[env-trinity] Proposition that threatened Delta Tunnels defeated by a narrow margin

[Dan Bacher]

http://fishsniffer.com/index.php/2016/11/24/proposition-that-threatened-delta-tunnels-defeated-by-a-narrow-margin/



Image of Governor Jerry Brown courtesy of DonkeyHotey.

Proposition that threatened Delta Tunnels defeated by a narrow margin

by Dan Bacher

On November 22, the California Secretary of State’s Office announced  
that the voters narrowly defeated Proposition 53, an initiative  
requiring voter approval of revenue bonds over $2 billion, by a narrow  
margin of 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent.

Governor Jerry Brown and his staff are celebrating the victory because  
it would have required a public vote on his two controversial “legacy”  
projects, the Delta Tunnels and High Speed Rail.

“The defeat of Prop 53 is good news for CA and our future,” proclaimed  
Governor Jerry Brown in a tweet. “It means one less roadblock in  
solving our water and transportation problems.”

However, about 90 percent of the anglers, grassroots environmentalists  
and Tribal leaders that I discussed Proposition 53 with voted “Yes” on  
the measure because it would require a vote on the Delta Tunnels and  
other huge projects that pose significant threats to the environment.

For example, Kevin Wolf of Davis, a long time environmental activist,  
campaign organizer and advocate for openness and transparency in  
government, advised voting Yes on 53 in his Recommendations for the  
November 2016 Election.

“This would force the state to let voters decide if there would be a  
new Delta Twin Tunnels project or other large project funded by state  
revenue bonds,” said Wolf. “This could harm some good things in the  
future, but if it is a good enough idea, it should get passed as a  
proposition.”

While the votes were still being tallied, Dean Cortopassi, proponent  
of Proposition 53, who describes himself as a “libertarian Democrat,”  
issued a statement regarding the election results for the measure on  
November 9. Among other things, he said the “No on 53 campaign seemed  
analogous to German Panzer Divisions waging ‘Blitzkrieg on Poland in  
1939” and described the measure's opponents as “Sacramento Gang  
Politicians and Porkers” in his statement:

"The closeness of the Prop 53 vote (currently 51% - 49%) means the  
final outcome will be delayed until 100% of all votes cast are reported.

In the interim, my personal congratulations to each and every one  
voting Yes on 53 (currently 4+ million Californians)! Funded by  
Sacramento Gang Politicians and Porkers, the No on 53 campaign threw  
everything at you that $20+ million could buy! Opposition included:  
hundreds of grant-hungry local entities; major funding from Special  
Interests who feed at the Public Trough; newspaper Editorial  
negativity; a barrage of blatantly false TV ads; and over the past  
three weeks, Governor Brown bombarding you with Robo calls and emails;  
statewide Press Conferences; and increasingly snide attacks on Prop 53  
and me personally.

Taken as a whole, the No on 53 campaign seemed analogous to German  
Panzer Divisions waging “Blitzkrieg” on Poland in 1939. In the  
meantime, the Yes on 53 campaign relied on me providing personal  
interviews to journalists willing to consider Prop 53 on its merits;  
and two newspaper ads in major newspapers. That’s it! Of the total  
funds my wife and I contributed, 80% was spent on qualifying Prop 53  
and less than 20% ($1 million) on promoting its merits.

Think about the disparity of $20 million to $1 million campaigns plus  
the additional political clout of the Governor’s Sacramento Gang?! By  
normal measurements, Yes on 53 should have been crushed by the No on  
53 onslaught – but it wasn’t! And the reason is every one of you who  
voted Yes figured out the truth about the Debt Dragon that threatens  
Californians today and tomorrow!

I’m proud of each Yes on 53 voter and I hope we are in the majority  
when 100% of votes cast are counted. If we are not in the majority,  
don’t despair because the truth torches we lit together cannot be  
extinguished, and the Sacramento Gang’s Debt Dragon will be leashed!  
Whether Prop 53 ends up at 51% or at 49%, We have Won – Thank You!"

Proposition 53 would require statewide voter approval for state  
revenue bond projects costing more than $2 billion, closing a loophole  
that allows politicians to issue massive new debt for multi-billion  
dollar projects without voter approval. For more information, visit: www.YESon53.com 
.

Barbara Barrigan-Parrilla, the Executive Director of Restore the  
Delta, noted that Prop 53 was “never a Delta Tunnels-only proposition.  
It was a proposition focused on revenue bond debt for large state  
projects, including High Speed Rail. That is why Restore the Delta,  
the largest Delta environmental organization, never took a position on  
Proposition 53.”

With the results now in, she issued the following statement:

“Despite the defeat of Prop. 53, the funding for the proposed Delta  
Tunnels is still highly questionable. There is no finance plan  
available for public review because it simply doesn’t exist. Westlands  
Water District, one of the major beneficiaries of the project,  
recently had its credit rating downgraded by Fitch credit rating  
service, and an independent economic analysis shows that even with a  
Federal and State tax subsidy, the project still does not pencil out  
for the big agricultural districts. Even if Proposition 53 is not  
approved, the long-term plan for the project will remain  
controversial,’ according to Fitch Credit Rating services.

Meanwhile, Southern California citizens will end up paying for the  
project four ways: property taxes; higher water rates; Federal and  
State taxes. Metropolitan Water District’s claim that all it will cost  
is $5 monthly per household is simply not true. Just look at how the  
Seattle Tunnel Project, a two-mile tunnel, is coming in at double the  
price, over $1.5 billion per mile. The twin Delta tunnels are actually  
a total of 70 tunnel-miles, and the State is only budgeting $500  
million per mile.

“This is why presentations were made by Metropolitan Water District  
and Department of Water Resources employees at the Cutting Edge 2016,  
International Tunneling Conference, during the last several days of  
the election news cycle, are significant. Restore the Delta attendees  
learned that the State wants tunnel construction contractors to assume  
the risk of owning the tunnel boring machines and needed replacement  
parts as a strategy to keep costs down. But international tunneling  
firms will not want to assume this kind of risk.

This was part of CA WaterFix’s sales pitch to international  
contractors to buy into the project — a project that is still not  
permitted by the State or Federal government, a project that cannot  
meet Clean Water Act standards for the Delta, a project that will wipe  
out fishery economies up and down the west coast, a project that will  
leave hundreds of thousands of people with polluted drinking water, a  
project in which those who are supposed to repay the debt for the  
project can’t — a project presently being audited by State and Federal  
officials – a project that still has only 10% of the geotechnical data  
needed for tunnel contractors to begin construction.

Restore the Delta will continue unmasking the true financial and  
environmental costs to Californians of the Delta tunnels project and  
fighting its implementation through administrative processes,  
education and outreach, and litigation if necessary. We will prevail  
because the majority of Californians disapprove of the Delta Tunnels  
and backers have not proven the proposal makes economic or  
environmental sense.”

The results of the Proposition 53 vote are disappointing for those who  
care about salmon, the Delta and the public trust. However, there is  
no doubt that if an initiative solely requiring a public vote on the  
Delta Tunnels had been on the ballot, it would have been decisively  
approved by the voters.

Unfortunately, Governor Jerry Brown and the California legislative  
"leadership," while falsely portraying themselves as  
"environmentalists," for several years have failed to support  
legislation requiring a public vote on the tunnels, the most  
environmentally devastating public works project in California  
history. That's because Brown and his legislative allies know that the  
voters would overwhelmingly reject the Delta Tunnels, just like they  
defeated the Peripheral Canal in November 1982, if the project went to  
a public vote.
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