan Gremillion, Baton Rouge Area Chamber Reverend Jennifer Jones-Bridgett, PICO Louisiana Alvin Herring,  Working Interfaith Network Homer Charles, Group Construction, L.L.C. Helena Cunningham, East Baton Rouge Parish Mortgage Finance Authority Ann Trappey, Forte & Tablada Engineers Carmen Weisner, National Association of Social Workers Cassie Felder, Cassie Felder and Associates/Forum 35 Meg Mahoney, Baton Rouge Area Chamber Rachel DiResto, Center for Planning Excellence Chris Tyson, Louisiana State University Law School Mark Goodson, East Baton Rouge Parish Redevelopment Authority Creighton Abadie, Lindsay & Abadie Attorneys at Law, CATS Jared Loftus, CATS  Leroy Watts, Liberty Bank  Edgar Cage, Together Baton Rouge  Ronald Williams, 4th District Association

  9. Campaign structure BRAC, CPEX, Together BR and CATS held regular working meetings Fundraising efforts Developed legislative components Developed website with facts and research

  10. Campaign components • Decrease wait times from the current average of 75 minutes to 15-20 minutes • Build 3 new transit hubs to replace “spoke” system with “grid” system • Overhaul bus stops with new shelters and benches • Add GPS tracking to fleet, with exact arrival times accessible on cell phones • Overhaul all signage for transit stops, providing detailed route and time information • Increase service from 19 to 37 routes, expanding to high-demand areas that currently are not served (near hospitals and malls) • Increase peak-hour buses from 32 to 57 • Create 3 New Express Lines: Downtown to LSU; Florida Blvd (from Airline to Downtown); Plank Road (with service to Airport)

  11. Campaign Issues CATS – not a trusted, reputable agency CATS budget shortfall – system predicted to shut down in July 2012 Campaign timeline shifted from Fall 2012 to April 2012 Single issue campaign – other risks/issues

  12. Outreach and Education • Huge effort of citizen education (Civic Academies) • Compelling presentations with data and facts • Trained team of leaders to conduct “civic academy” sessions. • Conducted (with partner orgs) to host 120 separate events, reaching more than 5,000 people • Education sessions CHANGED THE DIALOGUE

  13. Great cities have great transit. Period.

  14. Other cities with dedicated revenue for transit … Akron, OH Alameda, CA Albuquerque, NM Ames, IA Ann Arbor, MI Antioch, CA Arlington, VA Asheville, NC Atlanta, GA Austin, TX Bakersfield, CA Batavia, OH Bay City, MI Bellingham, WA Benton Harbor, MI Billings, MT Birmingham, AL Bismarck, ND Bloomington, IN Bradenton, FL Bremerton, WA Brunswick, OH Buffalo, NY Burlington, WA Canton, OH Cedar Rapids, IA Chapel Hill, NC Charleston, SC Charleston, WV Charlotte, NC Charlottesville, VA Chicago, IL Cincinnati, OH Cleveland, OH Colorado Springs, CO Columbus, GA Columbus, OH Commerce, CA Concord, CA Corpus Christi, TX Corvallis, OR Culver City, CA Cumberland, MD Dallas, TX Davenport, IA Davis, CA Dayton, OH Denver, CO Detroit, MI Duluth, MN El Paso, TX Elk Grove, CA Everett, WA Fairfield, CA Flagstaff, AZ Flint, MI Fond du Lac, WI Fort Collins, CO Fort Myers, FL Fort Smith, AR Fort Wayne, IN Fort Worth, TX Fredericksburg, VA Gardena, CA Gary, IN Glendale, AZ Grand Forks, ND Grand Rapids, MI Grand River, OH Granite City, IL

  15. MORE cities with dedicated revenue for transit … Great Falls, MT Greensboro, NC Gretna, LA Hanford, CA Hesperia, CA Highland Falls, NY Holland, MI Houston, TX Huntington, WV Indianapolis, IN Iowa City, IA Jackson, MI Jacksonville, FL Jefferson City, MO Kalamazoo, MI Kansas City, MO Kent, OH La Mirada, CA LaCrosse, WI Lafayette, IN Lakeland, FL Lancaster, CA Lansing, MI Laredo, TX Largo, MD Las Cruces, NM Lawrence, KS Lewisville, TX Lexington, KY Livermore, CA Logan, UT Lompoc, CA Long Beach, CA Los Angeles, CA Medford, OR Miami, FL Minneapolis, MN Missoula, MT Moline, IL Montebello, CA Monterey, CA Murfreesboro, TN Napa, CA New Orleans, LA New York, NY Norwalk, CA Oakland, CA Oceanside, CA Olympia, WA Omaha, NE Orange, CA Oxnard, CA Peoria, IL Petaluma, CA Phoenix, AZ Pinole, CA Pittsburgh, PA Pompano Beach, FL Port Huron, MI Port Washington, WI Porterville, CA Portland, OR Providence, RI Redondo Beach, CA Richland, WA Riverside, CA Rockville, MD

  16. STILL MORE cities with dedicated revenue for transit … Sacramento, CA Saginaw, MI Salem, OR San Antonio, TX San Bernardino, CA San Carlos, CA San Diego, CA San Francisco, CA San Jose, CA San Juan, PR Santa Barbara, CA Santa Clarita, CA Santa Cruz, CA Santa Fe, NM Santa Maria, CA Santa Monica, CA Santa Rosa, CA Savannah, GA Scottsdale, AZ Seattle, WA Sioux City, IA South Bend, IN Spokane, WA Springfield, IL St. Cloud, MN St. Johns, MI St. Joseph, MO St. Paul, MN St. Petersburg, FL Stockton, CA Sugar Land, TX Tampa, FL Tempe, AZ Thousand Oaks, CA Thousand Palms, CA Toledo, OH Topeka, KS Tucson, AZ Union City, CA Urbana, IL Vallejo, CA Valparaiso, IN Vancouver, WA Ventura, CA Visalia, CA Washington, DC Waterloo, IA Wenatchee, WA • No dedicated funding means losing millions in federal match funding and grants.

  17. What will this cost me? The cost depends on your home value: The 10.6 millage is less than the BREC, library or public school millage.

  18. Accountability Accountability • Publicized and Scrutinized • Accountability Scorecard • Benchmarks Measured • Quarterly Performance Reports • Review by Board and Public

  19. Why Now? “We have job opportunities. But if people can’t get to the opportunities, there might as well not be opportunities.” Adam Knapp President and CEO Baton Rouge Area Chamber

  20. Securing broad support

  21. Get out the vote • Focused on transit-dependent households • Built a GOTV army through Civic Academies • Conducted detailed voter analysis • Precinct leadership structure and precinct teams • Intense, 5-weeks of GOTV (walks, phone calls, yard signs)

  22. Lessons Learned • This was a campaign led by civic sector – diverse partners • Know your partners roles and capacities • Know your politics • Communication is key • Did not waver from components – voters knew what they were buying • Outreach, outreach, and more outreach • Respond to opponents – but don’t waste energy • Focus on win – who will vote

  23. It’s not over --until it works • Re—emergence of BR Transit Coalition • Monitoring system performance and accountability • Keep community engaged • Need to see early delivery on campaign promises

  24. BUILDING BROAD COALITIONS Rachel DiResto rdiresto@cpex.org WWW.CPEX.ORG WEBSITE FOR BR TRANSIT COALITION: http://brtransit.blogspot.com

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