Clean Water & Jobs for CA Opposes Proposition 53

September 20, 2016

For Immediate Release

Contact: Steven Maviglio, 916-607-8340

CLEAN WATER & JOBS FOR CALIFORNIA OPPOSES PROP 53

Group Says It Could Imperil Water Projects Across State

 

SACRAMENTO – Saying it could threaten a wide range of water projects throughout the state, Clean Water & Jobs for California today announced its opposition to Proposition 53, the November ballot measure that undermines local control.

“In November 2014, Californians overwhelmingly passed Proposition 1 to move forward a wide range of water projects, vital water infrastructure that Proposition 53 threatens,” said Tim Quinn, President of the group, which is spearheaded by the Association of California Water Agencies, the California Latino Water Coalition, and the California Building Industry Association.

“This proposition, if passed, will definitely threaten major storage projects and other large scale investments that require the involvement of the state. Also, because of the legal uncertainty Proposition 53 would clearly create, it could undermine the success of a wide array of other local projects.  Requiring a statewide vote for local projects that local citizens support and are willing to pay for robs those communities of their local discretion,” Quinn added.

“This ballot measure claims to be about ‘empowering voters’ to decide what

infrastructure projects to fund but the exact opposite is true,” said Richard Lyon, treasurer for the Coalition. “The threats to erode local control go well beyond water storage and would impact other infrastructure investments needed to manage stormwater and floods, education, and transportation.”

In addition, Prop. 53 also would impair the ability to repair water projects to rebuild following earthquakes, wildfires, floods or other natural or other disasters.

Clean Water and Jobs for California joins a statewide coalition of more than 240 local and statewide groups opposed to Proposition 53, including California Professional Firefighters, League of California Cities, California Chamber of Commerce, and Self-Help Counties Coalition.

Clean Water and Jobs for California is a coalition of business, agriculture, labor, public water agencies and others organized to educate Californians about the need to invest in the state’s water system to sustain and grow jobs and the economy.

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Paid for by No on Prop 53 – Californians to Protect Local Control, a coalition of public safety, local government, business and labor organizations, and taxpayers. Major funding by California Construction Industry Labor Management Cooperation Trust and Laborers Pacific Southwest Regional Organizing Coalition Issues PAC (Committee).