When the transportation planning paradigm is centered on automobility, transit systems have to constant fight for survival: Phoenix (etc.)

After the special election in Gwinnett County, Georgia to join the Atlanta-based MARTA system failed, I wrote about how having special elections apart from the normal election cycle often dooms transit referenda, especially in places that are so centered around automobility, because the most motivated people are those who are against.

But I didn't know when I wrote, that the Republican leaders in Gwinnett County didn't want the election in the normal cycle because transit is typically favored by "Democrats" and they didn't want to boost the turnout of Democrats in the Georgia election, where even though a bunch of Republicans lost seats in Congress, the Governorship still went Republican.

But as importantly are what we might call re-votes concerning transit systems, even if they are already in place.  See::

-- "Transit notes #2: Anti-transit opposition a form of defending automobility as a way of life," 2016
-- "One reason to focus new fixed rail transit on those places where it can be wildly successful: it doesn't give ammunition to critics," 2014

Kansas City and Cincinnati had multiple votes concerning the continuation of its streetcar system.

Just as the Charlotte light rail system was about to open in 2007, there was a ballot issue for shutting it down.  It failed, but still took time and energy to address ("Charlotte light rail and transit").

In the 2016 election cycle, a referendum on the ballot against the continuation of the Norfolk light rail system to Virginia Beach, the largest city in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area won, and even though it was not binding, the city and state stopped planning efforts.

It didn't help that municipal unions came out against LR in Virginia Beach, seeing the city's budget as zero sum, they believe that LR would compete for funds vis a vis future wage raises.

-- "Virginia Beach municipal workers unions taking positions against transit: see budget as either/or choice," 2012

And now the Phoenix light rail system faces an anti-expansion ballot referendum ("DOWNTOWN PHOENIX INFO SESSION ABOUT AUGUST LIGHT RAIL BALLOT MEASURE, Downtown Phoenix BID) even though the city's light rail system is reasonably successful for a "metropolitan city ("Transportation and Urban Form," Professor Peter Muller).

The ballot is in-Phoenix only, but would affect expansion outside of the city limits too, because loss of funds from the city would affect the entire system.

The Phoenix system has half the ridership of Dallas' system with one-quarter of the trackage, 40% more ridership than Charlotte. and slightly less ridership than Houston.

It has been extended twice already, to Mesa east of Tempe, and within Phoenix, with commensurate increases in ridership.  On that basis, with past and future planned expansions, it's doing better than Houston ("Metro scaling back future transit plans to one light rail line to Hobby airport," Houston Chronicle).

Likely the Phoenix-based Friends of Transit organization will fight hard against the referendum.

And I remember in a city-wide election a few years ago, anti-transit candidates were soundly defeated "Quote of the day: rail transit is antiquated, like delivering a bucket of ice to Congressional offices."

Still the constant battle just to stay the same is wearing and often makes elected officials reticent about taking a stand on and/or supporting contentious issues.

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Although Arizona is somewhat of a separate case.  Granted they have a streetcar system in Tucson, which was successfully initiated as a result of citizen advocacy.  But the state has a strong conservative political environment, one that militates against projects that might be called "collective."

The Goldwater Institute, a group founded by now deceased Senator Barry Goldwater, a key figure in the development of today's hard right turn of the Republican party, is quick to fight tax increment financing proposals and other types of initiatives typically used in urban revitalization programming.