The San Benito County Farm bureau hosted a candidates’ and issues forum at Hollister’s City Hall on Oct. 8. Farm bureau President Richard Bianchi moderated the event
There were no speakers in attendance for Measure M, the $28.5 million Hollister Elementary School District bond, though Measure K, which would make the position of city treasurer an appointed position rather than an elected one, was discussed.
Measure K
Speaking against Measure K was Karina Hernandez, a candidate for city treasurer. She said she wants voters to have the opportunity to choose candidates for office. She noted that the measure was brought forth previously and the voters rejected making city treasurer an appointed position. Hernandez said this election costs the city funds to put the measure on the ballot. She informed the audience that there are three candidates for the office this year, while in the past there have not been many candidates. She believes that the public needs an individual to whom they can speak about budgetary matters
Former eight-year City Councilman Doug Emerson, speaking in support of Measure K, explained that more than two-thirds of California cities have appointed city treasurers. He said the fact that any state voter is qualified to seek the position does not serve the best interests of the city and that it is his belief that the position requires professional skills. He said that professional staff and independent auditors oversee the city’s finances. He believes that the selection of an individual should be based upon skill and experience. He expressed a concern that elected candidates might be elected on the basis of popularity, rather than ability. He asked if it might be better if the candidates had to go to the City Council with their resumes and would then select the best applicant. He stated that if there is only one person who runs for the office, then that person would become the city treasurer regardless of their qualifications.
In a rebuttal to the Yes on K presentation, Hernandez said that it was insulting to think that in a city the size of Hollister there are not people who are qualified to do the job. She pointed out that the same problem is true of the other elective offices including mayor and city council and that there still needs to be oversight. She asked to give candidates the opportunity to show their qualifications and reported that San Juan Bautista recently rejected the idea of appointing a city treasurer. Hernandez reiterated her plea to let voters decide.
Emerson countered that oversight is handled by councilmembers, there is a Measure E oversight committee and the mayor is accountable. The City Council has the ability to review every expenditure, Emerson said, as those who have attended city council meetings are aware.
The argument against Measure J
Kristina Chavez-Wyatt, representing the San Benito County Business Council and the No on Measure J campaign, said the anti-fracking measure “goes too far” and would essentially ban all oil production in San Benito County. She quoted San Benito County Supervisor Margie Barrios, saying that the group promoting the measure is using scare tactics “similar to what the BLM did with Clear Creek.”
Chavez-Wyatt, who noted that she was standing in for Steve Coombs of Patriot Resources, who was unable to attend due to work obligations, said that the measure is not just about hydraulic fracturing. She noted that it is 10 pages long and bans all forms of oil production. She said that the county would be put in a position to have to legally defend the amendment to its General Plan and that oil and gas production is already under scrutiny. The measure is opposed by the San Benito County Farm Bureau, California Women for Agriculture-Salinas Valley Chapter, San Benito County Cattlemen’s Association, San Benito County Chamber of Commerce & Visitors Bureau, the San Benito County Business Council, and the Salinas Valley Chamber of Commerce.
She pointed out that State Assemblyman Luis Alejo has said that bans are bad public policy and that he felt it is “best to create consensus.” Chavez-Wyatt addressed the amount of water used in hydraulic fracturing, which she said was 160,000 gallons of water per well, which only needs to be done once during the life of the well. She also said there is no reported damage to the environment by hydraulic fracturing.
Chavez-Wyatt said that the possible creation of 1,250 oil production jobs in San Benito County could increase the county’s employment by 6 percent. She stated her belief that the ultimate goal of the Measure J proponents is to stop all oil and gas production and quoted The Free Lance Editorial Board calling Measure J, “extremist politics to push the anti-fossil fuel agenda.”
Chavez-Wyatt stated that “nearly all oil wells, at some point, need one of the measures which would be banned by the initiative.” She said steam injection has been used since 1940, noting that it the process was pioneered in the San Ardo oil fields, which is the largest contributor of taxes in Monterey County. There has been no incidences of water contamination there, she said. The San Ardo fields also produce nine barrels of water for every barrel of oil. She said that water is added to the Salinas River, upstream of valuable agricultural lands. She reported that “steam injection is a safe method, and we would like to see it’s use in San Benito County.”
Presentation in support of Measure J
Speaking in support of Measure J, Joe Morris, a local cattle rancher, said that he didn’t think democracy works unless people participate. He said that it was too bad Coombs of Patriot Resources could not make it to be part of the discussion.
Morris noted that before coming in, he was asked the question, “Will Measure J ban all fracking?” He said he recently received a flyer in the mail that says, “Measure J bans all oil production in the County.” He has stated in an opinion piece published on BenitoLink his belief that this was an oft-repeated lie: “Measure J does not ban all oil production in San Benito County.”
He said that “Yes on J” takes the “precautionary principal” into account and that the measure also protects the property rights of the ranchers to produce the revenue on which their families have depended. He noted the difference in the oil in the Vallecitos area, which is lighter and is not as difficult to extract as the heavier oil in the Bitterwater area. He said that this sort of production can continue if Measure J passes.
In explaining the origin of Measure J, Morris noted that when the “thumper trucks” came through Aromas, their drivers were not forthcoming with reasons for why they were doing what they were doing, and this alerted local residents to a possible problem.
He said he asked another rancher about his thoughts on Measure J and was told that the rancher supported “fracking.” When Morris asked, “What about your neighbors?” the other rancher said he didn’t know his neighbors, so he didn’t care about them. Morris expressed that this was a different way of thinking about neighbors in San Benito County.
Morris told the audience that, according to the latest election finance records, the “Yes on Measure J” proponents had gathered $103,000, mostly from friends and family as well as residents of San Benito County, while $1.5 million has been contributed by entities of the oil industry, wholly from outside the county. Morris noted that campaign finance records indicated that no one from San Benito County had contributed to the “No on Measure J” campaign.
“There is something wrong with that kind of money being involved in San Benito County politics,” Morris said, adding that opposition flyers had been crafted by hired mercenaries, the very outsiders the “Yes on Measure J” proponents are accused of being.
Morris said that it is legal for the county to ban activities and that the state and national governments have not done a good job of regulating the oil industry. In Bakersfield, Morris said, a farmer is suing due to the quality of his water impacted by nearby oil production. It was Morris’s opinion that contamination of local water is too much of a risk.
Morris explained the involvement of The Center for Biological Diversity in assisting several local residents to determine if there was a way to ban fracking and helping them to raise $10,000 to draft an initiative. He said that, in answer to his own questioning about the measure, he was challenged to read the measure itself, which, he said, takes 20 minutes to read the 10 pages. He said that the measure does not stop current oil practices and the idea that there will be no problems with additional drilling is not reasonable.
“Oil and schools and playgrounds do not mix,” Morris said, and “most rangelands do not have formations which contain oil.” He also shared that under Measure J, the practices of using hydrochloric acid to remove scale and returning water to its place of origin will be allowed to continue.
Morris stated that the California Council on Science and Technology has said that most data about the industry’s practices, “comes from the petroleum industry itself” and that voluntary data is “not required to be complete or accurate.”
The current oil and gas industry in San Benito County is small and vital, Morris said, and the agricultural industry is large and vital and there are opportunities for the area to be an agri-tourist destination like Napa and Paso Robles and he wouldn’t want to see that endangered.
Morris also stated his belief that, “The group financing ‘No on Measure J’ has been poisoning our local politics.”
In response to Morris’s comments, Chavez-Wyatt said, “It is clear that our campaign is supported by the oil industry. We are glad that we don’t have to ask local people for money. We feel that this measure is a drastic misuse of the initiative process. I take offense to people are calling us liars. We use facts.”
She said that The Center for Biological Diversity was responsible for “shutting off our water and shutting off water to the San Joaquin Valley.”