CHRIS WARD: I WILL KEEP WORKING TO BRING DOWN HIGH HOUSING COSTS
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: We are past the point of immediate “steps.” California needs to take leaps in order to protect communities from the ongoing threat of the climate crisis. It is our most vulnerable who suffer the immediate consequences of decades of inaction. Through our budget work, the state is making increasing investments to mitigate that threat, as well as the public amenities and policies to promote equity in green energy, stormwater infrastructure, urban tree canopy and access to clean water.
To make this process meaningful for communities across California, I've introduced a bill in the Legislature that will develop regional climate networks to mitigate climate change. As California continues to address this crisis, it is critical for local governments and regional experts to come together collaboratively and be supported for their work on adaptation and mitigation projects. To combat both the threats of wildfire and reduced biodiversity, I've authored legislation to incorporate traditional ecological knowledge practiced by ancestors for millennia into state protocol on conservation and land management. To expand on our commitment to renewable energy, I have introduced an act to establish community solar and storage projects as part of California's commitment to a 50-state strategy for the same. And I will continue to lead on transformative investments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while successfully transitioning high-quality jobs to work in cleaner industries, emphasizing again the importance of prioritizing environmentally impacted communities throughout our state. California has demonstrated that it is pragmatic and forwardthinking to make climate investments to support a robust economy and protect our vulnerable, and we will accelerate that.
Q: What would you do to address the surging gas prices in California?
A: I've heard loudly this year from San Diegans struggling under the weight of rising gas and energy costs, an inaccessible housing market and the impact of inflation. Our legislative work will provide significant relief to working families impacted by these daily living cost increases, while not sacrificing crucial funding for our roads, bridges or the desperately needed infrastructure improvements that have gone unaddressed for far too long. I support inquiries to both the “mysterious surcharge” paid by California users since the 2015 refineries disruptions and the lack of significant gas price reductions since oil has dropped 15 percent to 20 percent from a February peak. I wouldn't be surprised to see conclusions that are consistent with the record profits reported by major oil companies over the past year. We should continue to support Californians' needs to transition away from gasoline-powered vehicles through continued infrastructure investment and popular incentive programs, so that more working families are able to financially and feasibly make these important transitions for themselves.
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:
We are in the midst of
multiple crises, and cannot afford to take small steps to alleviate the stress working families across California are struggling under. In 2020, coal's total contribution to California's electricity supply, from imports and in-state generations, was almost 3 percent. Research has proved that fracking pollutes our drinking water and triggers earthquakes. These are obscene methods of extracting fossil fuels, and we don't need them.
We've entered a new decade, with new challenges that will require us to recommit ourselves to removing any dependence on coal from the energy sector.
Q: How would you bring down the high cost of housing, both for homeowners and renters?
A: Our high cost of housing increasingly is the biggest stressor on a California family's budget, threatens the next generation's opportunities and is directly responsible for increasing homelessness across the state. Fundamentally, there continues to be too few housing units produced for our population; with low sales volume and available rental units, the costs are rising. Compounding this, other market forces may be exacerbating the pricing of homes. At both the local and state levels, I have authored and supported a variety of strategies to work on production constraints including zoning, subsidy, incentive, building code and public land utilization improvements. I introduced the California Housing Speculation Act to undercut short-term investor-buyer activity escalating the pricing of homes and give working families a fairer chance to secure home ownership. We will need both conventional and unconventional strategies to stabilize the housing market, and I am working on and fighting for a wider ranges of solutions.