“You say, ‘We cut a deal with them.’ Yeah, we did. We built a
partnership with them…they didn’t see any jobs.” — Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa in an interview with the LA Business Journal published Monday March 2, 2009.
That’s what Charles Crumpley, the editor of the Business Journal, reports under the headline *Mayor and Business a Poor Union.*
It’s astonishing admission from the mayor, 
especially as it comes on the eve of an election when voters are being asked to write a blank check to the Department of Water and Power which has failed to deliver solar energy to the city despite the total failure of its three major solar initiatives over the last decade.
The reason for the failures: Its union, IBEW Local 18 under the leadership of Brian D’Arcy, sabotaged every effort to bring solar energy to the city because you don’t need highly-paid DWP workers to install or maintain rooftop panels like you do the coal-burning power plants we depend on today more than any other city in the nation.
So instead of a well-planned solar energy program, the mayor and City Council give us Measure B that grants a monopoly on solar ownership, installation and maintenance to the DWP and creates jobs for IBEW workers.
It was written by D’Arcy who is spending 
his union’s money freely to sell the charter amendment and elect Wendy Greuel as City Controller — the official who is mandated to protect the billions of dollars in public money from being ripped off and squandered as ratepayers’ money was previously when the DWP launched its solar programs
As Crumpley reports the interview with the mayor:
“Villaraigosa did little at our meeting to dissuade the
notion that he’s in bed with labor unions.
“He basically confirmed suspicions that Measure B, the issue on the
ballot Tuesday to boost solar power in Los Angeles, was written to
intentionally benefit the International Brotherhood of Electrical
Workers union.
“You say, ‘We cut a deal with them.’ Yeah, we did. We built a
partnership with them,” the mayor said.
“His rationale: The politically powerful IBEW was against past solar
power initiatives because “they didn’t see any jobs.” So Measure B was
written to gain the union’s help rather than its enmity.”
Solar at any price — that’s the only argument that has been put forth by the environmental lobbyists, the DWP, and the City Hall machine.
The mayor’s comments show the real reason:
We have to pay off D”Arcy’s union so he will let us start using clean energy no matter what it costs us, no matter how long it takes.
This kind of appeasement of a union boss who has never cared about anything except his own self interest is the heart of what Measure B is about.
It’s got nothing to do with clean energy. It’s got nothing to do with clean air or closing our filthy coal-burning power plants. It’s got nothing to do with good jobs.
It’s just blackmail.
But we’ve exposed that and no matter what happens at the ballot box on Tuesday we’re not letting go or giving up.
If we win,. we will offer to meet environmentalists, the solar energy industry, the unions including the IBEW, the DWP and all the various interests who have a stake in the outcome and work to develop a real plan for clean energy and good jobs.
If we lose, we will demand the same summit meeting.
There is only one goal: Clean energy and good jobs at the lowest cost in the fastest time.
That’s what they don’t understand. We really want that for the benefit of the city, not for the benefit of narrow special interests.
Dear Ron,
I want to thank you personally for all of the time that you have spent covering “Measure B.”
The one thing that “Measure B” has done is brought together the most unlikely coalition of people from various backgrounds to oppose this measure.
There are many “No on Measure B” people out on the “campaign trail” with nothing to win but the protection of the rights of the people to be heard in the political process.
In the end, even with all of the people that we have tried to reach at the Neighborhood Councils, the HOAs, the Republican and Democratic Clubs,in churches, in the newspapers, on blogs, there are still people that we have not reached. And there are people that just do not understand when we say that we are “Yes on Solar” – “No on Measure B”.
Even the contract that SCE signed for their large solar thermal facility confuses people because the average person does not know the difference between the Southern California Edison area and the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power area.
We know that the voter turnout will be low – less than 10%. And we know that many people sent in their Absentee Ballots long before having the benefit of the LA Times and Daily News articles.
Now even the NY Times is discussing it.
In fact, you can even read the Mayor’s comments on the Huffington Post. I haven’t had a chance to post there yet.
We need to thank Nick Patsaouras who was courageous in standing up for what is right – the lack of transparency in this process – and quiting his post as the President of the LADWP Commission. The only sad thing about that is that we are losing someone there that was watching where our money is being spent.
Nick, as an engineer, probably understood the technical aspects better than some who are on the Board that are attorneys.
We also need to thank Noel Weiss who stepped up to the plate and defended the Solar 8 – those people who authored the “No on Measure B”, and who were sued by the “Yes on Measure B” people.
What a democracy this is – good people suing good people. The process of how this got on the ballot was wrong, and I am dying to have one City Council person tell me that personally when this election is over. Hearing that we can “Agree to disagree” or “it was the right thing to do” or “this is just politics” just does not cut it for me. If this is business as usual – expect to hear more from me.
The nice thing about all of this is that the “campaign” is over for the “Yes on Measure B” people. They will be out of their jobs, but we will still be negotiating with the City Council and the LADWP for the details of this project.
For a reminder of my comments and many of yours, Jack Humphreville’s, etc, here are some comments on “Measure B”:
Los Angeles Times detemined their decision (” Vote No on Charter Amendment B”) based on the comments – they call it Solar Perplexus:
http://opinion.latimes.com/opinionla/2009/02/solar-perplexus.html
Peachy Green – they are talking about this “solar plan” all over the country:
http://www.peachygreen.com/renewable-energy/measure-b-on-solar-power
And here is the New York Times:
http://greeninc.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/02/24/a-solar-contoversy-heats-up-in-la/
Tuesday – March 3rd, 2009 – Please take the time to vote. Every vote will count!
“VOTE NO ON CHARTER AMENDMENT B” “VOTE NO ON MEASURE B”: http://www.votenomeasureb.com/
1 DAY LEFT
Angelenos complain and continue to reelect these same ineffective politicos over and over which is why the politicos do as he/she pleases with no accountability to their constituents. Don’t be fooled by the colorful fliers and twenty second media sound bites during elections. Vote these same LA Politicos out of office on March 3, 2009.
Vote for CHANGE!
Measure A: NO
Measure B: NO
Measure E: NO
“Olympic West – Pico East”
Fox 11 News
http://www.myfoxla.com/dpp/news/Fixing_the_PicoOlympic_Traffic_Nightmare
Judge puts hold on L.A.’s Olympic-Pico traffic plan
L.A. Times
http://articles.latimes.com/2008/may/06/local/me-oneway6
If we didn’t know it before, we certainly know now what a slimy, smarmy little bastard Villaraigosa is, and he admits it because he’s always gotten away with being a slimeball.