California has a leadership drought
There’s not a drop of meaningful rain in the forecast for California but that doesn’t mean there aren’t storm clouds on the horizon.
While the recall election of Gov. Gavin Newsom is still a month off, our relentless drought continues to drain our reservoirs, dry up our lakes and rivers, fuel wild fires, empty the aqueducts and literally cause parts of the state to sink.
According to the U.S. Geological Survey, Corcoran, California, has fallen 11 ½ feet over the past 14 years, crushing the casings of wells and other vital infrastructure while necessitating steep property tax hikes to fund millions in repairs. Many other San Joaquin Valley communities face similar problems.
Of course, the massive Dixie fire, the largest wildfire in California history, is still burning up north and likely to burn for months.
You’d think a drought this severe would result in dramatic, even drastic action by the governor. But what should be done and what is being done is being viewed by Newsom through the prism of the September recall election rather than a rain gage.
The possibility of being ousted from office has paralyzed the governor at the exact moment we desperately need a leader.
Our most recent “rainy” season, October to March, was the third driest in California history, leaving the largest reservoirs in NorCal at one-third capacity.
Back in May, the governor did declare a “drought emergency” and nothing else. He might as well have declared darkness after sunset. Everyone knew we’re in a drought, the question was what to do about it? His answer was as little as possible.
In early July, Newsom signed an executive order, which sounds good, right? An order! — calling for voluntary water reductions of 15%. How’s that working out?
Last week, the State Water Resources Control Board voted to curtail water quotas from the Sacramento, San Joaquin and Russian River watersheds. The nameless, faceless Water Resources Control Board made the decision.
As we know, elections have consequences. With the recall election looming, we’re suffering consequences before we even vote. Newsom can read the polls as well as anyone. He knows the public is in a recalling mood. The last thing he needs is a bunch of thirsty, unbathed voters with dead lawns and filthy Teslas showing up on Election Day.
California (like the entire southwest) is subject to periodic droughts. Duh. While climate change has contributed mightily to our current crisis, so has unwise forest mismanagement, foot-dragging on reservoir and off-stream water storage construction and a general lack of leadership going back decades. Newsom is not the sole author of any of this, but neither has he moved us one drop closer to a solution.
Until the recall is over the governor will continue to fake his way through drought management without dropping the inevitable hammer on a public still recovering from COVID shutdowns, the new Delta variant with millions still bellyaching about face masks or even getting a life-saving vaccine. After September 14th, scotch and water drinkers will learn they’re now scotch plain drinkers.
When political leaders find themselves in hot water, personal considerations trump the public’s interest. While Bill Clinton was wagging his finger at Monica Lewinski, Osama Bin Laden was plotting to hit our homeland. Soon-to-be exNew York Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn’t exactly been bucklingdown to business these past months, spending his days
(and nights) instead working the phones with aids and lawyers and bundlers to fight accusations of inappropriate (and possibly criminal) sexual misbehavior with staffers. Newsom’s
presidential ambitions can’t survive being recalled, so drought? What drought?
We’d all like to believe in a time of crisis our leaders step up like ol’ Winston Churchill swilling champaign and dropping bon mots while kicking Nazi keister, or Honest Abe spinning folksy wisdom to his generals as he prodded them to save the Union.
Sadly, history doesn’t offer up many Churchills and Lincolns, which explains why JFK wrote “Profiles in Courage” not “The Encyclopedia of Courage.”
The right thing to do is not always the popular thing. Newsom’s refusal to lead during this drought emergency is neither right nor likely to be popular come Sept. 14th.