I woke up at 4 a.m. after four hours of sleep and couldn't believe my eyes when I refreshed the election results and saw to my amazement that Measure B had lost.
Three months ago we knew it would take a miracle to defeat what was nothing but a scam for City Hall to get its hands on billions of dollars of our money in the name of something everyone wants, has wanted for years, solar energy.
Well, we got our miracle. Measure B lost.
I know it's just 1,322 votes and there's still thousands of absentees and provisionals to be counted A 50-50 split in the vote is not a mandate to perpetuate the DWP/IBEW monopoly that has failed us.
It never should have come to this. Measure B was a loser when the City Council put it on the ballot back on Nov. 7 without having a clue about what they were doing except that they were told to vote for it unanimously or else. We didn't need a ballot measure to do it. We just needed, need, the political will.
The election results are a repudiation of City Hall's failure, proof positive that the people are waking up and demanding full participation, complete transparency and honesty, an end to machine politics that tramples on their interests and destroys their quality of lives.
They argued throughout the campaign that we waited 10 years for solar energy and we can't wait any longer. I agree.
That's why we'll be at City Hall this morning at 9:30 a.m. to talk about what we've been saying every day for months.
Let's all come together -- Neighborhood Councils and other community groups, environmentalists, the solar industry, the unions, the business community, the DWP and the experts -- and go to work figuring out how we really get solar energy now, how we really get thousands of new jobs, attract the solar industry to set up shop here, how we get the most clean energy for our money.
That's what we all want, have wanted. The question is whether the mayor who got just 55 percent of the vote has learned anything, whether he's prepared to start respecting the people of the city and providing the leadership they want instead of pandering to special interests and putting his politics ahead of public policy.
Three months ago we knew it would take a miracle to defeat what was nothing but a scam for City Hall to get its hands on billions of dollars of our money in the name of something everyone wants, has wanted for years, solar energy.
Well, we got our miracle. Measure B lost.
I know it's just 1,322 votes and there's still thousands of absentees and provisionals to be counted A 50-50 split in the vote is not a mandate to perpetuate the DWP/IBEW monopoly that has failed us.
It never should have come to this. Measure B was a loser when the City Council put it on the ballot back on Nov. 7 without having a clue about what they were doing except that they were told to vote for it unanimously or else. We didn't need a ballot measure to do it. We just needed, need, the political will.
The election results are a repudiation of City Hall's failure, proof positive that the people are waking up and demanding full participation, complete transparency and honesty, an end to machine politics that tramples on their interests and destroys their quality of lives.
They argued throughout the campaign that we waited 10 years for solar energy and we can't wait any longer. I agree.
That's why we'll be at City Hall this morning at 9:30 a.m. to talk about what we've been saying every day for months.
Let's all come together -- Neighborhood Councils and other community groups, environmentalists, the solar industry, the unions, the business community, the DWP and the experts -- and go to work figuring out how we really get solar energy now, how we really get thousands of new jobs, attract the solar industry to set up shop here, how we get the most clean energy for our money.
That's what we all want, have wanted. The question is whether the mayor who got just 55 percent of the vote has learned anything, whether he's prepared to start respecting the people of the city and providing the leadership they want instead of pandering to special interests and putting his politics ahead of public policy.
This is the end of the political machine he was trying to build, a
warning to the City Council to do what's right, a demand that they put
special interests like IBEW union boss Brian D'Arcy in their place
instead of taking orders from them.
D'Arcy, in his arrogance, prematurely exclaimed last night that this dirty deal he put together had won
"The real winners today are the citizens and ratepayers of Los Angeles. They have voted to continue Los Angeles' long tradition of a publicly owned utility, which generates its own power," he said.
"They (voters) recognize that our publicly owned utility provides safe and reliable power at the lowest rates in the region. And the voters have sent a message that they want their utility to switch to renewable and clean solar energy. This plan will also create a chance for a good, family- supporting career powering our city and cleaning our air."
I don't expect D'Arcy to have some kind of catharsis but I do expect the city's leadership to heed this wakeup call.
They have bankrupted the city, sqeezed every cent they could out of our pockets and made our problems worse. They may have won re-election with all that special interest money but people all over the city have started to get organized, business and labor have come together, Republicans, Democrats, Greens and Libertarians have joined in.
We could start the new era of LA today or we can fight about it. But the trend is clear. The political machine has crashed and the people are taking back the city.
D'Arcy, in his arrogance, prematurely exclaimed last night that this dirty deal he put together had won
"The real winners today are the citizens and ratepayers of Los Angeles. They have voted to continue Los Angeles' long tradition of a publicly owned utility, which generates its own power," he said.
"They (voters) recognize that our publicly owned utility provides safe and reliable power at the lowest rates in the region. And the voters have sent a message that they want their utility to switch to renewable and clean solar energy. This plan will also create a chance for a good, family- supporting career powering our city and cleaning our air."
I don't expect D'Arcy to have some kind of catharsis but I do expect the city's leadership to heed this wakeup call.
They have bankrupted the city, sqeezed every cent they could out of our pockets and made our problems worse. They may have won re-election with all that special interest money but people all over the city have started to get organized, business and labor have come together, Republicans, Democrats, Greens and Libertarians have joined in.
We could start the new era of LA today or we can fight about it. But the trend is clear. The political machine has crashed and the people are taking back the city.
Ron Kaye is the former editor of the Los Angeles Daily News where he spent 23 years helping to make the newspaper the voice of the San Fernando Valley and fighting for a city government that serves the people and not special interests.
Twice in recent years, Los Angeles Magazine listed Kaye among the city’s most influential people, specifically in the area of politics. Kaye has been variously described in the media as the “accidental anarchist,” “the Patrick Henry of the San Fernando Valley” and a “passionate populist.” He is now committed to
carrying on his crusade for a greater Los Angeles as an ordinary citizen. Previously, Ron worked at the Los Angeles Herald Examiner,
Associated Press, Cleveland Plain Dealer and The Australian as well as papers
in Fairbanks, Alaska and Yakima, Wash. He also wrote for Newsweek magazine, The Guardian in London and the National Enquirer.
Ron, You did this, Thank You.
From 1 activist savant, to another, you now qualify. This was an amazing battle and you did it honorably. Congratulations.
Now on to removing the corrupted, 1 at a time.
thank you again.
Your friend Glenn
Ron, thank you, thank you. Without you, this would have passed. I'm holding out hope that, after the count is in, it stays squashed. With great admiration, -Amy Alkon
Ditto, I say, ditto. All thanks to you for
never, ever giving up! TH
Thank you to all the Mayoral Candidates who got folks out to the polls. Every candidate was against Measure B and voiced that oppositon at every Forum. Our participation in the process may have been written off by the main stream policial machine, but without our voice, our efforts and our supporters, Measure B would have passed.
A 1,322 vote margin makes one thing clear, we did make a difference. Thank you to all who worked so hard to bring this to the Winners Circle.
This was truly a community Win!
I've never seen such a dedicated group of people. You all accomplished so much - now I hope the babies at city hall and the DWP don't sit on their hands and punish us. We do want solar - I want it on my roof and I want a tax rebate and I want to own my own power. Thank you all for your amazing effort - nobody ever thought it could be done and you proved different
Ron thank you and your group for fighting for the "People of Los Angeles." You have proven people can make a difference. You guys didn't have any money, top notch resources but an e-mail address and committment to go out to as many meetings as possible to spread the word. I am honored to call you a friend. You most definitely should consider running for office.
If we don't leverage this into funding for AB 811 loans and feed in tariffs for US to install and generate clean power and be paid for it, this victory will be in vain. You can't just "block" one solar plan and fail to have a better, cheaper, fairer cleaner one ready to roll. I have fought long and hard to get LA and every other city and county in this state to provide the funding for no-risk AB 811 loans and to demand that utilities PAY us for our power instead of taking it for free (as under net metering), but unless everyone else works just as hard, we will see more Measure Bs, we will see Joshua Tree destroyed with Green Path and we will see more of the same mercenary Empire Building by DWP - it's in their nature, and it's our job to STOP THEM.
Please, please, please. Speak up for your rights. AB 811 loans and generous feed in tariffs (in the 40 to 50 cent/kWh range) will save property values, income streams, job opportunities, democracy and our beautiful deserts from the greedy maws of Big Energy, including DWP.
If we don't leverage this into funding for AB 811 loans and feed in tariffs for US to install and generate clean power and be paid for it, this victory will be in vain. You can't just "block" one solar plan and fail to have a better, cheaper, fairer cleaner one ready to roll. I have fought long and hard to get LA and every other city and county in this state to provide the funding for no-risk AB 811 loans and to demand that utilities PAY us for our power instead of taking it for free (as under net metering), but unless everyone else works just as hard, we will see more Measure Bs, we will see Joshua Tree destroyed with Green Path and we will see more of the same mercenary Empire Building by DWP - it's in their nature, and it's our job to STOP THEM.
Please, please, please. Speak up for your rights. AB 811 loans and generous feed in tariffs (in the 40 to 50 cent/kWh range) will save property values, income streams, job opportunities, democracy and our beautiful deserts from the greedy maws of Big Energy, including DWP.
If we don't leverage this into funding for AB 811 loans and feed in tariffs for US to install and generate clean power and be paid for it, this victory will be in vain.
You can't just "block" one solar plan and fail to have a better, cheaper, fairer cleaner one ready to roll. I have fought long and hard to get LA and every other city and county in this state to provide the funding for no-risk AB 811 loans and to demand that utilities PAY us for our power instead of taking it for free (as under net metering), but unless everyone else works just as hard, we will see more Measure Bs, we will see Joshua Tree destroyed with Green Path and we will see more of the same mercenary Empire Building by DWP - it's in their nature, and it's our job to STOP THEM.
Please, please, please. Speak up for your rights. AB 811 loans and generous feed in tariffs (in the 40 to 50 cent/kWh range) will save property values, income streams, job opportunities, democracy and our beautiful deserts from the greedy maws of Big Energy, including DWP.
Don't count your kilowatts before they are generated, but if B has lost I will be very happy. We all want wind and solar, we all desperately need more jobs in this county, but doing things quickly in a slap-happy way rarely works out, especially here.
I was with y'all in spirit. Tried to make it to a call party but everyday life got in the way.
Does anyone know if every new development is required to produce its' own solar energy, at least in part? If every new office building, or new apt. building, or new McMansion is required to produce 15% of its' own energy what's wrong with that? Will it scare developers away? I highly doubt it.
Everytime I drive by that massive new thing being built by the Staples Center I wonder if it will have solar panels on the roof and south side of the building. That darn building is going to cause more pollution and traffic with more cars driving to it. Who is going to pay for that increased congestion and pollution? Us, that's who.
And is a there a subway stop directly by the Staples Center? If not, why not? What about a subway or light rail directly to the Forum, instead of to the sea? Or to Dodger Stadium?
We have so many good ideas. The polticians should really ask us for them like Obama does.
We have to be careful that we don't replace one boondoggle with another.
A free market approach is the best. LA can cut business taxes and deregulate things so these solar businesses will want to come to LA. The City could do things like streamline the process, help them find land to build on and introduce them to the colleges, etc. to find talent.
But another law to force it makes no sense and will not get the best results.
Who will be the Solar Bill Gates who starts his mega-big LA based solar company in his garage in Reseda or Highland Park or Sout LA or wherever?
We have to be vigilant and not let them "Frankenise" the Measure B results. They can pull a Minnesota and "find" more yes votes lurking around the City Clerk's office on ballots that got "overlooked". Then they can clarify the voter's intentions on some ballots that were smudged or mismarked. We are not out of the woods yet!
We are living in an era where the politicians truly believe that they know better than us stupid peasants. They want to regulate every aspect of our lives and drag us kicking and screaming into their utopia of an environmentally conscious fat free world where we can all live in happiness. If they have to fudge some results or lie to us about the propositions we are asked to vote on, well the ends justify the means. After all we are not as enlightened as they so it is all for our own welfare.
You rock Ron! Great job.
You did it, did it. I knew you would, and you did it. Read the first comment of the year on your message of hope. Hoped, but was not sure, you could do this and that too in such a short period of time. This is indeed a new era, and we are never looking back. It takes only a few people of courage to make great things happen. You and Ms. Usher have done what most people only talk about.
The high fives and pats on the back for the defeat of Measure B are nice, but for the wrong reasons. Notice how all posts champion wind and solar as an energy "savior"?
Only an idiot would recommend a solution that's able to work less than 50% of the time for wind and about 30% for solar. That's right, folks out there think that wind, which only generates efficiently in a narrow wind speed band and in limited locals and is more expensive, is a good idea. Wind is wrong because it is unreliable as the wind doesn't blow sometimes and as a result it is more expensive because the equipment isn't being used 50% of the time. Wind blades kill birds so there is a detrimental environmental impact.
Solar is bad for similar reasons. 30% efficient and unreliable, and there isn't enough land available to provide enough surface area to provide any reasonable amount of power. Final killer is the extreme cost. Any one who recommends wind or solar INTEND to hurt the poor by forcing them to pay for more expensive electricity just to make the do-gooders feel better.
Drop solar and wind and learn about polywell nuclear energy. It will provide inexpensive power for the entire world at a lower cost forever. There is enough boron is seawater to power the entire world's electrical needs for over a billion years. It takes just 88 lbs of boron to power a 100MegaWatt plant for a year. It will be reliable as it can generate power 24 hrs per day at an estimated cost of just 6 cents per kilowatt hour.
Think it through people!
RON!
Great job. Getting Angelenos to vote against solar (and understand the BS here) is like getting Texans to vote against the flag, or any Americans to vote against apple pie and mothers. You did a great job getting the message out.
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE monitor the "recount" or absentee/provision counting process. PLEASE hire a lawyer or get one to do it pro bono, before it is too late.
Don't you think something funny could go on / some "pro" ballots could be discovered? This is not 1950s paranoia: It has happened several times in several So. Cal cities (ahem, Vernon) in recent times.
The LAT is quoting Villaraigosa as saying "I can tell you, regardless of what happens, we're moving ahead on our solar initiative."
8:06pm -- exactly.
You are so clueless! The most important thing was to get rid of Villar but no, you were all fighting & couldn't agree (out of jealousy, maybe???) support the most promising candidate.
Now Villar is still in power & will bring this "solar initiative" through a back door.
City of Los Angeles
Primary Nominating & Consolidated Elections Election Night Results (Unofficial)
March 3, 2009
City Clerk
http://cityclerk.lacity.org/election/archives/archives2009/primary/bulletin.pdf
Ron has the knowledge of City government that is so far beyond the majority of people in Los Angeles - including the electeds - because he has been watching it for so long. And he has the means to get the word out.
We need to say thanks to the rest of the "No on Measure B" team. While the "Solar 8" were looking for a lawyer in December, and Noel Weiss came to the rescue, we did not as a community really know anything about this issue until about January 4th when it went to LANCC and the DWP Committees. So the reality is that the "Solar 8" and the Neighborhood Councils were able to organize and defeat this measure in two months.
While this was going on, the IBEW knew for a year that this was going to be on the ballot. The "YES on Measure B" team was able to be planned and funded with an obscene amount of money - they put out numerous fliers and commercials, paid staff, etc.
The message in this should be the "power of the people" to organize quickly and efficiently in the time of need. We need to send the message to City Council that we are that well organized, and that we are willing to drop everything in our lives if a similar situation should arise again.
Many of the "Solar 8" were at City Council today. And Ron and the others took them the message that we want solar and other forms of alternative energy - but we want to know what we are buying, we want jobs for everyone, and we want to know what it is going to cost.
But the most important message in the end to me is that the City Council cannot bypass the Neighborhood Council system without bringing down the "Wrath of Khan".
I want to personally thank Dr. Soledad Garcia who knows the history of the LADWP MOU committe.
She was there from the start, and she is a true mentor - in the style of Caesar Chavez - to us all.
It was Dr. Soledad that stood up to the City Council on November 7th,she told them that the Neighborhood Council system was bypassed, and the Neighborhood Council people stood with her in support of her.
Soledad was one of the named "Solar 8" that had to try to find an attorney to defend them in December - right in the middle of the holidays.
Everything that I have done on this project had to do with my research efforts supporting Soledad, Ron, Jack, and Dr. Wiseman, so that we all understood the pluses and minuses of the 400 MW solar plan.
We need Soledad to continue on in her LADWP leadership tole, because we are not just dealing with solar, we have a comprehensive Renewable program, and a contaminated aquifer system to deal with.
Thanks Soladad for your leadership and educational abilities.
I want to personally thank Dr. Soledad Garcia who knows the history of the LADWP MOU committe.
She was there from the start, and she is a true mentor - in the style of Caesar Chavez - to us all.
It was Dr. Soledad that stood up to the City Council on November 7th,she told them that the Neighborhood Council system was bypassed, and the Neighborhood Council people stood with her in support of her.
Soledad was one of the named "Solar 8" that had to try to find an attorney to defend them in December - right in the middle of the holidays.
Everything that I have done on this project had to do with my research efforts supporting Soledad, Ron, Jack, and Dr. Wiseman, so that we all understood the pluses and minuses of the 400 MW solar plan.
We need Soledad to continue on in her LADWP leadership tole, because we are not just dealing with solar, we have a comprehensive Renewable program, and a contaminated aquifer system to deal with.
Thanks Soladad for your leadership and educational abilities.
Tony Villar (Villaraigosa's real name from when he was a high school dropout thug) didn't get 55% of the vote. Only 15% voted. He got 55% of 15% of the vote. That means 7.5% of eligible voters voted for him. A mandate - I don't think so.