How to be a Good Neighbor to San Francisco Bay—Vote “Yes” on Measure AA this June

When I was a little girl, San Francisco Bay looked like a big mud puddle to me as we drove across the Dumbarton Bridge to visit my grandparents in Oakland.  I didn’t think of it as a friendly place to swim like the beach in Santa Cruz. But thanks to some visionary East Bay women, the Save the Bay movement was launched in the 1960’s and gradually the quality of the water and shoreline improved. Species returned as habitat was restored, acre by acre. The work of restoring the Bay is not complete, but it was fun to see humpback whales playing under the Golden Gate Bridge last week. 

The very nearness of the bay, the way our daily life hugs the shore so closely, means that what happens to the Bay affects us all. Climate change and sea level rise spell big changes for the shoreline and the Bay needs our help. Fortunately the June ballot offers a chance to do just that—help our neighbor the Bay by voting Yes on Measure AA as described in this new YouTube spot. Measure AA is on the ballot in all nine Bay Area Counties—San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Alameda, Contra Costa, Solano, Napa, Sonoma, and Marin. Measure AA is the first nine-county measure that we’ve had a chance to vote on here in the Bay Area. Measure AA would authorize a small parcel tax of $1 a month for the next 20 years to be used to clean up the Bay, restore wetlands and make the shoreline more resilient in the face of sea level rise. Just take a look at what NASA projects could happen to the Bay if sea level rise is unchecked. We have a lot at stake. 

There is broad consensus that now is the time to make this modest investment in the Bay’s future.  Measure AA is endorsed by a neighbors, community groups, local businesses, newspapers and a who’s who of Bay Area leaders, who like all of us, can’t imagine this place we call home without the Bay. California is a world leader when it comes to innovative climate and environmental solutions. The State Coastal Conservancy and regional groups have invested in the Bay’s health for years. Just think what can be done with more resources. Measure AA is a sound investment—for the Bay, the critters that depend on it and all of us who are fortunate enough to live here. Please mark “yes” on your absentee ballot or when you go to vote on June 7th.