CATHERINE BLAKESPEAR: I WILL USE MY EXPERIENCE AND VOICE IN SENATE
Q:From wildfires to sea level rise, the climate emergency is increasingly affecting California. What immediate steps should California lawmakers be taking to address it?
A:
I support strong
action to preserve and protect our environment for future generations. Under my leadership as mayor of Encinitas, our city is a statewide leader when it comes to our environmental commitments. Encinitas was among the first cities in San Diego County to become part of community choice aggregation program, San Diego Community Power. Today, Encinitas is the only city in the county that gets 100 percent renewable energy as the default. We’ve also adopted an ambitious building electrification ordinance, built barrier-protected bike lanes to offer safe alternatives to driving, and limited gaspowered leaf blowers, single-use plastics, foam containers and disposable water bottles at city events. Encinitas residents’ green waste from their kitchens and yards is now turned into fertilizer and renewable natural gas at a state-ofthe-art digester.
For my leadership on environmental issues, I received the Climate Courage Award from the Climate Action Campaign in 2020. I’ve been endorsed by Hammond Climate Solutions and the Climate
Defenders Fund.
In the state Senate, I will focus on reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the state. We need to look at all the areas we emit carbon and make them more efficient and carbon-neutral, including how we light our buildings, transport people and goods, raise farm animals, manage our trash and plastic pollution, and manufacture goods. I support the governor’s ban on fracking, which will take effect in 2024.
Q:
The governor’s pleas
to reduce water use have been widely met with indifference. What, if anything, should state lawmakers be doing to address drought conditions?
A:
Clean drinking water
is critical for sustaining life. We need to ensure that all Californians have access to reliable water sources. As the vice president of the San Dieguito Water District and a previous board member of two wastewater districts, I understand the complexities associated with recycled water and water treatment. Drought conditions associated with climate change need to be recognized as serious threats that will likely become worse as less water flows from Lake Mead, and as climate change results in a diminished snowpack in the Sierra Nevada.
I support investments in infrastructure that will help
water districts maintain adequate supply for all regions. The desalination plant in Carlsbad, which produces 7 percent to 10 percent of our county’s fresh water, is an example of an investment that recognized the need for water independence and water reliability. We need to remain focused on creating and strengthening the water infrastructure that is vital for our prosperity and make investments that reflect this commitment.
Q:
What would you do to
address the surging gas prices in California?
A:
Inflation is a factor
and families are hurting, so in the short term, I support the proposal in the California Legislature to give every taxpayer a $200 stimulus “relief ” check to offset the high price of gas.
Increased demand for gas as people get back to work, the justified embargo on Russian energy imports and oil companies exploiting this crisis to take home record-breaking profits are some of the reasons why we’re paying more at the pump. As Rep. Mike Levin said in his recent Times of San Diego opinion commentary, “it comes down to the three Ps: pandemic, Putin and price gouging.”
While we can’t control the three Ps, we can reduce our dependence on fossil fuels by increasing our investments in renewable energy technologies.
As chair of the San Diego Association of Governments, San Diego County’s transportation agency, I made sure we did our part to incentivize electric vehicles and to make it easier for families to adopt them. As part of SANDAG’s regional energy strategy, the board set a goal of placing 40,000 fast-charging stations throughout the county by 2030. With more than $20 million in incentives and rebates to accelerate installation of these stations, we will make our region a leader in investments in electric vehicle charging. In all sectors, we need to accelerate our transition off of fossil fuels and into renewable energy. Investments in transit and biking and walking infrastructure are critical to achieving this.
Q:
How do you strike a
balance between reducing the state’s dependency on fossil fuels and addressing energy affordability issues, including the high cost of gasoline?
A:
I reject the false choice
between energy affordability and reducing our state’s dependency on fossil fuels. The reality is that our dependence on fossil fuels contributes to the high cost of energy. It doesn’t alleviate the pain. Because petroleum is a globally traded commodity, our domestic energy production would do very little to affect the price of gas. That’s why oil and gas companies have more than 9,000 unused drilling permits on public lands.
Transitioning to clean energy will, in the long run, reduce the cost of energy and create thousands of good-paying, American jobs. I’d much rather invest in America than increase our reliance on petro-dictators like Russia’s Vladimir Putin or Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
In Encinitas, we joined with other cities, including the city of San Diego, to form a community choice aggregation program, and now all residents and businesses in Encinitas have 100 percent renewable energy as the default energy source for nearly the same cost per month as San Diego Gas & Electric. We can wean ourselves off fossil fuels with leadership and commitment.
Q:
What single change would you make to improve California’s K-12
public school systems? A:
In the short term, the
one change I would make is getting schools the resources they need to stay open. As a mother of two kids, I felt firsthand the difficulty that school closures brought for households like mine with two working parents. Between learning loss and mental health issues from social isolation, there is no question about the importance of in-person education in our children’s lives. I will work to make sure that school districts have enough staff, cleaning supplies and rapid tests to keep their schools safe and running.
Q:
Should taxes in California be increased? If so, which ones?
A:
Taxes should not be
raised on families making less than $400,000 a year. In some instances, large corporations can take advantage of loopholes that the average small business owner cannot. I will work to close those loopholes to ensure that the burden of our collective responsibilities is shouldered in a way that is fair.
In addition, I support the current proposal in the Legislature to expand the California Renter’s Credit and to send households a one-time payment of $2,000 per child. Local taxes should be left to the local jurisdictions to decide, not the state.