WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.120 --> 00:00:05.120 One of the things I hate about California politics. I mean, 2 00:00:05.240 --> 00:00:07.080 maybe I should write the book Things I Hate about 3 00:00:07.120 --> 00:00:10.640 California Politics. It can be two thousand pages long. One 4 00:00:10.679 --> 00:00:12.960 of the many things I hate about California politics is 5 00:00:13.240 --> 00:00:24.320 the atmosphere of knowing why certain things are problematic, complaining 6 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:30.359 about that problem, never doing anything to address it because 7 00:00:30.760 --> 00:00:34.520 you actually don't really want to solve the problem. And 8 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:36.240 there are a lot of things in California politics that 9 00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:39.320 like that that are like that. People will complain about 10 00:00:39.399 --> 00:00:42.679 high gas prices. Democrats will complain about high gas prices. 11 00:00:43.640 --> 00:00:47.479 They all know why gas prices are high. Gas prices 12 00:00:47.520 --> 00:00:51.000 are high because we have very high taxes on gasoline 13 00:00:51.359 --> 00:00:55.240 and we have a really onerous body of regulations on 14 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:01.479 gasoline and fuel emissions that requires a separate California basically 15 00:01:01.560 --> 00:01:04.159 has to become a gas island. It has to have 16 00:01:04.200 --> 00:01:07.359 its own system of refineries and stuff because the mix 17 00:01:07.959 --> 00:01:11.079 that comes out, the mix of gas that comes out 18 00:01:11.079 --> 00:01:13.000 of the pump in California has to be different from 19 00:01:13.000 --> 00:01:18.840 other states because our emission standards are different. So we 20 00:01:18.920 --> 00:01:22.120 all know why gas is expensive in California, and the 21 00:01:22.159 --> 00:01:25.920 obvious solution is, well, stop regulating gas like that and 22 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:28.079 cut gas taxes, but no, they don't want to do 23 00:01:28.120 --> 00:01:34.680 those things. California politicians would really just rather keep it 24 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:39.400 the way. It is obviously that they fully understand the problem, 25 00:01:39.879 --> 00:01:42.480 they fully understand what the solution to the problem is, 26 00:01:42.760 --> 00:01:47.879 and they just don't want to do it. Liberals fully 27 00:01:48.040 --> 00:01:52.680 understand why and why don't they want to fix it? 28 00:01:52.719 --> 00:01:55.840 Well a couple of different reasons, but I think it's 29 00:01:55.959 --> 00:02:01.519 chiefly because liberals run the state. Liberals are beholden to 30 00:02:01.640 --> 00:02:07.040 the environmental groups. The environmental groups have bazillionaire billionaire, genuinely 31 00:02:07.079 --> 00:02:10.719 billionaire donors that Democratic politicians don't want to cross because 32 00:02:10.719 --> 00:02:14.639 they don't want to lose elections, and they Democrats never 33 00:02:14.759 --> 00:02:18.319 want to pass any kind of regulation that would result 34 00:02:18.400 --> 00:02:21.080 in more emissions or more harms of the environment. It 35 00:02:21.240 --> 00:02:24.439 just goes totally against the grain. So they're not going 36 00:02:24.520 --> 00:02:29.919 to change anything that makes gas prices high. In fact, 37 00:02:29.919 --> 00:02:34.120 that their proposed solutions is to accuse the gas companies 38 00:02:34.120 --> 00:02:39.039 of price gouging and then pass regulations on the gas 39 00:02:39.080 --> 00:02:42.479 companies that actually might make prices more expensive because gas 40 00:02:42.520 --> 00:02:46.520 companies will start pulling out of the necessary investment they 41 00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:49.599 need to maintain refineries and things like that in California anyway. 42 00:02:49.680 --> 00:02:52.360 There are a lot of problems like that in California 43 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:55.000 where everyone knows the problem, everyone knows the solutions to 44 00:02:55.039 --> 00:02:57.919 the problem, and no one cares, no one actually wants. 45 00:02:58.360 --> 00:03:01.400 And by no one, I mean the Democrat ruts who 46 00:03:01.439 --> 00:03:05.479 control seventy five percent of all the seats in the 47 00:03:05.479 --> 00:03:09.759 state legislature, and the governor's mansion and the courts and 48 00:03:10.000 --> 00:03:14.560 the entire executive bureaucracy and all the appointed regulatory boards 49 00:03:14.599 --> 00:03:19.759 and blah blah blah blah. Another problem like that, where 50 00:03:19.800 --> 00:03:24.360 we all know the problems is why don't we build enough? 51 00:03:25.080 --> 00:03:28.159 You know, why is infrastructure so slow to be completed? 52 00:03:28.719 --> 00:03:31.639 Why is it does it take so long to build 53 00:03:32.599 --> 00:03:37.039 new houses? Again, it's a thing where everyone in California 54 00:03:37.120 --> 00:03:45.520 understands why, everyone gets it, everyone knows why. There are 55 00:03:45.759 --> 00:03:48.479 many reasons, and one of the foremost of them is SEQUA, 56 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:54.759 the California Environmental Quality Act California Environmental Quality Act, which 57 00:03:55.120 --> 00:03:59.319 allows any Tom, Dick or Harry to file a lawsuit 58 00:03:59.680 --> 00:04:07.159 to stop construction of whatever is being constructed. If you 59 00:04:07.800 --> 00:04:10.479 have a housing development and you want to stop it cold, 60 00:04:10.680 --> 00:04:13.199 you file some lawsuit and you say under SEQUA that 61 00:04:13.280 --> 00:04:21.000 this project's environmental review it's environmental review study was basically inadequate, 62 00:04:23.680 --> 00:04:27.000 And you don't have to be a party that's directly 63 00:04:27.040 --> 00:04:30.120 negatively impacted in order to file a lawsuit or you 64 00:04:30.160 --> 00:04:32.879 know that the amount of causation you have to show 65 00:04:33.079 --> 00:04:37.160 can be much more attenuated than it would be for 66 00:04:37.319 --> 00:04:39.519 normal lawsuits where you have to make a normal showing 67 00:04:39.519 --> 00:04:44.680 of standing. You know, how directly are you adversely impacted 68 00:04:44.680 --> 00:04:49.279 by the specific amount of you know, pollution that would 69 00:04:49.279 --> 00:04:53.920 come from this particular construction project. You know, how do 70 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:56.160 we measure that? That would be impossible to measure and 71 00:04:56.480 --> 00:04:59.959 to really determine that you have standing under normal tradition 72 00:05:00.120 --> 00:05:06.759 rules of standing, so anyone can sue. So everyone again 73 00:05:07.000 --> 00:05:12.199 knows the problem. SEQUA is the problem, and for years 74 00:05:13.319 --> 00:05:16.920 Democrats have understood that that was the problem and just 75 00:05:16.959 --> 00:05:20.800 decided to ignore the problem because they would rather just 76 00:05:21.319 --> 00:05:24.959 keep having the problem and keep having their billionaire environmental 77 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:29.360 donors give them money. That's the long and short of it. 78 00:05:29.439 --> 00:05:33.399 Everyone understands that's the problem. Moderates understand it's a problem. 79 00:05:33.519 --> 00:05:36.399 Republicans understand it's the problem. But the Democratic Party controls 80 00:05:36.439 --> 00:05:41.240 three quarters of all the seats and the governor's office. 81 00:05:41.680 --> 00:05:46.079 So as long as that's the case, sequa's not going 82 00:05:46.160 --> 00:05:50.000 to go anywhere. Now you're starting to see some cracks. 83 00:05:50.920 --> 00:05:54.800 Buffy Wicks, an assembly member from Oakland, fairly prominent member 84 00:05:54.800 --> 00:05:58.600 of the state Assembly, introduced a bunch of bills to 85 00:05:58.639 --> 00:06:01.199 get rid of big parts parts of SEQUA. It's like 86 00:06:01.240 --> 00:06:03.680 the first time a Democrat has been willing to do that. 87 00:06:06.439 --> 00:06:11.959 But until the Democrats, that's the thing, everyone knows the problem. 88 00:06:12.240 --> 00:06:15.839 Democrats have just ignored the problem because they would rather 89 00:06:15.920 --> 00:06:20.199 not tick off their donors, slash political supporters, and they 90 00:06:20.240 --> 00:06:22.360 don't want to do anything that would have some like 91 00:06:22.519 --> 00:06:29.959 net lesser effect on the environment. It's only I think 92 00:06:30.000 --> 00:06:33.279 they're only willing to go into SEQUA because people have 93 00:06:33.360 --> 00:06:37.399 realized that literally, anyone can use SEQUA to stop some 94 00:06:37.560 --> 00:06:39.920 development that they don't like, even if the real reason 95 00:06:39.920 --> 00:06:42.120 they don't like it has nothing to do with the environment. 96 00:06:42.639 --> 00:06:46.040 You can have a rival builder file a lawsuit to 97 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:51.160 stop something. You can have a you know, neighbors who 98 00:06:51.160 --> 00:06:53.600 don't want say a multi unit dwelling near their home. 99 00:06:55.079 --> 00:06:57.959 Anyone can use it. They just can pretend that it's 100 00:06:57.959 --> 00:07:01.759 for an environmental reason, and then labor unions often can 101 00:07:01.839 --> 00:07:04.360 use it to sort of squeeze groups into you know, 102 00:07:04.439 --> 00:07:09.040 requiring that they use prevailing wage for construction and then 103 00:07:09.120 --> 00:07:12.959 that massively increases construction costs and blah blah blah blah blah. 104 00:07:12.959 --> 00:07:21.720 All right, so what annoys me is that there are 105 00:07:21.759 --> 00:07:25.800 like five people left who still cheer in America or 106 00:07:25.920 --> 00:07:30.759 in California anyway. Well, let me correct that the only 107 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:34.920 people left in California who think SEQUA based lawsuits are 108 00:07:34.959 --> 00:07:39.480 a good idea are basically most of the state legislature, 109 00:07:41.920 --> 00:07:43.759 the governor. Well, and they don't even think it's a 110 00:07:43.800 --> 00:07:46.199 good idea, but they'd rather keep SEQUA in place because 111 00:07:46.199 --> 00:07:48.040 they don't want to tick off their donors. So the 112 00:07:48.079 --> 00:07:51.439 only people left in California who want SEQUA around are 113 00:07:51.959 --> 00:07:56.240 the majority in the state legislature, the governor, and Marrik 114 00:07:56.279 --> 00:08:04.600 Warzowski from the Fresno b Apparently, so Warzowski, he's a fascinating, 115 00:08:05.319 --> 00:08:09.759 fascinating fellow. He lives in Clovis and writes all these 116 00:08:09.839 --> 00:08:13.360 articles about how terrible Clovis is the city of his 117 00:08:13.480 --> 00:08:17.120 choice because it's conservative and it's a really nice place 118 00:08:17.120 --> 00:08:20.560 to live. And I feel like he is expresses in 119 00:08:20.600 --> 00:08:24.120 his columns in the Presno b this real angst over 120 00:08:24.160 --> 00:08:31.759 that he is also, bizarrely just the biggest fan of 121 00:08:31.879 --> 00:08:35.679 Sandra Celadon. You've ever seen Sandra Salodon, who is the 122 00:08:35.720 --> 00:08:39.840 CEO of Fresno building Healthy Communities, and she's going to 123 00:08:39.919 --> 00:08:46.000 run for the State Assembly, and Sandra Saladan, Let anyone forget. 124 00:08:46.039 --> 00:08:49.039 I'll make sure nobody forgets. Insofar as I am able. 125 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:52.480 This is Sandra burn it Down Celadan, the gal who 126 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:56.519 during the George Floyd riots when they were starting, she 127 00:08:56.679 --> 00:08:59.960 retweeted out a video of a police precinct building burnt 128 00:09:00.200 --> 00:09:04.039 down in Minneapolis with the tweet burn it all Down. 129 00:09:06.559 --> 00:09:09.440 She then proceeded somehow after saying she was sorry, and 130 00:09:09.480 --> 00:09:11.759 I guess everyone just sort of forgave her. She became 131 00:09:11.799 --> 00:09:14.879 the vice chair of the Fresno Police Reform Commission, with 132 00:09:15.240 --> 00:09:21.360 predictably stupid left wing results because she basically railroaded Oliver Baines, 133 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.159 I think, and wound up writing the whole thing herself. 134 00:09:24.200 --> 00:09:26.360 At least I hope she railroaded Oliver bans because if 135 00:09:26.360 --> 00:09:29.120 Oliver Bins actually wrote that stuff, shame on him. The 136 00:09:29.159 --> 00:09:34.080 Police Reform Commission's report was basically full of phony, blooney history, 137 00:09:35.159 --> 00:09:38.759 trying to paint this false historical picture that all policing 138 00:09:38.799 --> 00:09:41.279 in the United States is rooted in racism, that the 139 00:09:41.320 --> 00:09:45.320 whole legacy of policing in America's racist. Anyway. Maryorkworzowski loves 140 00:09:45.320 --> 00:09:48.960 Sandra Saladon. He's like going to fundraisers for now, he's 141 00:09:49.000 --> 00:09:53.279 writing columns about how wonderful her nonprofit Resnue building healthy 142 00:09:53.279 --> 00:10:00.480 communities is why for filing lawsuits to stop infrastructured development. 143 00:10:02.360 --> 00:10:06.840 South Fresno community groups score another victory with appeals court ruling. 144 00:10:07.720 --> 00:10:11.039 For several decades, South Fresno residents were powerless in preventing 145 00:10:11.080 --> 00:10:14.960 polluting industries and distribution centers from getting shoved down their throats, 146 00:10:15.000 --> 00:10:18.559 regardless of the deleterious effects on their health. Recently, they've 147 00:10:18.600 --> 00:10:20.960 been fighting back and in an increasing number of cases, 148 00:10:20.960 --> 00:10:23.840 fighting back and winning. The latest example came in March, 149 00:10:23.879 --> 00:10:26.840 when a state appeals court sided with community groups quote 150 00:10:26.879 --> 00:10:29.799 community groups. What we mean by quote community groups is 151 00:10:29.879 --> 00:10:35.120 left wing nonprofits funded from Los Angeles in their ongoing 152 00:10:35.200 --> 00:10:38.600 legal battle with Caltrans and the Federal Highway Administration over 153 00:10:38.720 --> 00:10:42.159 major expansion of the North Avenue and American Avenue freeway 154 00:10:42.200 --> 00:10:46.720 interchanges on Highway ninety nine. The appellate Court granted a 155 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:51.039 petition submitted in November by Friends of Kalawa, Inc. And 156 00:10:51.120 --> 00:10:54.960 Fresno Building Healthy Communities that should, without waiting too deep 157 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:58.360 into the legal muck, finally compel Caltrans to justify its 158 00:10:58.480 --> 00:11:01.600 environmental review for the one hundred and forty million dollar project. 159 00:11:02.279 --> 00:11:06.720 So this is a sequel law too. Clearly, Caltrans does, 160 00:11:08.080 --> 00:11:14.440 I am sure, an enormous environmental review. It's a state 161 00:11:14.799 --> 00:11:22.279 run agency, so we're gonna let private persons sue the 162 00:11:22.320 --> 00:11:25.720 state agency. The state agency, which by the way is 163 00:11:25.799 --> 00:11:30.519 probably a load has has environmental lawyers I'm sure who 164 00:11:30.559 --> 00:11:34.240 work for it, who do these environmental impact reports, and 165 00:11:34.279 --> 00:11:38.480 who guide the agency about all kinds of stuff. I'm 166 00:11:38.480 --> 00:11:40.720 sures they're subject to all kinds of green requirements. Blah 167 00:11:40.720 --> 00:11:46.639 blah blah blah blah. They've already done this massive environmental 168 00:11:46.679 --> 00:11:55.000 impact study. There you go through it all. And yet 169 00:11:56.039 --> 00:11:59.840 after they do all their work, Fresno Building Healthy Communities 170 00:12:00.039 --> 00:12:03.039 a left wing nonprofit group who probably got three people 171 00:12:03.039 --> 00:12:07.600 from CALWA. This is what these nonprofits do. You have 172 00:12:07.639 --> 00:12:10.600 these bigger nonprofits who have a bunch of funding money 173 00:12:10.600 --> 00:12:16.320 from Los Angeles. They go to some community in the 174 00:12:16.320 --> 00:12:20.159 Sanawakean Valley to try to stop some development, whatever community 175 00:12:20.200 --> 00:12:22.720 that is. They get like five people from the community 176 00:12:23.080 --> 00:12:24.759 and tell them, hey, you want to sign your name 177 00:12:24.799 --> 00:12:27.200 on this so that we can say that citizens from 178 00:12:27.279 --> 00:12:30.480 concerned citizens from Kalwa have sued to try to stop 179 00:12:30.720 --> 00:12:33.879 the environmental harm of this. They get five people to 180 00:12:33.960 --> 00:12:36.559 sign a thing and then they could say, oh, yes, 181 00:12:36.879 --> 00:12:40.120 concerned Citizens of Kalua have joined together with President building 182 00:12:40.120 --> 00:12:41.840 out the communities, which is funding the whole thing, and 183 00:12:42.039 --> 00:12:44.000 you're pushing the whole thing, and we're obviously the main 184 00:12:44.000 --> 00:12:47.440 force behind this whole thing to try to stop Caltrans 185 00:12:47.519 --> 00:12:55.159 from you know, building infrastructure, development blah blah blah blah blah. 186 00:12:55.639 --> 00:12:59.759 Leadership Council for Justice and Accountability is another one of 187 00:12:59.799 --> 00:13:04.000 the types of lefty nonprofits. They did something like this 188 00:13:04.120 --> 00:13:06.679 in Pixley. I talked about this story a lot. They 189 00:13:06.720 --> 00:13:11.200 stopped a green hydrogen energy power plant from being built 190 00:13:11.200 --> 00:13:13.120 in Pixley on the grounds that it would cause too 191 00:13:13.159 --> 00:13:17.399 much truck pollution. It's a green energy power plant and 192 00:13:17.440 --> 00:13:19.840 they're trying to stop it because it's gonna have too 193 00:13:19.919 --> 00:13:25.919 much pollution. Cut too much truck pollution, specifically in Pixley. Pixley, 194 00:13:26.360 --> 00:13:29.159 a town that is nothing other than a pit stop 195 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:32.519 along ninety nine. Ninety nine goes right through Pixley. All 196 00:13:32.559 --> 00:13:36.600 Pixley has is trucks driving through it. I how many 197 00:13:36.759 --> 00:13:41.200 thousands of trucks drive through Pixley every single day, given 198 00:13:41.200 --> 00:13:43.600 that Pixley is again pretty much just a pit stop 199 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:54.399 on the ninety nine. Anyway, the Appellate Court granted a 200 00:13:54.399 --> 00:13:57.559 petition submitted in November by Friends of Kalawa Inc. Again 201 00:13:57.600 --> 00:14:01.080 it's probably like five people and Fresno building healthy communities 202 00:14:01.120 --> 00:14:03.360 that should without waiting too much deep than legal, MUK 203 00:14:03.399 --> 00:14:06.080 finally compel Caltrans to justify its environmental review for the 204 00:14:06.080 --> 00:14:08.919 one hundred and forty million dollar project, the same environmental 205 00:14:08.960 --> 00:14:11.559 review which, as you may recall, conveniently left out Fresno 206 00:14:11.559 --> 00:14:15.279 Counties proposed twenty nine and forty acre industrial park east 207 00:14:15.279 --> 00:14:19.279 of ninety nine that can't proceed without improved freeway access 208 00:14:19.360 --> 00:14:22.240 and will unquestionably bring more air pollution and truck traffic 209 00:14:22.480 --> 00:14:27.840 to already overburdened neighborhoods. It's always truck traffic air pollution 210 00:14:28.039 --> 00:14:32.919 that we're concerned. Where do you want industrial parks to 211 00:14:32.960 --> 00:14:41.320 be See this is again, why is it hard for 212 00:14:41.360 --> 00:14:44.200 businesses to come to California? Why is it hard to 213 00:14:44.200 --> 00:14:48.360 build stuff in California? It's because of this crap. Okay, 214 00:14:48.639 --> 00:14:52.679 here we have a possibility for a huge industrial park 215 00:14:56.600 --> 00:15:00.759 for Kalwa, which, by the way, is like Kewa is 216 00:15:02.039 --> 00:15:04.799 desperately in need of more development, It's in need of 217 00:15:04.799 --> 00:15:07.600 more jobs. This is a very poor part of the 218 00:15:07.639 --> 00:15:15.039 Fresno area. Like, why is a president being columnist out here, like, yeah, 219 00:15:15.360 --> 00:15:21.519 let's stop development because a nonprofit says that the pollution 220 00:15:21.919 --> 00:15:25.399 is bad for people, that the pollution will really harm 221 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:30.279 people's health. This nonprofit says, so will it will? Will? 222 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:40.360 Will this entity actually harm people's health that badly? So 223 00:15:40.480 --> 00:15:43.559 much as to justify that we're just not gonna build 224 00:15:44.879 --> 00:15:47.120 this thing that could employ God knows how many people 225 00:15:47.559 --> 00:15:53.440 like bring new jobs, bring new like no. But again, 226 00:15:53.480 --> 00:15:56.679 if we wonder why it's expensive to build in California, 227 00:15:56.720 --> 00:15:59.960 we wonder what like cheerleading for crap like this? Like 228 00:16:00.559 --> 00:16:03.639 so apparently the only people in California left who like 229 00:16:03.759 --> 00:16:09.480 SEQUA is a majority of the state legislature, these left 230 00:16:09.519 --> 00:16:12.440 wing nonprofits that use it to sue and Marrik Worzaski. 231 00:16:12.559 --> 00:16:16.480 That's it. That's it, the Fresno b loves sequel lawsuits. 232 00:16:16.759 --> 00:16:19.200 When we return, we'll dig more into this John Gerardi 233 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:23.519 show here on Power Talk. So this is the insane 234 00:16:23.559 --> 00:16:28.480 thing about these sequel lawsuits. And specifically we've got this 235 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:32.600 lawsuit from Fresno Building Healthy Community, Sandra Saladon's group, which 236 00:16:32.639 --> 00:16:35.279 you know she's getting ready to you know, getting herself 237 00:16:35.279 --> 00:16:38.240 more and more and more press in anticipation in twenty 238 00:16:38.279 --> 00:16:40.360 twenty six that she's going to run for the state Assembly. 239 00:16:43.600 --> 00:16:49.120 They're suing Caltrans because a big road infrastructure project that 240 00:16:49.159 --> 00:16:52.279 they've been working on, one hundred and forty million dollar project. 241 00:16:52.480 --> 00:16:57.279 They're trying to argue that it the its environmental impact 242 00:16:57.360 --> 00:17:03.679 study is in sufficient. But let's recall whom they're suing. 243 00:17:04.720 --> 00:17:10.359 They're suing Caltrans, which is a state agency. It's a 244 00:17:10.400 --> 00:17:19.960 state agency. Here's an idea. If we're concerned about environmental 245 00:17:20.000 --> 00:17:25.200 impacts of things, why not just let the state regulate it? 246 00:17:25.880 --> 00:17:30.279 I mean, when' that makes sense. You've got environmental impacts. 247 00:17:35.440 --> 00:17:39.079 It's very hard for an individual to show standing to 248 00:17:39.160 --> 00:17:44.160 sue over an environmental impact. And if you just open 249 00:17:44.319 --> 00:17:48.559 upstanding to sue to anybody. As the Calibournia Environmental Quality 250 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:53.480 Act is done well, then the whole situation is just 251 00:17:53.640 --> 00:17:59.200 ripe for it's just ripe for abuse, and that it is. 252 00:17:59.240 --> 00:18:01.319 In fact, what's happened with SEQUA is that people have 253 00:18:01.440 --> 00:18:05.519 utilized SEQUA the California Environmental Quality Act to file lawsuits 254 00:18:05.519 --> 00:18:09.079 against development projects to say, oh, their environmental impact review 255 00:18:09.599 --> 00:18:13.000 was insufficient. But people have been filing those lawsuits who don't, 256 00:18:13.079 --> 00:18:16.559 who clearly manifestly do not give a crap about the environment. 257 00:18:17.400 --> 00:18:20.079 It's a neighbor who doesn't want a multi union dwelling 258 00:18:20.160 --> 00:18:23.960 near her house because she thinks it'll lower her property value, 259 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:26.880 so she's all an environmental impact on the study hasn't 260 00:18:26.920 --> 00:18:36.119 been fully completed, and it just seems like there are 261 00:18:36.359 --> 00:18:41.519 all these different projects around the city that are getting 262 00:18:41.920 --> 00:18:44.759 stopped throughout the San Joaquin Valley and I'm sure all 263 00:18:44.880 --> 00:18:47.240 up and down California that are getting stopped dead in 264 00:18:47.279 --> 00:18:51.759 their tracks because either there's some private business entity that 265 00:18:51.799 --> 00:18:55.160 doesn't like this project going up, or some neighbor who 266 00:18:55.200 --> 00:18:57.640 doesn't like this business going up, or there's some environmental 267 00:18:57.880 --> 00:19:00.400 nonprofit that wants to make a splash to make a 268 00:19:00.480 --> 00:19:03.759 name for itself, trying to say that basically, oh, this 269 00:19:03.839 --> 00:19:07.000 will increase traffic and therefore increase pollution in hurt people's health. 270 00:19:07.839 --> 00:19:11.599 By that logic, there's no development that could possibly take 271 00:19:11.640 --> 00:19:16.559 place near human dwellings, right, I mean, where do they 272 00:19:16.640 --> 00:19:24.440 want an industrial? You presumably cannot build anything without more 273 00:19:24.440 --> 00:19:29.119 truck traffic. I mean again, SEQUA was used to stop 274 00:19:29.559 --> 00:19:32.960 construction of a let's remember this. This was back in 275 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:38.079 December in Pixley, Okay. A left wing nonprofit used SEQUA 276 00:19:38.079 --> 00:19:43.400 to stop construction of a hydrogen power plant, a zero emissions, 277 00:19:43.559 --> 00:19:47.319 green energy hydrogen power plant, to build it in Pixley, 278 00:19:47.680 --> 00:19:51.960 where like, all due respect to the great people of Pixley, 279 00:19:52.000 --> 00:19:53.880 I'm sure it's a lovely place. Not a lot of 280 00:19:53.880 --> 00:19:58.160 people live there. Seems like a perfect place to build 281 00:19:58.160 --> 00:20:01.519 a power plant, create some jobs for the good people 282 00:20:01.559 --> 00:20:04.920 of Pixley, but no environmental groups are like, no, that'll 283 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:10.839 increase truck pollution because trucks will come into Pixley to 284 00:20:10.920 --> 00:20:14.000 drop off I guess the hydrogen that needs to get 285 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:18.160 converted into energy. Pixley is nothing but a pit stop 286 00:20:18.200 --> 00:20:21.079 on ninety nine. It's nothing but trucks. It's just the 287 00:20:21.200 --> 00:20:24.880 ninety nine goes right through it. It's trucks, it's thousands 288 00:20:24.880 --> 00:20:28.599 of trucks define the environment of Pixley. You really think, 289 00:20:29.319 --> 00:20:33.640 I don't know, twenty trucks extra, you know, stopping in 290 00:20:33.680 --> 00:20:36.200 Pixley to drop off hydrogen. I don't know how many 291 00:20:36.240 --> 00:20:38.960 trucks a day drop off hydrogen and a hydrogen plant. 292 00:20:39.519 --> 00:20:43.559 You really think that's making a rat's rear end of difference. 293 00:20:45.119 --> 00:20:48.279 So I guess they just don't believe any of these claims. 294 00:20:48.359 --> 00:20:50.920 I don't believe. I find it very difficult to believe 295 00:20:50.920 --> 00:20:54.720 any of these claims that we can really measure that 296 00:20:55.079 --> 00:21:01.279 the extra pollution of people going to a place, building 297 00:21:01.359 --> 00:21:03.880 some development so that people can go to a place 298 00:21:04.359 --> 00:21:09.440 that's really causing this much more environmental harm. Again, why 299 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:12.359 can no one build anything in this state? Why can 300 00:21:12.440 --> 00:21:18.400 nobody invest in this state? It's because we have laws 301 00:21:18.400 --> 00:21:20.079 on the books that stop people from doing it. And 302 00:21:20.119 --> 00:21:27.240 in this case, with this Kalwa area Caltrans expansion, this 303 00:21:27.400 --> 00:21:33.000 is Caltrans. It's a state agency that probably again has 304 00:21:33.640 --> 00:21:37.960 more green regulation over it, more environmental lawyers crawling all 305 00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:40.119 over it than possible. Probably you can shake a stick 306 00:21:40.119 --> 00:21:44.400 at and we're gonna say no, the State of California 307 00:21:44.519 --> 00:21:50.400 is a bunch of polluting, vile don't care about the environment, 308 00:21:50.599 --> 00:21:54.039 right wing just drill baby, drill monsters who are building 309 00:21:54.039 --> 00:21:58.680 this Caltrans project to force feed smog into the mouths 310 00:21:58.720 --> 00:22:04.000 of babies. Who are you insane? In a sane state? 311 00:22:05.599 --> 00:22:08.359 Clearly one in which we do not live in a 312 00:22:08.440 --> 00:22:11.519 sane state. Rather than letting any Tom, Dick or Harry 313 00:22:11.519 --> 00:22:14.720 file a lawsuit saying that someone's environmental review is inadequate, 314 00:22:15.039 --> 00:22:17.799 the state would just oversee that. Just let the state 315 00:22:17.839 --> 00:22:22.359 oversee it. If the state says the environmental impact of 316 00:22:22.400 --> 00:22:28.400 this thing is all right, I'm really loath to second 317 00:22:28.480 --> 00:22:31.000 guess the state of California the most left wing bunch 318 00:22:31.039 --> 00:22:36.599 of lunatics ever, well, the second most after presno building 319 00:22:36.599 --> 00:22:40.200 healthy communities. Clearly, I just find this whole structure, this 320 00:22:40.319 --> 00:22:45.119 idea of cheerleading a sequel lawsuit of any kind, just 321 00:22:45.160 --> 00:22:49.279 seems so irresponsible to me, so insane. It's seek what 322 00:22:49.440 --> 00:22:54.359 is the root cause of why housing is unaffordable in 323 00:22:54.400 --> 00:22:57.359 this state? We can't build more housing or demand far 324 00:22:57.440 --> 00:23:02.839 out strips or supply of housing. Why because builders lack 325 00:23:02.960 --> 00:23:05.960 the confidence to invest when they're not sure if someone's 326 00:23:05.960 --> 00:23:12.599 going to file a lawsuit and until a governor candidate 327 00:23:13.200 --> 00:23:18.440 comes forward who actually says I want to repeal sequa. 328 00:23:19.119 --> 00:23:22.440 I want to repeal a bunch of these environmental regulations 329 00:23:22.480 --> 00:23:25.680 that add twenty thirty, forty fifty thousand, whatever it is 330 00:23:25.880 --> 00:23:29.319 to the cost of every new home. I'm tired of this. 331 00:23:31.079 --> 00:23:32.880 I'm going to run and I'm going to push a 332 00:23:32.880 --> 00:23:38.160 ballot initiative alongside me to stop it until someone runs 333 00:23:38.200 --> 00:23:42.799 for governor saying that we're just gonna keep keep on 334 00:23:42.960 --> 00:23:45.440 doing it. And you know, good job for the Fresno 335 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:47.880 b I don't think the President Bee is allowed to 336 00:23:47.960 --> 00:23:51.680 introduce any editorials complaining about the cost of housing, given 337 00:23:51.720 --> 00:23:55.039 that all of their columnists, Tad Weber and Mark Korsowski, 338 00:23:55.480 --> 00:23:58.279 well they're both out here cheerleading sequel lawsuits to stop 339 00:23:58.319 --> 00:24:02.599 stuff from getting built. When we return, Brandon Vang is 340 00:24:02.640 --> 00:24:05.920 elected a new Fresno City Council member. All of the 341 00:24:05.960 --> 00:24:08.759 bizarre issues of what was a very bizarre little race. 342 00:24:08.839 --> 00:24:14.000 Next on The John Girardi Show, Brandon Vang is the 343 00:24:14.039 --> 00:24:17.599 new city council member for the Fresno City Council. He 344 00:24:17.680 --> 00:24:21.599 winds up succeeding Luis Chavez, who left that seat vacant 345 00:24:22.279 --> 00:24:24.799 upon getting elected to the Presno County Board of Supervisors. 346 00:24:24.839 --> 00:24:27.160 By the way, for those those who are wondering, why 347 00:24:27.200 --> 00:24:29.880 would you want to be a Fresno County supervisor rather 348 00:24:29.920 --> 00:24:32.200 than a Fresno City council member, Well, the pay is 349 00:24:32.359 --> 00:24:35.359 way better. The pay is way better, and there are 350 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:38.720 no term limits. Being a county supervisor is secretly like 351 00:24:38.799 --> 00:24:41.839 the best gig in all of California politics. The pay 352 00:24:41.920 --> 00:24:48.640 is great. Probably have fewer controversial votes in a year 353 00:24:48.720 --> 00:24:53.960 than any city council will, especially for a big city. Yeah, 354 00:24:54.319 --> 00:24:56.960 there's no assumption with county supervisors that this should be 355 00:24:57.160 --> 00:24:59.160 just a part time job and you should be No. No, 356 00:25:00.799 --> 00:25:04.960 County supervisors get paid very nicely. It's sort of the 357 00:25:04.960 --> 00:25:09.640 the cream of the crop of local politics jobs. Anyway. Well, 358 00:25:09.680 --> 00:25:11.759 Brandon Vang gets elected to the city council seat, and 359 00:25:11.960 --> 00:25:16.039 his chief opponent had been Elizabeth Johnason Roses, who is 360 00:25:16.039 --> 00:25:19.279 a trustee with president Unified School District. And I want 361 00:25:19.319 --> 00:25:22.480 to see if I can go through all of the 362 00:25:22.599 --> 00:25:26.680 little mini accusations and scandals for what was a pretty 363 00:25:26.680 --> 00:25:34.480 slimy campaign. Kind of a lot of it seemingly coming 364 00:25:34.559 --> 00:25:41.920 from the Chavez camp. But anyway, let's let's go through this, Okay. 365 00:25:42.119 --> 00:25:46.480 So the weird thing is Elizabeth Jonathon Ross, who is 366 00:25:46.559 --> 00:25:50.599 running for Louis Chavez's old seat. Is Louis Chavez his wife, 367 00:25:50.720 --> 00:25:54.720 And right off the bat, that just rubs me the 368 00:25:54.720 --> 00:25:58.759 wrong way. And lest you think it's a Democrat thing, 369 00:26:00.079 --> 00:26:04.759 I'm also not crazy about Republican spouses just hopping into 370 00:26:04.880 --> 00:26:07.279 their husband's old jobs. Like there's all this stuff that 371 00:26:07.920 --> 00:26:11.079 Ron DeSantis's wife, Casey DeSantis, might run for governor of Florida, 372 00:26:11.160 --> 00:26:13.000 and she seems like a I don't know, seems like 373 00:26:13.000 --> 00:26:14.920 a nice enough lady, and there's a lot of reporting 374 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:20.200 that she's like his chief confidant and advisor. I don't know. 375 00:26:20.720 --> 00:26:24.759 I just don't like the idea of spouses jumping in, 376 00:26:24.799 --> 00:26:26.799 by the way, Like if Tulci Gabbard's husband all of 377 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:28.920 a sudden showed up and was like, hey, all luck 378 00:26:28.960 --> 00:26:31.480 to me governor of South Carrol, I'd probably find that 379 00:26:31.519 --> 00:26:35.079 weird too. It's not just a women running for their 380 00:26:35.119 --> 00:26:38.119 husband's thing. It probably also a husband running for their 381 00:26:38.160 --> 00:26:42.279 wife's saying. If I can assure you, if Doug m 382 00:26:42.319 --> 00:26:45.960 Hoff decided to run for something I'd be ready to 383 00:26:46.000 --> 00:26:49.160 load him into a cannon and shoot him into the sun. Anyway, 384 00:26:51.640 --> 00:26:56.160 So right off the bat, that's weird. Javez then releases 385 00:26:56.279 --> 00:27:01.440 this like District five newsletter, which is purportedly like a 386 00:27:01.480 --> 00:27:06.200 newsletter to be released to residents to let residents know 387 00:27:06.319 --> 00:27:10.920 about important, you know, city council services for that city 388 00:27:10.920 --> 00:27:17.920 council district. But it features a big photo of his 389 00:27:18.039 --> 00:27:21.839 wife who was about to run for his old seat. 390 00:27:22.519 --> 00:27:25.079 Chaves released it, and it's got a big photo of 391 00:27:25.119 --> 00:27:28.240 his wife who was about to run for his seat, 392 00:27:29.240 --> 00:27:32.839 with her name in big bold letters, Elizabeth Jonathon Rosa 393 00:27:32.960 --> 00:27:36.200 speaks at the opening of a some health center thing, 394 00:27:39.279 --> 00:27:40.960 and then he's like, oh, well, no, well it wasn't 395 00:27:41.000 --> 00:27:45.640 campaign material, Okay, we all know what was happening there. 396 00:27:46.039 --> 00:27:50.119 Chavez was trying to use city money to basically do 397 00:27:50.200 --> 00:27:56.000 a campaign ad for his wife without really doing a 398 00:27:56.000 --> 00:27:59.279 campaign ad for his wife. Basically for him to say, well, 399 00:27:59.440 --> 00:28:02.319 it's not care painting. I just mentioned her name and 400 00:28:02.319 --> 00:28:04.200 put a big picture of her there because she happened 401 00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:06.839