GEORGETTE GOMEZ: I WON’T DO THE BIDDING OF GREEDY OIL COMPANIES
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:
California must take
every step necessary to rid our dependence on fossil fuels to reduce the existential threat of climate change. We need to put the brakes on this speeding freight train, but we won’t be able to do that if Big Oil is calling the shots.
And that’s a basic choice in this election. My opponent is funded and supported by Big Oil. But I believe Big Oil and other greenhouse gas profiteers have too much influence in politics — and they can’t buy me off.
If you want to hold the big oil companies accountable for the toxic pollution they’re causing and global warming they’re worsening, then stand with me and fight for a clean energy future and real action on the climate crisis.
I’ve spent my whole life fighting for our environment — as a community organizer tackling industrial pollution in South County and as City Council president pushing to get San Diego to 100 percent renewable energy as fast as possible. I’ll keep up the fight in the state Assembly.
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:
I am proud of the work
we did while I was City Council president to advance the Pure Water San Diego recycled water project. It’s an investment that will provide 40 percent of San Diego’s water supply locally by the end of 2035 without new imported water from the Colorado River, the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California or the Delta. Every corner of our state is in a pinch with its water reliability, and it’s so important that more regions learn from our Pure Water investment in recycled water infrastructure so they can come more independent, too. I will be pushing for farther-reaching implementation of recycled water throughout California when I am elected. There’s no excuse.
Q:
What would you do to
address the surging gas prices in California?
A:
Voters should know
Big Oil is supporting my opponent David Alvarez and opposing me fiercely. Oil companies have pumped tens of thousands of dollars into Alvarez’s campaign because they know I’ll stand up to them and fight for working families and clean air. In a very real sense, the oil companies are taking the record profits from the sky-high prices they’re charging motorists and using it to try and buy a seat for their candidate. It’s wrong.
I support a gas tax relief rebate of up to $800 per family — 30 percent more than what they pay in gas taxes every year. The rebate will deliver $9 billion in direct payments back to millions of Californians, including an estimated $112 million back to the people of Assembly District 80.
But beyond that immediate relief to families, we need to cut our dependence on oil. It’s the monopoly energy source for so many families right now because they either can’t afford the electric vehicles or the charging infrastructure that is needed to make it a reliable option for them, or they can’t depend on public transit that is limited in its routes. I’ve been working to implement a plan here to reduce our dependence on oil through our local transportation resources, but we need a statewide plan to move people and goods without being so beholden
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? First, elected leaders
need to cut the political ties to Big Oil because they become beholden to them.
I won’t take a dime from Big Oil, but those same oil companies have their claws in on my opponent David Alvarez with tens of thousands of their corporate money fueling his campaign. That’s unacceptable to me.
Big Oil is really sticking it to working families at a time when they’re being crushed by out-of-control housing prices and rent, grocery prices that are higher than ever, and soaring health care costs.
I won’t sit idly by while working people suffer. We need more transparency in oil prices and an all-of-theabove approach to renewable energy by advancing solar, wind, geothermal and every kind of clean energy source that reduce emissions and reduce costs for working families.
Let’s be clear: The oil companies have been using the war in Ukraine as an excuse for jacking up gas prices when in reality the higher gas prices are a result of them seeking record profits.
Exxon Mobil made $23 billion in profit this past year. For Chevron, it was $15.6 billion. Shell and BP raked in profits of $19.3 billion and $12.9 billion, respectively.
It isn’t right that the oil companies are reaping in billions while charging my neighbors near and over $6 a gallon at the pump.
How would you bring
down the high cost of housing, both for homeowners and renters?
With the cost of housing crushing working families, I’ve been leading the fight to act for more affordable housing.
As City Council president, I wrote the law to require developers to build more housing that’s affordable for working families, not just the rich.
And I passed the emergency legislation that made San Diego among the first cities in California to halt evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the state Assembly, I’m ready to do even more.
We need to build more housing along transit lines and make sure that housing is affordable for the working class, not just the wealthy.
State government must establish a permanent, ongoing source of affordable housing funds — it’s a must.
And we need one simple permit process that housing developers can follow to get their projects built fast — especially for affordable housing.
But we also need to do more to help first-time homebuyers, as the government did for previous generations, and explore how to expand community land trusts to help working-class families afford homes and build wealth.
We need to stop out-ofstate land speculators from gobbling up rental units and displacing existing tenants.
I’m a pro-housing, proworking family candidate, and I won’t let Sacramento special interests stand in the way of the progress we need.