Political commercials here in California this spring seem to have been pretty evenly divided into those for the Republican Gubernatorial Primary and those that support Proposition 16. Lately a few have been popping up for the AG race as well.
So far, there has been no visible opposition to the "Taxpayers Right to Vote Act," although the title alone should be enough to signal the politically aware that something nasty this way comes.
Something nasty indeed. Propostiton 16 is a fully funded effort by PG&E to save the money that would ordinarily be spent to influence local governments to vote against becoming energy providers. This has been, according to PG&E, a troublesome and time consuming business that they wish to be relieved of through a California Ballot measure.
So, they paid to collect enough signatures to qualify for the ballot and now are innundating our airwaves with the constant theme that local governments are somehow depriving us of our God-given right to vote.
The ad includes the words:
Whether government run electricity is a good idea or not, voters should have the final say, because we're paying the bill.
Get that? They are not saying it would be a bad thing, just a dangerous enough idea that one third of the voters should be able to veto it.
Here is my letter to the editor of my local newspaper. It is a small enough town with a small enough population of literate writers that it will probably be published which is the main advantage of a small town paper. If you are a Californian, please write one to your local paper. Feel free to use any of my words if you like.
Dear Editor,
My rule of thumb for ballot propositions is to vote against them, figuring we rarely need new laws, unless someone can present a compelling argument in their defense. This spring we have been inundated with television ads in favor of Proposition 16, with not a single voice raised in opposition.
Puzzled, I did a little research on this “Taxpayers Right to Vote Act” and was disturbed by what I found. Financial support for this proposition comes from a PAC that is supported almost totally by 34.5 million dollars of PG&E’s money.
In California 24% of the electricity is provided by local governments at lower rates than those charged by PG&E. But rather than have to fight each local government who is interested in exploring alternative energy sources, PG&E just figured it is easier to use our ballot method to blindside the public into somehow thinking that requiring a two thirds vote instead of a simple majority is a democratic method of governance.
I have a couple of problems with this. One, as a taxpayer, I already HAVE a right to vote and don’t need PG&E to protect it for me. I vote for the people who sit on our City Council. I vote for friends and neighbors who live in my home town. If I don’t like what they are doing, I can vote them out at the next election. I can show up at a City Council meeting and express my opinion (imagine doing that if PG&E were in charge!). And finally, I can run for the City Council myself if I really disagree with the current Council members.
In addition, I don’t know enough about the wisdom of our city becoming involved in the production or delivery of the energy sources covered by this bill. I don’t have a staff led by a City Manager to investigate the options and detail the costs and benefits, present and future.
And you know what? I don’t want to. I don’t want to become an expert on these issues so that I can cast a knowledgeable vote.
That is why we elect a City Council.
Please vote against this ballot proposition and send a clear message to PG&E that we are not idiots to be blindly led into Corporate servitude complete with higher monopoly driven energy rates by a slick television campaign.
Thank you,