Measure B: SMART tax extension wins broad support

Updated June 9.

A 30-year extension of the Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit District’s quarter-cent sales tax is passing comfortably in updated returns from the June 2 primary, with about 73% of voters across the two-county district in favor.

Measure B had 102,711 votes in support and 38,931 opposed, or 27.5%, with all precincts reporting in both counties, as of updates posted June 8 in Marin and June 5 in Sonoma. The citizens’ initiative needs a simple majority to pass.

Support was similar in both counties: 73.6% in Marin and 71.8% in Sonoma. On the Tiburon Peninsula, the measure drew 73.1% support, with 3,748 votes in favor and 1,377 opposed. By community, Strawberry voted 75.3% in favor, Tiburon 71.9% and Belvedere 68.8%.

The measure would not raise taxes. It would continue the same quarter-cent rate Marin and Sonoma voters approved in 2008, set to expire in 2029, and extend it through March 31, 2059. SMART estimates the tax would 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. The next update is scheduled for June 10, after The Ark’s print deadline.

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