Measure B in Del Rey Oaks
How’s this for democracy gone wrong: A few angry neighbors in a tiny city aim to quash a regional project with a referendum vote. That’s how it went in Del Rey Oaks in June of 2022, when voters were presented with Measure B, a referendum on whether to kill a 1.5-mile stretch of proposed bicycle/pedestrian trail that’s part of a much bigger, 28-mile vision called the Fort Ord Regional Trail and Greenway, aka FORTAG. It might not sound consequential, but with connectivity as the goal – and the Del Rey Oaks segment already funded – a blow to this portion could have been a death knell, or at least a major obstacle, for getting the entire thing done. Voters showed up (turnout in Del Rey Oaks was 66 percent, more than double neighboring jurisdictions) and they defeated Measure B 399 to 387, keeping FORTAG alive by just 12 votes. And that’s a case of democracy gone right.