Even though the measure was voted down in the March 3, 2009 elections, a March 21 article in the Los Angeles Times says that Measure B proponents continue to push the solar power plan. The Certified Final Bulletin indicates that the vote was very, very close:

YES 129,925 votes 49.50%

NO 132,569 votes 50.50%

LA Times writer David Zahniser said, “One day after the solar energy plan known as Measure B went down to defeat, backers of the proposal said they would push the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power to pursue the environmental initiative anyway. Environmentalists, labor leaders, and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said they would continue to press the municipal utility to achieve Measure B’s core mission: the installation of 400 megawatts of DWP-owned solar panels throughout the city, and on city-owned property, by 2014.”

In light of the strong, vocal opposition to the measure by many of the Los Angeles candidates for the mayoral race, it might surprise many that the measure fared as well as it did on voting day. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who won the election for another term as mayor, has always been one of the measure’s strongest supporters.

Pitfalls the measure failed to overcome for sufficient voter support were significant. Zahniser reports that, “Foes had complained that the plan had only three weeks of public discussion before the City Council placed it on the March 3 ballot. Criticism intensified after The Times reported that city officials had obtained a confidential analysis warning that the solar plan could lead to considerably higher electricity bills.”

The results drew attention to a letter to the Mayor and City Council from Gary Toebben, President & CEO of the LA Area Chamber of Commerce, William Luddy, Legislative and Political Director of the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters, and Ron Kaye as a spokesman for the No on Measure B campaign and a founder of the Saving LA Project.

This letter appears on the Certified Page Bulletin page indicated above and says:

“The voters of Los Angeles have given the Mayor, City Council, DWP, business, labor, environmentalists, neighborhood councils, and ratepayers the time to craft a solar plan that will work for all of us, not just some of us.

“The opposition to Measure B was not about whether to embrace the use of solar energy; it was about crafting and implementing a plan that works for everyone. It was clear from the results of last Tuesday’s election that regardless of the final vote count, the voters and ratepayers of Los Angeles want more transparency and inclusion before a decision of such significance for the future of our community is made.

“We stand ready to begin working with you immediately. The use of solar energy is an important opportunity for our community and with all of us working together; we can lay a foundation that is beneficial for everyone.”

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Posted on April 2nd in Solar Politics by Euphrasia.