If enthusiasm can get a subway built, the long-sought underground rail line from downtown Los Angeles to the Pacific gained a modicum of momentum Thursday after a day-long meeting of leaders focused on getting the $7-billion project built after decades of inaction, study and lots of, well, talk.
Casting an eye toward the November presidential election, several key politicians said they were open to asking voters to approve a tax increase to partially pay for the so-called "subway to the sea" and a slew of other road and mass transit projects in Los Angeles County.
Several officials raised the possibility of a half-cent sales tax hike. If approved by voters, such an increase would bring the county's sales tax rate to 8.75%, tying it with Alameda and Contra Costa counties' as the highest in California.
Among those who said they may support the idea were Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and a pair of county supervisors, Yvonne B. Burke and Zev Yaroslavsky.
"I'm a cynic by design," said Yaroslavsky, current chairman of the five-member Board of Supervisors. "I'm skeptical you can get 66 2/3 " -- the percentage of favorable votes need to approve an increase -- "during a recession. . . . Nevertheless, it's a tool that has to be considered."
A poll commissioned by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority showed that two-thirds of voters would support a new transportation tax. But the poll's first question made no mention of a subway but did mention widening eight freeways in Los Angeles County.
Villaraigosa gave a passionate speech about the subway, saying it would have among the most riders of any line in the country. He also said the project would cost $7 billion but offered no firm detail on how to pay for it. MTA estimates have put the cost of the line at $5 billion.
In his speech and in an earlier interview, Villaraigosa said a sales tax hike was an option. But around City Hall, the thinking is that he won't make a decision on pursuing a transit tax until after Feb. 5, when voters will be asked to authorize a telephone tax that the city needs to balance its budget.
Los Angeles County Federation of Labor chief Maria Elena Durazo said her group of more than 800,000 union members might be willing to support a tax increase for subway construction. More resolute was Pam O'Connor, chairwoman of the MTA board and a Santa Monica councilwoman. O'Connor said the expected high turnout in November could help get such a tax increase passed.
