[ From: Zombie Dog Death Wish - Angry Poodle Barks at City Politics, by Nick Welsh, SB Independent, September 17, 2009 ]

... During the Santa Barbara City Council meeting two weeks ago, Councilmember Das Williams stood up during deliberations, walked over to the thermostat, and turned up the ambient temperature setting by three degrees. At the time, the air conditioning was cranking and chambers were decidedly chilly. A few moments later, Councilmember Dale Francisco  —  who sits right next to Williams on the dais  —  got up, walked across the room, and reset the thermostat to a lower reading, thus undoing Williams’s work.

This simple dance sums up the increasingly prickly relationship between the two most ideologically, if not personally, polarized personalities on the council. Not a word  —  not even a glance  —  was exchanged. This week’s showdown between the two, however, was far more overt. About the only thing not exchanged between these two were a few elbows to the throat.

How Das and Dale came to sit next to one another remains one of life’s mysteries, though Mayor Marty Blum’s perverse sense of humor probably is at the heart of it. Williams represents the far left of the council’s political spectrum; Francisco the right. Both men are smart, articulate, and know how to move the chess pieces around to strategic effect. Where Williams is temperamentally effusive, but cool, Francisco is reserved, but hot. Both are intensely competitive; both get under the other’s skin...

Dale, Helene & Das Swearing in, January 2008

[ Full text at: Zombie Dog Death Wish ]

Labels: Dale Francisco, offshore oil drilling

[ From: After Tense Discussion, City Council Votes to Send Letter Opposing Offshore Drilling -
Councilman Dale Francisco is the lone dissenter, asking pointed questions of an EDC attorney and Councilman Das Williams - by Lara Cooper, Noozehawk, September 15, 2009 ]

A tense exchange marked a discussion Tuesday among members of the Santa Barbara City Council about whether to send a letter opposing offshore oil drilling. Ultimately, the discussion led to a 5-1 vote to send the letter of opposition, with Councilman Dale Francisco dissenting. Councilwoman Iya Falcone was absent.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted two weeks ago to send a similar letter.

The letter is part of public comment sought by the Mineral Management Service...

In January, the draft plan for the proposed outer continental shelf oil and gas leasing program for the next five years was released. That same month, the Santa Barbara County supervisors voted 3-2 to approve drilling after a moratorium had been lifted on drilling in federal waters.

With former 3rd District Supervisor Brooks Firestone serving as the swing vote, approval for new leasing made national headlines, all after a deal had been brokered between the Environmental Defense Center and Plains Exploration & Production Co. (PXP), an oil company and backer of a platform off Santa Barbara’s north county coast at Tranquillon Ridge. The EDC’s deal would have required the company to cease production after 14 years, but would allow it to drill in the meantime.

When the issue came before the State Lands Commission, however, it rejected it on a 2-1 vote. Councilman Das Williiams, who supported putting the letter on the council’s agenda, said he favored sending it and “reiterating our past opposition.”

“I think it’s very clear that the majority of our constituents are opposed to new leasing,” he said.

Councilwoman Helene Schneider said she supported sending the letter as a clarification to the Board of Supervisors’ vote earlier in the year.

“It created a lot of confusion,” she said, when national media outlets picked up on the story in January.

Eight members of the public spoke during public comment Tuesday, with five speakers supporting the letter and three opposing...

The discussion turned tense when Nathan Alley, an attorney for the Environmental Defense Center, [was asked by council member] Francisco... whether the letter dealt with drilling in federal or state waters, and Alley clarified that the letter dealt with offshore leasing in federal waters, not in state waters, where the drilling would occur for the Tranquillon Ridge project...

“Why are we talking about federal waters instead of state?” Francisco asked.

Alley responded that because the issue was time sensitive, with a deadline for public comment looming, the issue needed to be addressed sooner rather than later, and that the EDC’s deal dealt only with state waters as far as Tranquillon Ridge was concerned.

“You’d be pumping more oil in the short term, but you’d be pumping it for much less time,” he said.

Francisco asked whether oil would be pumped for 14 years, and Alley replied that it could be pumped for a shorter amount of time. Francisco persisted, asking “Is that correct?” several times.

“Excuse me,” Mayor Blum called out, taking issue with Francisco’s tone. “That’s not being civil or kind.”

Francisco shot back: “We don’t usually respond to public comment either, and you’ve felt free to do that. I have some questions to ask. May I continue to ask them?”

“Yeah, but if you could do it in a nice, civil way, we would appreciate it,” Blum said.

Francisco also asked Williams about the timing of the letter. “If this was so critically important to bring before council, and we had seven months to comment on a 149-page report, why did you wait until a week before the end of the comment period to bring it to us?” he asked.

Francisco also took issue with council time being used for the topic, and that the letter stated that the city had reviewed the whole document.

“I’m not aware of any review by the city,” he said.

Williams said the timing of the issue was partly because the county had sent a similar letter and asked the city to do the same. The staff has been reviewing the issue for months internally, Williams said, but that the council hasn’t had a regular meeting for the past two weeks, further delaying the item.

“It’s an important matter for us to clarify to the world, which was obviously very confused last year as a result of the reversal by the Board of Supervisors,” Williams said.

He said halting existing operations would be “the ideal situation.”

Blum said she had reviewed the material and was comfortable signing the letter, but Francisco was not.

“The idea that we have somehow reviewed a 149-page document is absurd,” he said, adding that by signing a letter saying the council had read the document was “a misuse of the role of actually considering things before we act.”

“I will not be voting for this misrepresentation of our work,” he said.



Oil drilling discussion turns testy, by Eric Lindberg, Daily Sound, Sept. 16, 2009 ]

... The City Council ultimately voted 5-1 in favor of firing off the letter to the federal Minerals Management Service, but not before Councilmember Dale Francisco criticized his colleagues for even bringing the topic to the table.

“We’re not considering it,” he said. “Nobody here has really talked about what the draft proposal says other than in the vaguest terms.”

Francisco was referring to the draft five-year plan for new oil and gas leasing along the outer continental shelf released earlier this year by the federal Department of the Interior. With two drilling proposals pending in waters off the coast of Santa Barbara, Councilmembers Das Williams and Helene Schneider placed the item on the agenda for discussion to reiterate the city’s opposition to new leasing.

“It’s an important matter to the people of this city,” Williams said. “It’s an important matter for us to clarify to the world … that Santa Barbara is opposed to new federal oil drilling.”

But Francisco took issue with the timing of the agenda item, as well as portions of the letter indicating that the city had reviewed the proposed leasing plan.

“If this was so critically important to bring before council and we’ve had seven months to comment on a 140-page report, why did you wait until there is less than a week left before the comments are due?” he said, facing Williams directly. He added later, “By signing on to the letter like this, claiming to review a report that we clearly have not, I believe that is a misuse of our role of actually considering things before we act.”

Williams countered that city staff had been reviewing the proposal and scheduling conflicts had relegated the item to yesterday’s agenda. He also combed over significant portions of the document, he said, and Mayor Marty Blum chimed in to say that she had also read the leasing proposal.

“We, as a city, did review this,” Williams said. “Staff has already been working on this. This is not just something we invented yesterday.”

In addition to sparking fireworks on the dais, the agenda item also drew several outspoken critics and proponents of offshore drilling to council chambers.

Representatives from Get Oil Out!, the Environmental Defense Center and Sierra Club logged their strong support of the letter and reflected on the oil spill of 1969 that spoiled the coastline of Santa Barbara.

“We need to do everything we can to prevent a repetition of the nightmare of 1969,” said Dr. Jessica Powell, a board member of GOO!

John Powell, president of GOO!, added, “We’ve got to stop looking in the wrong places for energy. If we keep digging up dinosaurs and putting stuff up into the atmosphere, we’re heading for trouble.”

Other speakers fell on the side of increased oil production as a way to reduce natural oil pollution at local beaches. Bruce Allen, of Stop Oil Seeps, said he was opposed to sending the letter, but proposed a few changes to reflect the impact of natural oil seepage on the environment.

“We would recommend that it start with the sentence that basically speaks to the very large environmental benefits that offshore oil and gas production has had on our coastline,” he said, contending that beaches are far cleaner with less tar pollution due to oil drilling reducing the pressure that creates natural seeps.

As drafted, the letter instead focuses on the potential negative impacts to the local environment posed by offshore oil and gas production, noting that new leases would prolong the use of aging and unsightly platforms and would likely lead to the installation of new oil production infrastructure.

“We need to get rid of existing operations and stop new drilling,” Williams said. “When those can be accomplished, that is the ideal situation.”

As the councilmembers flipped on their microphones to cast votes in favor of sending the letter, Francisco was the only person to hold back. Instead, he leaned forward and paused for several beats before logging his “no” vote.



[ From Das, as reported in Council votes to take against offshore drilling, Edhat, September 15, 2009 ]

SANTA BARBARA, CA – Santa Barbara City Councilmembers Das Williams and Helene Schneider today called on the City Council to oppose new Federal offshore oil drilling. Williams and Schneider requested that the city council vote in favor of sending a letter to the Minerals Management Service opposing any new Federal oil leases off the coast of Santa Barbara. The Minerals Management Service, a bureau of the U.S. Department of the Interior, is currently preparing a proposed oil and gas leasing program that includes potential new oil leases in the Santa Barbara and Ventura Area. The City Council voted in favor of sending the letter by a 5 to 1 vote.

“Allowing new Federal oil leases off our coast would be disastrous to our efforts to end oil drilling,” stated Councilmember Das Williams. “This plan would have negative impacts on our local economy, put our environment at risk and open the door to additional new oil facilities both on and off shore. We need to be focused on stopping oil development and reducing consumption, while investing in green technologies like alternative fuels and solar power.”

The Santa Barbara City Council has a long history of opposing oil drilling. The City’s General Plan states that the City should “continue efforts to prohibit new oil exploration, drilling and production in the channel and to cause the termination of existing leases and the removal of platform structures.”

“We are constantly facing new environmental challenges. It is important that the City of Santa Barbara oppose any new Federal oil drilling lease and that we use any means possible to bring a definitive end to all new and existing oil drilling,” said Santa Barbara Councilmember Das Williams. My goal is simple, to put an end to oil development and protect our coast from new projects that bring new drilling to our coast.”

Labels: offshore oil drilling, Tranquillon Ridge

[ From: "Governor Arnold’s Big Oily Surprise - Disputed Santa Barbara Offshore Oil Deal Makes a Comeback," by Jerry Roberts, SB INDEPENDENT, May 21, 2009 ]


Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s bid to resurrect a defeated plan to authorize a new lease for oil drilling off the Santa Barbara County coast...

“This hit us out of the blue,” said Linda Krop, chief counsel for the Environmental Defense Center (EDC)...

That deal, negotiated between the EDC and the Houston-based PXP Energy Company, involved a novel swap to give both sides some of what they wanted: PXP, already drilling in federal waters off the coast near Vandenberg Air Force Base, would gain additional drilling rights in nearby state waters until 2022; in exchange, they agreed to permanently shut down four existing platforms that year, along with a batch of other pro-environment concessions.

“We’re definitely hearing a whole lot more concern about this process,” Krop said, after a weekend taking the temperature of the enviro community. “We [want] to make sure that whatever process unfolds is fair, and respectful of the various agencies and jurisdictions.”

... a consensus among environmentalists seemed to be coalescing in opposition to Arnold’s proposal; opinions remain polarized about the PXP deal itself, however. The dynamic is clear in the Jordan/Das Williams Democratic primary race for Nava’s soon-to-be-vacant seat...

Williams said he “stands with EDC” in looking for alternative ways to breathe new life into the agreement with PXP, and to address environmental concerns raised by Lands Commission staff. But he added, “It’s not right to sidestep the process just because [the commission vote] didn’t go our way.”

“My gut feeling is [Schwarzenegger’s plan] is the right thing obtained the wrong way,” he said...

Labels: 35th Assembly District, offshore oil drilling, Tranquillon Ridge

[ From: "Democrats Pick Sides in 2010 State Assembly Race - Supervisor Endorsements Ring in for Das Williams and Susan Jordan in Sure-to-Be Major Showdown," By Chris Meagher, SB INDEPENDENT, May 20, 2009 ]


... Santa Barbara County’s 2nd District Supervisor Janet Wolf... is endorsing Susan Jordan, the wife of the current Assembly seat holder Pedro Nava, who the supervisor called “extremely thorough and very bright.” Wolf’s colleague Doreen Farr, the county’s 3rd District Supervisor, indicated she will be supporting Das Williams, the Santa Barbara City Councilmember who is running against Jordan, and citied Williams' hard work in the community on a number of issues...

Though he welcomed Farr’s support, Williams, however, wasn’t happy about Wolf’s support of his new opponent. “I’m very disappointed given how closely we’ve worked on a number of issues,” said Williams, who also enjoys the support of 1st District Salud Carbajal and a majority of South Coast city councilmembers...

... Farr said that Williams’ understanding of what matters most locally is what drew her support. “Growing up here and being involved, he understands and knows local issues,” Farr said, explaining that he was raised in Isla Vista, knows about the needs of the Santa Ynez Valley (also in Farr’s district), and has a working knowledge of many issues facing the region, such as water supplies. Williams worked hard on Farr’s behalf to get her elected in the fall, walking precincts in Isla Vista...

Labels: 35th Assembly District, offshore oil drilling, Susan Jordan, Tranquillon Ridge

In his latest budget proposal, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is pushing legislation that he says would raise $1.8 billion for cash-strapped California by allowing the first new oil drilling project off the state's coast in 40 years.

Labels: offshore oil drilling, Tranquillon Ridge

[ From: "Governor keen to revive Santa Barbara oil-drilling plan" By Timm Herdt, Ventura County Star, May 15, 2009 - Podcast of this article ]


SACRAMENTO — A controversial proposal to allow the first new oil drilling in state waters since the Santa Barbara oil spill 40 years ago has been resurrected by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in the revised budget plan he presented to lawmakers this week.

The proposal, which had been supported by environmental groups in Santa Barbara, was shot down earlier this year on a 2-1 vote of the State Lands Commission.

Schwarzenegger, who says the Tranquillon Ridge oil lease would generate $1.8 billion in advance royalties to the state over the next 14 years, is seeking legislation as part of any upcoming budget deal that would allow the project to bypass Lands Commission review.

Under the proposal, the oil company would speed up royalty payments to the state, providing $100 million that could be used to help balance next year’s budget.

The proposal would allow slant drilling from an existing oil platform in federal waters. The new wells would draw from an oil reservoir beneath state waters.

As part of its application, the Plains Exploration & Production oil company had agreed to decommission three existing oil platforms and oil-processing facilities in Gaviota in 14 years. That trade-off won the support of traditional offshore-oil foes in Santa Barbara, such as the Environmental Defense Center, whose executives believed the deal provided the means to achieve their ultimate objective: to permanently rid the Santa Barbara coast of oil drilling.

State Natural Resources Agency Secretary Mike Chrisman said Friday those agreements would stay in place under the administration’s proposal. “A lot of folks in that part of the state put a lot of work into this,” he said. “We think it’s a fair proposal. It generates significant revenues. We think it’s time.”

The executive director of the Environmental Defense Center, however, said Friday that his group has grave concerns about Schwarzenegger’s proposal because of the precedent it would set in subverting the established environmental review process.

“The EDC and our clients all believe this continues to be a good deal and should move forward,” said David Landecker. “The procedure is a little frightening, because we believe the process is a good one even if we didn’t get the result we wanted in this case.”

Assemblyman Pedro Nava, D-Santa Barbara, has been a leading critic of the proposal from the outset and helped lobby the Lands Commission to reject the plan.

He said he will immediately begin rallying opposition among other legislators who represent coastal districts. “I think it’s important to step up, and step up early.”

Nava said he anticipates Schwarzenegger will seek to have the drilling plan incorporated into any upcoming budget deal — which means it could be encompassed in what are known as budget “trailer bills,” which typically receive little public review.

“It is the antithesis of intelligent public policy evaluation,” Nava said. “You completely avoid the public hearing process.”

Nava said that because of the 1969 oil spill, which is often cited as the event that spurred the creation of the modern environmental movement, Santa Barbara holds a special, symbolic position in the public’s perception of offshore oil drilling. He said the Santa Barbara coast should be treated with the same reverence as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska.

“My concern is that if you can drill in Santa Barbara, you can drill anywhere in California,” he said. “If you cannot protect the environment in these places, you can’t protect it anywhere.”

Nava noted Santa Barbara County’s review of the proposal concluded it would increase the risk and severity of oil spills. In addition, testimony from the Attorney General’s Office to the Lands Commission expressed doubt on whether the agreement to terminate drilling activities by 2022 could be “reliably enforced.”

The issue has created a fracture among Democrats in Santa Barbara County that has spilled over into the political jockeying over who will replace Nava in the Assembly after he is “termed out” next year.

Susan Jordan, an environmental activist and Nava’s wife, appeared to have a clear path to the nomination. But because of Jordan’s and Nava’s opposition to the project, Santa Barbara Councilman Das Williams rescinded his endorsement of her and announced he will enter the race.

The two sides remain divided over the merits of the proposal but now appear to be united in their opposition to the end-run approach Schwarzenegger is proposing.

“It’s problematic that the governor wants to ignore the process,” said Landecker. “Let’s take Cabrillo Port (a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal off the Oxnard coast). The Lands Commission, after days of hearings and listening to hours of testimony, decided it was not a good project, although the decision probably cost the state some revenue.

“What if, after that decision, the Governor’s Office had said, ‘Let’s overrule it?’ ”

Labels: 35th Assembly District, offshore oil drilling

Das' newsletter is emailed periodically. If you are not already on the distribution list and would like to be, please email: das@legendarysurfers.com (Das' email address for the newsletter only).


DAS WILLIAMS Newsletter # 7, April 2009


Contents:

1. Outer Continental Shelf Oil Drilling
2. Westside Cleanup - April 25
3. Townhall Meeting on Education - May 1
4. Recommended 2010 Available for Review


Dear Friends and Family,

It's been crazy busy for me lately and I'm excited to share some updates about the positive things that have been going on. Jennifer had her cartilage graft surgery this past weekend and has been such a trooper through this entire process. She's on the path to recovery and we couldn't be more thrilled.


1. Last week, I had a small group meeting with President Obama's new Interior Secretary Ken Salazar in San Francisco, and even had the opportunity to talk to him one-on-one for one minute. I made that 60 seconds count, telling him we are willing to look at alternative energy, but that new oil drilling is unacceptable. As part of a delegation which spoke against the issuance of new leases to drill oil on California's Outer Continental Shelf, we asked that all areas off the California coast be left out of the plan for new drilling leases, particularly Santa Barbara due to its immense biodiversity and the fact that it is already burdened by more than its share of oil operations.


2. [from the Daily Sound] "Santa Barbara city and community leaders are organizing a cleanup of the Westside neighborhood designed to pick up litter, remove graffiti, and document broken sidewalks and damaged signs.

"Participants will meet at the Westside Community Center parking lot at 423 W. Victoria St. at 9 a.m. on Saturday, April 25. Organizers will put together cleanup teams, hand out materials and supplies, and assign volunteers to various designated areas throughout the neighborhood.

"Most of the work is expected to take place within the boundaries of Castillo, Micheltorena, De la Vina and Figueroa streets. More information is available by calling Antonio Velasquez, the city's community services supervisor, at 963-7657."


3. Over the past couple months, I've had several conversations with teachers and school board members who are all wondering how they are going to properly educate our children without adequate state funding. As a school board member myself, I'm very familiar with their concerns. It is for this reason that I invited Senator Gloria Romero, Chair of the California State Senate Education Committee, to attend a townhall meeting in our community. Together, we can use this forum to inform state leaders about the damage that budget cuts are doing to our public education system, and therefore to our kids. I'd love it if you could attend and help defend public education funding. Here are the details:

Place: Foothill Tech High, Spirito Hall (100 Day Rd, Ventura)

Time: Friday, May 1st 4-6pm

RSVP/ send statement to: Das.Williams09@gmail.com


4. The balanced, but not yet fixed draft budget for the City of Santa Barbara is now available for review.

[from the city's press release, 4/21/09] "The City of Santa Barbara released its Recommended Budget for Fiscal Year 2010, initiatingCity Council and public review of the proposed plan. The budget includes a total operating budget of $253.2 million and a capital budget totaling $29.2 million. The General Fund operating budget is $104.7 million, providing funding for police, fire, parks, recreation, library, community development, and administrative services.

"Due to declining revenues, the City estimates a $10.8 million deficit in the upcoming fiscal year beginning July 1, 2009, if no actions are taken. This represents approximately 10% of the General Fund operating budget. The budget balancing strategy involves a combination of the following measures: 1) department budget reductions; 2) increases in various fees and charges; 3) citywide labor measures such as a mandatory furlough; 4) structural budget changes; and 5) delays to capital improvements.

"During April and May, each department budget will be presented to Council with an overview of revenues, expenses, balancing strategy, service impacts, and proposed work plan for the upcoming year. The City Council will adopt a budget by June 30, 2009.

"According to City Administrator Jim Armstrong, "I am proud of the professionalism in which the organization dealt with these difficult decisions, and the strong emphasis on maintaining services, while trying to minimize employee layoffs."

The budget document, a schedule of public review meetings, frequently asked questions, and videos of Council budget discussions are available on the City's website at: www.SantaBarbaraCA.gov. The budget document is also available at the City Clerk's Office at 735 Anacapa Street and the Public Library at 40 E. Anapamu Street."

For more information, Contact: Nina Johnson, Assistant to the City Administrator
Phone: 805-564-5307 | Fax: 805-897-1993, NJohnson@SantaBarbaraCA.gov

Thank you for reading my periodic newsletter. Please share with family and friends.


DAS

Labels: 2010, budget, newsletter, offshore oil drilling

[ From: "Offshore Oil Foes Pack Hearing on New Exploration - Drilling critics press their case at San Francisco meeting with Obama administration," By Sonia Fernandez, Noozhawk, 04.18.2009 ]


People from all over California... [attended the] petroleum exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf... hearings, moderated by Interior Secretary Ken Salazar... one of a series as his department considers a five-year program for oil and gas production.

A contingent from Santa Barbara County also made it to the hearing, including staff from the offices of Rep. Lois Capps, D-Santa Barbara, and Supervisors Salud Carbajal and Janet Wolf. Santa Barbara City Councilman Das Williams and Linda Krop, chief counsel at the Environmental Defense Center, also were on hand.

“We’re not NIMBYs, we’re looking at alternative energies and we’re open to exploring that,” said Williams, who was part of a delegation that spoke with Salazar prior to the hearing.

The group was one of many that turned out for the Thursday morning hearing, urging Salazar to reconsider the recently expired presidential and congressional moratoria on new oil leases in federal waters. The proposed five-year plan could open up 130 million acres of California coast to new exploration. Opponents say the risk to the environment outweighs the benefits the new exploration may provide...

Although the majority of speakers opposed new exploration and development, Carpinteria City Councilman Joe Armendariz, business leaders and representatives of the petroleum industry were also present to urge Salazar to consider the new oil operations...

At the height of last summer’s gas price increases, the Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to send a letter urging Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to take advantage of the lifting of the moratoria. The cities of Goleta and Santa Barbara subsequently passed resolutions against new drilling and last week the new majority on the Board of Supervisors reversed the previous board’s decision by passing its own resolution against new drilling.

Comment on the draft proposed five-year program will be accepted until Sept. 21. To comment and also for more information, go to the website for the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Labels: offshore oil drilling, oil