Measure B: SMART tax extension cruising to victory in early returns

A 30-year extension of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District's quarter-cent sales tax is passing comfortably in preliminary returns from the June 2 primary, with 70.33% of voters in favor across the two-county district.

Measure B had 50,470 votes in support and 21,291 opposed, or 29.67%, with all 333 precincts reporting as of 12:37 a.m. June 3. The citizens' initiative needs a simple majority to pass.

The measure does not raise taxes. It continues the same quarter-cent rate Marin and Sonoma voters approved in 2008, which is set to expire in 2029, and extends it through March 31, 2059. SMART estimates the tax will generate about $51 million a year.

Proceeds would fund rail operations and maintenance, capital improvements and planned extensions toward Healdsburg and Cloverdale. SMART operates passenger trains from Larkspur to Windsor, with a bicycle-pedestrian pathway alongside the tracks, and reported more than 1.1 million passengers and 146,000 bicycle trips in 2025.

Results remain preliminary. Additional returns are expected no later than 5 p.m. June 4, according to the county elections department.

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