Lawyer says Draymond Green’s pro-BART ad violates election law

At issue is not Green’s aggressive style of play, which infamously earned him a one-game suspension in last season’s NBA Finals for taking a swipe at LeBron James’ nether regions, but a BART-friendly video that a Lafayette attorney contends violates state law. At issue is whether the ad tapped public money to campaign for BART’s Measure RR bond proposal on the Nov. 8 ballot. The video does not mention Measure RR, the $3.5 billion bond measure on the Nov. 8 ballot that would raise property taxes in Alameda, San Francisco and Contra Costa counties to rebuild the transit system. Jason Bezis, a Lafayette attorney and former transportation analyst who filed a complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission, said the video clearly supports Measure RR and uses three of the campaign’s common catchphrases: “safe and reliable,” “backbone of the Bay Area” and “44 years,” the system’s age. The state commission bans agencies from spending public money to advocate for or against a ballot measure. Nick Josefowitz, a BART director and spokesman for the Yes on RR campaign, denied any tie to the campaign, saying it was part of an ongoing effort to get Warriors fans to take BART to Oracle Arena.