When Jonathan Parfrey was named by the mayor to replace Nick Patsaouras on the DWP Commission four months ago, he vowed to give up his role as a lobbyist on environmental issues with the Liberty Hill Foundation and advocate for his group, the Green LA Coalition.
Here’s what the LA Times reported back then:
“Parfrey is the head of Green L.A., an environmental coalition that
has pushed for greener policies at the City Hall. Last year, he was
registered with the Ethics Commission as a lobbyist for Liberty Hill
Foundation, a nonprofit group that focuses on environmental and social
justice issues.
“Parfrey, who is paid for his work with Green L.A., said he views his
work as social advocacy, not lobbying. Still, because Villaraigosa bars
lobbyists from serving as commissioners, Parfrey vowed to stop
contacting city policymakers on behalf of his group’s advocacy issues.
According to the Ethics Commission’s website, Parfrey halted his
lobbying work on Dec. 11 — the day the mayor nominated him to serve on
the DWP board.”
But that didn’t stop Parfrey from backing Measure B like the DWP officials who claimed they were just being “informational,” not advocating for it.
And it doesn’t stop Green LA, part of the Liberty Hill Foundation, from lobbying for approval of the new water rate hike that does little or nothing for conservation efforts since its goal is to maintain DWP revenue when the mayor’s conservation plan, such as it is, goes into effect.
The effect of the hike is to allow the DWP to continue paying exorbitant salaries to its workers — far higher than other utilities pay or the city pays for the same jobs — and to continue to cut sweetheart deals with consultants and contractors.
It amazes me why environmental groups like Green LA and the LA League of Conservation Voters, of which Parfrey is vice president, continues to support take money out of the public’s pocket for Measure B and rate hikes that keep DWP workers in the green but do nothing to make the environment greener.
I don’t question the right to support whatever they want, just their judgment in backing a corrupt power structure that has failed to fulfill its environmental promises for so long, and why they now are pushing for a rate hike instead of much tougher conservation measures that we need and broadly would support.
I can see the difficulty Parfrey faces as an environmental lobbyist and activist co-opted into an official capacity by the City Hall political machine. But you’re either for the best environmental measures possible or the question has to be asked whether you’re an environmentalist or a greenwasher profiting from public support for a greener world.
Here’s Green LA email urging support for the hikes:
ACTION ALERT
To:
GREEN LA Water Activists
From: Conner
Everts and Stephanie Taylor
Re: Water
Shortage-Year Rate Increase
Dear Water Activist,
We need your support! Please
join Conner Everts, Miguel Luna,
Miriam Torres and Joe Linton in
signing on to the attached letter to
Los Angeles City Council urging them to pass the water shortage-year rate
increase when it is resubmitted by the Department of Water & Power
Commissioners.
To sign on, please send Stephanie your name, title and
organization by COB Tuesday, April
14th.
We will also need you to attend
the City Council meeting to testify on behalf of this important conservation
measure. Stay tuned for the date.
The Water Shortage-Year
Rate Increase ordinance, based on an April 2008
ordinance, seeks to permit a second tier and charge extra
for LADWP customers that fail to conserve water. This water
shortage rate increase will help the City to reach its 15% conservation goal, as
Metropolitan Water District could be cutting its allotment of water to the
City by as much as 20%.
We anticipate the Board of Water and Power
Commissioners will re-approve and re-submit the Water Shortage Rate
ordinance to City Council as soon as Friday,
April 17 (date to be
confirmed).
Stephanie
Taylor
Interim
Managing Director
GREEN LA
Coalition
Jonathan Parfrey is in direct conflict and has committed violations of the Los Angeles Ethics Laws acting as a DWP Commissioner and directing Green LA Coalition as Director of GreenLA Institue. Here is the contact list copied from GreenLA Coaliton website.
The GreenLA Coalition and the GreenLA Institute:
Stephanie Taylor, Director of Policy, GreenLA Coalition
Jonathan Parfrey, Director, GreenLA Institute
Michele Prichard, Liberty Hill Foundation, Director, Common
Agenda; Staff, Cumulative Impacts Work Group
Jane Paul, Coordinator of Green Economy Initiatives,
GreenLA Coalition, GreenLA Institute
Shalimar Zabanal, Program Associate, GreenLA Coalition, GreenLA Institute, Common Agenda
Martha Matusoka, Staff, Ports Work Group
Marcie Hale, Research Staff
Rafael Aguillera, Sacramento area Consultant
I am a (volunteer) leader of the Green LA Coalition, and a signatory to the letter mentioned in your blog entry, so I’d like to tell my take on Green LA, the alert, and your characterization of it.
Jonathan Parfrey (who is a friend of mine) has been very diligent in stepping away from all lobbying. He’s only doing some basic educational duties for Green LA Coalition at this point. Stephanie Taylor is running the show (and putting out the action alerts like the one above.) It took a great deal of work for Green LA Coalition, but, at a great cost in re-organizing ourselves, we’ve removed Jonathan from any roles that would even give the appearance of impropriety. He didn’t have a role in that action alert, and his name doesn’t appear on it… so, at least from where I sit, there’s no conflict of interest. I understand that it might appear this way – as he was leading the coalition prior to his appointment – but he’s not leading it now… so I don’t think there’s a conflict.
You question if Parfrey is “profiting” from his commissioner role. The opposite is the case. He has actually ended up taking a pay cut, as he had to decline to do many of his former duties which involved lobbying.
I am glad that you are watchdogging the DWP – it’s important to be critical of many of their proposals, policies and practices. Many constituents, including environmentalists, perceive the agency as unresponsive, not transparent, and not environmentally sustainable… However, in this instance, I, personally, made a decision to support the conservation rate structure, because I think it’s one worthwhile tool to promote conservation.
The rate restructuring shouldn’t be the end of the discussion. I agree with you that “much tougher conservation measures” are needed, and would be excited to hear what you have in mind. Could you please post what measures you’re referring to?
Maybe, together, we can come up with a tough effective set of conservation measures that can gather a broad coalition of support – neighborhood councils, environmentalists, environmental justice advocates, and others – and we can make the DWP hear our concerns, and act to resolve our pressing water conservation issues.
Dear Joe,
I am sorry you took much of your valuable time to respond in a cogent and articulate manner.
However, the good folks who read this aren’t the “solution oriented” type.
They will rehash an old idea and yell, they figure if they scream loud enough then they have somehow won the debate.
No, I am sure ron kaye and his co-horts will try to prop up Long Beach as something for LA to copy, but what isn’t said that per person LA residents already use less water then Long Beach.
P.S. I am for the water rate increase as a resident of sun valley.
Joe Linton’s description of my role and that of Jonathan Parfrey is accurate. I am the Interim Managing Director of the GREEN LA Coalition and am responsible for sending out the alert and facilitating the sign on letter. Mr. Parfrey is the Director of the GREEN LA Institute and as such is not involved in the GREEN LA Coalition’s policy advocacy work. It is simply wrong for one to make the leap that he is directing the GREEN LA Coalition.
Now, I would like to call attention to the more pressing issue of why GREEN LA members support DWP’s conservation rate proposal. The proposed tiered rate structure will encourage more responsible water use by giving people a financial reason to conserve water. The rate structure will reward people who reduce their water consumption and will result in higher costs to people who do not conserve water. We believe this pricing tool is necessary so that we all become better stewards of water, a resource that we take for granted, but can no longer.
Stephanie Taylor
Interim Managing Director, GREEN LA Coalition
We live in a Mediterranean climate. It makes a big difference in our water use. We also have different kinds of soil Porous sandy soil requires more water to support a lawn, trees and shrubs. That is why these people use more water watering every day. Those of us who have a dense clay soil find that once it is soaked (rain, cool weather) it takes a long time to dry out. These people are wasting water (much runoff). My soil is clay and I water every 3 weeks or so. My neighbors do not understand soils and some of them water every day. Why isn’t Green LA doing more educating than politicizing?
Another difference is choice of plants. Some plants require enormous amounts of water in a dry climate. They should not be used. Natives are the way to go. Nurseries should begin stocking more Southern California natives that are very attractive. Instead they have stocked magnificent specimens from warm parts of the world that receive enorrmous amounts of rain.
And finally no one is actually wasting water because it is part of this planet, and is constantly being reused, It is too bad that the water we use in bathing, laundering, dish washing cannot be recirculated on our own properties. That would make a big difference.
It’s all a matter of perception when it comes to city politics. And, this is no different. In order to really show neutrality when serving the public’s interest, one should resign from a group, association, etc., that still has the benefit of using a commissioner’s name, etc. But, I don’t have as much problem with that as with the rate increases which are problematic because they do nothing about what needs to be done, unless you call punishing homeowners as an effective water conservation tool. It’s about education, changing existing laws, and thinking outside of the box that will promote effective water uses. But, that will not happen if people see that once again they have to pay for more and more water. They will just rationilize it as yet another cost of living raise as opposed to really understanding and implementing viable water alternatives.
But that takes a coordinated, cohesive, consistent and tremendous outreach to the public. Something the DWP has failed to do. Just ask Janice Hahn.
Has the Green LA Coalition called for a moratorium on new development? Tell me exactly why I should save water, when city planning keeps telling developers that there is sufficient water?