Solar Power is the Future…
*Say NO to Higher Rates
VOTE “NO” ON MEASURE B!
That’s the motion the Valley Alliance of Neighborhood Councils unanimously adopted Thursday night after a lively two-hour discussion on the solar energy ballot measure.
City Controller candidate Nick Patsaouras (the former DWP Commission president) and City Attorney candidate Noel Weiss (who successfully defended the Solar 8 in court against City Hall’s attempt at legal intimidation) provided their expertise to help the group wade through the lies the Yes on B forces are putting out.
VANC President Jill Barad and others among the 13 Neighborhood Councils represented at the meeting at Sherman Oaks Hospital committed to working on a grassroots campaign against Prop. B (formally it’s called a “measure”).
As the evening’s main speaker, I discussed how the measure is really about paying blackmail to the DWP and its union, the IBEW, which originated the proposal, to drop their opposition to solar energy by giving them a monopoly on ownership, installation and maintenance on rooftop solar units on commercial, industrial and government buildings.
Even beyond what’s wrong with the solar plan, I pointed out Prop. B is a charter reform measure that destroys all safeguards against corruption and public oversight by giving the mayor and City Council the ability to revise the plan at any time in any way and channel billions of dollars in public money to the special interests that fund their campaigns.
Don’t let City Hall get away with this fraud. You can help by joining the No on B Campaign by emailing me. Many people have offered to help support the “Solar 8″ and the campaign as volunteers and with donations. Mayoral candidate David Hernandez has pledged $1,000 and
City Controller candidate Nick Patsaouras has pledged $500 and many others
offered support. Here’s how you can help: Send checks to “DWP Committee for advocacy,” c/o of
Secretary/Treasurer Heinrich Keifer, 5669 York Blvd., Los Angeles CA 90042
Ron,
A thought — IMHO the DWP Committee really needs a PayPal account to accept donations. Much of the current advocacy uses the Internet and having to just click a link to donate is a better way to go for us ‘net folks.
i have been unable to find the ballot language for measure b on the city clerk and county recorder websites…do you have a copy you can link?
i have been unable to find the ballot language for measure b on the city clerk and county recorder websites…do you have a copy you can link?
Is there a concise description of this controversy somewhere? Maybe a short blog post summary without all the spin and personalities might help. Thanks.
The reason that you haven’t been able to find the arguments online is because this is the very that was in court on Thursday. The pro side sued to change the con arguments submitted by the neighborhood council activists. The judge ruled in favor of the public on 5 issues, and in favor of Mayor on one.
To Mike GenX:
Judge upholds key passages of Measure B’s ballot argument
He refuses to remove language warning that Los Angeles’ solar energy initiative in the March 3 election would create a monopoly.
By David Zahniser
January 9, 2009
A judge on Thursday refused to remove key passages used by neighborhood activists in their ballot argument against Measure B, the solar energy proposal heading to Los Angeles voters in the March 3 election.
Mitchell Schwartz, a political strategist who staged Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 2005 inaugural gala, had asked the judge to take out wording in the voter pamphlet warning that the solar plan would give a monopoly to the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers, the union that represents employees at the city’s Department of Water and Power.
But Superior Court Judge David P. Yaffe said the measure, which has been embraced by Villaraigosa and the City Council, is open to a range of interpretations. “The proposition is so vague and so encompassing that speculation about just about anything is fair game,” he said.
Supporters of Measure B said they scored one important victory, by forcing foes of the solar plan to remove a passage stating that no public hearings had been held on the proposal. Instead, the argument will say that the DWP did not provide “engineering or operational input” before Measure B went on the ballot.
Yaffe issued a tentative ruling that is expected to become final today. But his statements did little to end a heated debate over the solar proposal, which seeks to add 400 megawatts of solar energy to rooftops and parking lots by 2014.
Those who signed the argument against Measure B accused allies of the mayor of using expensive lawyers to squelch the opposition’s political views. After Schwartz went to court, signers of the ballot argument hired a lawyer — city attorney candidate Noel Weiss — and dubbed themselves “the Solar 8.”
The group’s members include former DWP board president Nick Patsaouras, now a candidate for city controller, and former Los Angeles Daily News editor Ron Kaye.
In his tentative ruling, Yaffe also refused to remove language that warned that “no competitive bidding” would be used by the solar program. And he declined to take out wording that warned that the DWP would use “outdated technology” for the initiative. “The judge did the right thing,” Weiss said.
Schwartz, who served last year as state campaign director for President-elect Barack Obama, did not attend the hearing. But attorney Stephen Kaufman, who represented Schwartz, said opponents of Measure B had made false or misleading statements that would be corrected during the campaign.
In the opponents’ ballot argument, “the implication is that this is a self-serving deal being foisted on the voters here, and that is simply not the case,” Kaufman told the judge.
The measure was proposed by Working Californians, an advocacy group headed by two high-level officials from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. The Measure B campaign paid for Schwartz’s legal fees.
Schwartz, president of the Los Angeles League of Conservation Voters, was part of a select group that attended a Feb. 29 presentation on the solar plan by the union’s Local 18 business manager, Brian D’Arcy. His public relations firm, Bomaye Co., provided services to the DWP from 1999 to 2003. During that period, the firm helped promote the DWP’s green initiatives, including one of its existing solar programs.
Schwartz’s latest firm, skImpact, has a contract with CH2M Hill, a company that has been accused by the DWP of overbilling. But Schwartz said he is not doing any work related to the city or its electrical utility — and only joined the lawsuit at Kaufman’s request.
“I’m not part of the insider crew at all,” he said. “I know them, but I’m not part of them. I just think the solar thing is really good.”
david.zahniser@latimes.com
http://www.latimes.com/news/science/environment/la-me-solar9-2009jan09,0,6450300.story
I’m hopeful that the 255,242 Angelenos who voted against Measure R, Term extension to council members, will Term out and vote against the incumbents on March 3.
Is that your organization Ron that so viciously attacked Latinos in the Mayor’s Forum? you should be ashamed of yourself- I had you in high regard until now as a city reformer
Gorgeous Lindsay Lohan could stay out of jail until her court date. Celebrity justice strikes again!!!
Wonderful to read!
Thank you for a great post