Letters
From today’s Petaluma Argus-Courier
Editor: Since I founded Stop the Casino 101 Coalition almost five years ago, I’ve never endorsed a candidate for office. This year, I’m endorsing Joe Nation for state Senate, 3rd District.
Joe and I have spoken, and I am impressed with his passion and intelligence, as well as his grasp of the issues surrounding the Rohnert Park casino project. The June 2008 primary will be critical in terms of the Rohnert Park casino fight. It is imperative that we get someone up in the state Senate who will go to the wire for us as our state Assemblyman, Jared Huffman has done.
Mark Leno and Carole Migden have been unapproachable on the subject of the casino, despite our best efforts to engage them. Their remarks on the May 9 Ronn Owens show simply sealed the deal: They don’t understand the issues. Joe is the only candidate for state Senate to make a strong stand. He’s not afraid of pressure from wealthy casino supporters or the casino developers. He deserves our support.
Everyone should vote their conscience, of course, but I am urging voters in the 3rd District state Senate race, if you want a fighter who will keep the Graton Rancheria casino out of our community, then vote for Joe. We can’t afford not to get this right.
Chip Worthington, Rohnert Park
May 29th, 2008 - Posted in Casinos | | 0 Comments
Please Donate Relief
The two natural disasters Asia has recently suffered, have deeply affected workers and volunteers with my campaign. Cyclone Nargis and the Chinese Earthquake have impacted hundreds of thousands of lives. The end is nowhere in sight for survivors. These stories are quite alarming:
New Storm to Hamper Aid effort in Myanmar
Chinese Raise Alarm About Quake-Damaged Dams
Please read a bit about the plight of survivors on the IFRC website. I urge you to donate to whatever charity you support. No matter who you decide to donate to, please donate.
May 16th, 2008 - Posted in Relief | | 0 Comments
The fight continues
Today is a great day for the Bay Area, California and the country. The Supreme Court’s decision in support of marriage equality finally gives same sex couples the equal rights they deserve. Hopefully this ruling will pave the way for other states to allow marriage equality.
While today’s ruling is historic, the fight continues. We must all work together to defeat the November ballot measure that would define marriage as only between a man and a woman and overturn this court decision. I look forward to defeating that measure and providing gay couples in California the same basic, civil rights that heterosexual couples now enjoy.
May 15th, 2008 - Posted in civil rights | | 0 Comments
Petaluma Argus Courier Endorses Joe Nation for State Senate
Joe Nation best bet for state Senate
Intellect, integrity and track record of effectiveness give former assemblyman the edge in Democratic primary
Published: Thursday, May 15, 2008
Registered Democrats in Petaluma face a three-way choice in the June 3 primary on who will represent them in the race this fall for state Senate. Democratic incumbent Carol Migden is being challenged by former North Bay Assemblyman Joe Nation and current San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno. Given the strong Democratic registration in the district, whoever wins this contest is practically guaranteed to become the next senator.
Migden, a former member of the Assembly who is finishing her first Senate term, has been widely viewed as an effective and productive legislator who gets things done. Unlike her predecessors in the district, which includes the eastern half of San Francisco, Migden has taken an active interest in the needs of her south Sonoma County constituents and was effective in getting money for the Highway 101 widening as well as Tolay Lake Regional Park acquisition.
But Migden’s record is blemished by a record $350,000 fine levied by the Fair Political Practices Commission earlier this year for campaign spending violations. Also, she left her position as chairwoman of the powerful Senate Appropri-ations Committee in late 2005 following an embarrassing incident in which she press-ed the voting button of an absent Republican assemblyman in an apparent attempt to pass one of her own bills.
Challenger Mark Leno is an intelligent and capable state legislator with strong environmental credentials who has done a great deal to famil-iarize himself with the issues facing Petaluma residents.
But we’re concerned about Leno’s statement to the Press Democrat in February that he’d received $10,000 in campaign donations from supporters of a massive casino complex proposed for Rohn-ert Park. He later told the Argus-Courier that he’d re-ceived much less than $10,000 from casino supporters, and promised to provide a full accounting of the donations. The promised list of donations never arrived, and Leno remains the only candidate unwilling to take a strong position against casino development in Sonoma County.
Joe Nation, by contrast, introduced a constitutional amendment as an assemblyman that would have put a moratorium on new casino development, and remains steadfastly opposed to the gargantuan development that would create a host of problems for Petaluma area residents, not the least of which would be extreme traffic congestion along Highway 101. He endorses statewide legislation that would require a local vote before the state could approve gaming compacts.
Nation performed effectively for Petalumans during his six years in Sacramento and possesses the leadership skills, intelligence, integrity and a record of working effectively with fellow lawmakers to tackle tough issues and solve problems.
He wrote legislation making it possible to create a two-county rail transit system in Sonoma and Marin that voters will decide whether to fund later this year. He worked hard to secure funding for Highway 101 expansion between Petalu-ma and Novato, and was the principal author of a landmark climate change bill that created new policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions across the state.
A strong proponent of public education, Nation refused, as an assemblyman, to endorse the governor’s budget proposal to suspend a state law guaranteeing minimum levels of funding for public education.
Nation took up a tough fight to establish a workable health care program in California, and his current health care plan closely mirrors federal proposals by Senators Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
We believe Nation’s integrity, intelligence and ability to work effectively with others to get things done make him the best Democratic candidate for state Senate.
May 15th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
Join me in opposing the Peaker Power Plants
Tomorrow the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will vote to either build polluting “peaker” power plants in San Francisco or to follow a more environmentally sustainable energy program.
With the range of technologies for more environmentally favorable alternatives available to us, building fossil fueled power plants should be a last resort. The California Independent System Operator has not received any other plan to shut down the Mirant plant besides building power plants that use the same fossil fuels that potentially could produce similar emissions and can run beyond just periods of high demand.
Please join the coalition opposing these power plants including Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the Sierra Club, Brightline Defense, the A.Phillip Randolph Institute, Californians for Renewable Energy, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
Make yourself heard at City Hall
E-mail for the Mayor
E-mails for Supervisors can be found at: http://www.sfgov.org/site/bdsupvrs_index.asp
May 12th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
The IJ recommends Nation.
IJ recommends Joe Nation for state Senate seat
TWO QUALIFIED and experienced Democrats are fighting it out in a race that started more than a year ago. Sound familiar?
This campaign now involves three Democrats - and none of them are named Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton.
The race is for the Democratic nomination for the 3rd state Senate District, which includes Marin, southern Sonoma and parts of San Francisco. The candidates are incumbent Sen. Carole Migden, San Francisco Assemblyman Mark Leno and former Marin Assemblyman Joe Nation. Because Democrats dominate the district, the winner on June 3 likely will prevail in November.
The IJ recommends Nation.
All three candidates have impressive resumes.
- Migden, the first-term incumbent from San Francisco, is facing two challengers in large part because her personal behavior, including a bizarre freeway crash, and scores of campaign law violations resulting in a record state fine have made her vulnerable. If this race was just about her ability to deliver for her district, it would be no contest. She has been an effective legislator, and has been a constant presence in Marin since Leno entered the race, but she has betrayed the trust of voters. Her ethical violations and lapses of judgment cannot be rewarded.
- Leno, who is being termed out of his Assembly seat, announced more than a year ago that he was running against Migden. He also has spent much time in Marin and Sonoma of late. He is the chairman of the Assembly Appropriations Committee and also has been an effective state legislator.
- Nation, a climate change expert who represented the North Bay in the Assembly for six years before being termed out, entered the race a few months ago. He would not be running if Leno wasn’t in the race. Conventional wisdom says that Leno and Migden will divide the San Francisco vote, improving Nation’s chances because of his North Bay history.
Leno told the IJ editorial board that this race “is not about geography - it’s about effectiveness.” He says he is a better legislator than Nation.
Of course, this election is partially about geography. The 3rd Senate District is an odd creature that stretches from Hunters Point-Bayview along eastern San Francisco to Marin and southern Sonoma. A North Bay resident has not held this seat for more than 30 years.
Marin and Sonoma would benefit from a state senator who truly knows and understands local issues.
That would be Nation. The former San Rafael resident who also served on the Marin Municipal Water District board now lives in southern Sonoma.
This race is also about ideas and the state’s future. Nation, who was frustrated when he left the Assembly four years ago, is an economist and an expert on climate change - he teaches the subject at Stanford - who will play a leadership role in this increasingly important issue.
When asked about how to fix the state’s broken budget process, his rivals essentially blamed Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger for repealing the state vehicle license fee and Republicans for their vow not to raise taxes. Nation outlined a new “green” version of the license fee, one that would be based half on a vehicle’s value and half on its fuel efficiency. The fee would raise $6.1 billion a year. He would use half to provide incentives for people to buy more fuel efficient cars - rebates worth $1,500 to $2,000.
Nation also advocates slightly lowering the sales tax and broadening it to include services to increase state revenue and avoid the boom-and-bust cycles California has experienced of late.
He would continue to push climate change issues because he says we are running out of time. Nation says we have five to 10 years to get our act together before too much harm has been done. He helped shape climate reform efforts when serving in the Assembly and his expertise in this area is needed in the Senate.
Leno criticized Nation for saying he would never cut education, even with the state facing huge deficits and education accounting for half the state budget. Leno says such positions and votes would make Nation “irrelevant” as state senator and deny him any leadership positions.
There is some truth in that. Such absolute stances should be avoided when tough decisions are required. Marin’s senator needs to have a seat at the table when key decisions are being made - not be on the outside looking in.
But that senator also needs to bring fresh thinking and ideas to Sacramento.
All three are capable of doing the job. The IJ endorses Joe Nation because he would do the best job for Marin, for the district and for the state.
May 11th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
Vote No on Proposition 98
The state attorney general summarized prop 98 in the passage below:
“Bars state and local governments from taking or damaging private property for private uses.
Prohibits rent control and similar measures.
Prohibits deference to government in takings cases.
Defines ‘just compensation.”
If you want to read the full text of the proposition here is a link to the PDF
Proposition 98 is partially a response to Kelo v. City of New London. That case in Connecticut caught many by surprise. The case surrounded the condemnation of privately owned property by the City of New London, Connecticut. The reasoning the city gave was that their redevelopment plan helped the community and therefore was considered permissible “public use” under the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment. Enough legal jargon. I am not a fan of the concept of eminent domain in most cases, particularly when private corporations benefit more than the citizens.
But Prop. 98 is not just about eminent domain. Shoehorned in, is the end of rent control. It is as simple as that folks. Proposition 98 ends rent control. We in the Bay Area have some of the highest rental rates in the nation. It is my belief that it is in California’s best interests to help renters maintain a stable housing situation.
Another part of the bill I do not approve of is the section about mandatory inclusionary housing programs. The measure could constrain a government’s authority to implement mandatory inclusionary housing programs and tenant relocation benefits. This means that cities no longer have to keep low income housing for it’s residents. What are some of the results of ending mandatory inclusionary housing requirements? In our district, we have many lower income workers in affluent communities.
This measure would make it difficult to require housing for working families, increasing commute times and adding to increased pollution and congestion.
Proposition 98 is poorly conceived and dangerous to our community. I urge you to vote no.
May 8th, 2008 - Posted in Proposition 98 | | 0 Comments
Free (to) Love
A coalition of religious groups called Protect Marriage have collected more than 1.1 million signatures in support of an amendment to the state constitution that would outlaw same-sex marriage in California. Protect Marriage, to support its petition drive, raised more than $1.5 million in contributions. Although gay men and lesbians cannot legally wed in California, opponents of same-sex unions want the ban written into the state Constitution. In that way, neither the Legislature nor the California Supreme Court can legalize gay marriage without approval from voters.
I am personally offended by the attempt to regulate the love between two adults.
I know in my heart, that we need to support any two people who pledge to be at each other’s side, through all that life has to throw at them. Marriage is not something to be taken lightly; marriage is a life changing and challenging endeavor. Anyone who is of legal age and of sound mind who wants to embark on such a journey should be met with congratulations and support.
The day this measure qualified, I made a personal donation to help keep this amendment from denying Californians the freedom to love, honor, and cherish whoever they want. I am resolute in defending Californians from discrimination of any sort. If your mind is not already made up, I urge you to look inside your heart and wonder, “what if I couldn’t marry the one I love?”
May 8th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments
Standing Up Against Polluting Power Plants
We sent out this press release on the proposal to build power plants in San Francisco this morning. I thought you might find it of interest.
Joe Nation Stands with Protesters Who Rally Against Proposed San Francisco Peaker Power Plants
San Francisco- Joe Nation, candidate for State Senate and the author of landmark climate change legislation issued the following statement today in support of protesters who rallied at City Hall in opposition to building power plants in Potrero Hill:
“I commend the organizations and individuals who rallied at City Hall today to protest the San Francisco Public Utilities District’s ‘Combustion Turbine Project.’ I publicly opposed this plan weeks ago because these power plants will only bring more pollution to an area that’s already overburdened with toxins.”
“As one of my endorsers, community activist Espanola Jackson, says – it’s about environmental justice. We cannot disrespect these communities by building a fossil fueled plant when there are better solutions.”
“I urge the Mayor and the Board of Supervisors to look to renewable energies to meet San Francisco’s energy needs and reject the development of these polluting power plants.”
Nation was the first candidate in the race to represent the 3rd Senate District to oppose the Combustion Turbine Project.
Groups that have spoken in opposition include the Sierra Club, Brightline Defense, the A.Phillip Randolph Institute, Californians for Renewable Energy, San Francisco Planning and Urban Research and the San Francisco Chamber of Commerce.
Joe Nation is a Climate Change Advisor for the environmental consulting firm, ENVIRON International, and an international expert on carbon markets, carbon market policies and carbon finance. He was the principal co-author of AB 32, California’s Global Warming Solutions Act.
Nation served three terms in the California State Assembly. Nation also teaches health care, climate change, and public policy at Stanford University.
May 5th, 2008 - Posted in Environment, Press Release | | 1 Comments
Staggering
For the first time in my life, it took almost $60 dollars to fill the tank on my Accord Hybrid. I know that we have a problem in this country with our dependence on oil; I want to tackle it. First, there are some figures I have been checking into recently that demand attention.
In the last few days, the big oil companies have announced staggering first quarter profits. Mind you, these are profits made in 3 months:
Exxon Mobil-$10.9 billion
Shell-$9.08 billion
BP-$7.62 billion
Chevron-$5.17 billion
ConocoPhillips-$4.14 billion
I was unaware until someone sent me this link showing that for most of this year, refineries have been operating at near historic lows. This seems like a clear manipulation of supply. Who benefits? Lower operating costs for refineries and the resulting higher selling prices for gasoline and diesel explain some of these record profits. As early as 2003, The RAND Corporation completed a study which found that the refining industry has made a strategic decision to restrict supply in order to boost profits. Here is a link to the PDF: (http://www.rand.org/pubs/monograph_reports/MR1707/MR1707.ch2.pdf)
Not to sound like a conspiracy nut, but in my book, when an entire industry cuts back on supply, I call it collusion. Not meeting increased demand with increased supply smacks of market manipulation. Rather than fighting supply shortfalls by reinvesting these huge profits into additional refining and storage capacity, the industry has systematically underinvested. I don’t think making money is bad, but collusion in order to manipulate the market is. This situation has created a shortfall of over 3 million barrels per day in refining capacity. This is not the behavior of ordinary market participants in absence of collusion.
It’s bad enough that people are looking at gas near or over $4 a gallon, but it’s simply outrageous that the oil companies may be manipulating the market to drive prices even higher. It is even more outrageous that the Bush Republicans in Congress feel a stronger allegiance to these oil companies making almost $2.5 billion per week than to their own constituents paying over $80 per week just to make their commute to work. We need help now for American families, and we need to crack down on big oil companies and speculators who are unfairly driving up gas prices.
May 4th, 2008 - Posted in Uncategorized | | 0 Comments