Damon Connolly has been a capable and effective leader who is thoughtful, dedicated, and focused on achieving important policy victories that improve the lives of the people he represents.Damon has been fighting for the North Bay for 18 years, as a Marin County Supervisor, Vice-Mayor of San Rafael, School Board President, and California Deputy Attorney General.As Supervisor, he protected open spaces while increasing the availability of affordable housing; set Marin County on a path toward 100% renewable energy while keeping the County’s fiscal house in order; and spearheaded responses to homelessness while expanding access to public transit and infrastructure for bicyclists and pedestrians.
One of my top priorities has been to live up to my campaign promise of “working to make sure that Marin residents have access to transportation that is convenient and dependable, with the goal of reducing congestion and greenhouse gas emissions.”
As a frequent public transit user, I’ve implemented the #RideWithDamon program where I go 30 days straight without driving a car in order to determine what is and isn’t working in our systems. This approach gives me a better hands-on understanding of the ways decisions I make as a transportation leader impact rider experience.
As Marin’s representative on the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, I’ve strongly and effectively advocated for our share of regional, state and federal funding.
Marin stands to gain nearly $8 million per year for local road maintenance and repair through SB 1, coupled with over $50 million in county General Fund monies that we’ve dedicated to improving our roads.
I successfully fought to have key congestion relief projects included in Regional Measure 3, which will go before Bay Area voters in 2018, including:
I’ve advocated for completion of the third lane on the Richmond-San Rafael Bridge during commute hours to ease congestion – a project that has now been opened and is showing strong results.
To support the successful implementation of SMART, I’ve been a leader in pushing for solutions to the “first and last mile” issue of getting people to and from their homes and places of business to SMART and other regional transit systems.
In addition, I’ve supported expanding and improving local transit routes during my term, and I’ve also advocated for increased school transit and safe routes to schools.
Ultimately, Marin County needs a strong advocate for active transportation programs to provide safe and convenient infrastructure for bicycles and pedestrians. That’s why I’ve made it a top priority to complete the multi-use path through Central San Rafael which is a critical piece toward fulfilling the vision of a North South Greenway covering the length of Marin