California voters worry about wildfires. Here’s what recall election candidates say they’ll do

08 September 2021

Published by https://www.sacbee.com/

USA – California is facing one of the worst wildfire seasons in state history, with drought-fueled fires raging across Northern California and thousands of residents being displaced from their homes.

Soon, California voters will have their say on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s job performance on this key issue, as the Sept. 14 deadline to turn in recall election ballots approaches. Voters are being asked two questions: Should Gov. Newsom be recalled from office and, if so, whom should replace him.

Newsom has said that wildfires like the Caldor Fire are a top issue with his administration, and the top candidates running to unseat the governor have likewise made drought and wildfire response a key issue of their campaigns.

Here’s a look at where the candidates stand on the issues.

GAVIN NEWSOM

Gov. Gavin Newsom has responded to the drought emergency impacting California by calling on state residents to reduce their water use by 15%. The governor has stopped short of issuing mandatory cutbacks, however.

“We are encouraging people to do common-sense things,” Newsom said at a press conference in July.

Newsom has also directed state agencies to “identify unspent funds that can be repurposed to enable projects to address drought impacts to people, ecosystems and economic activities.”

Earlier this year, the governor approved legislation that added more than half a billion to spend on wildfire prevention in the form of forest management, clearing fuel and hardening homes in high-risk areas.

Newsom has also called on the federal government to be more aggressive in tackling forest fires that begin on federal land.

JOHN COX

Businessman John Cox has argued that he would handle California’s wildfires “by managing our forests better and better utilizing our government resources used to fight the fires.”

“We also revive the timber industry, which has been run out of this state. They did a lot of the forest management before they were run out of the state,” Cox said at a recent debate.

He has also called for taking money from the California High-Speed Rail Authority and spending it on jets that could be equipped with water tanks and used to fight fires.

Cox has argued that California’s water shortage is a management problem, one that he can solve.

“What that means is that we have to do things like desalination, recycling programs and reservoirs,” Cox said at a recent debate.

LARRY ELDER

Conservative talk radio host Larry Elder has blamed California’s worsening wildfires on “the failure to thin our forests.”

“I’m going to devote resources to actually thinning the forests, and making sure that when we do have these fires, they’re not nearly as severe, as combustible as they are,” Elder said in a press conference in August.

Elder said that there is an incentive to build in wildfire-prone areas because it is cheaper than building in urban areas due to the costs associated with complying with the California Environmental Quality Act.

Elder said in an interview with The San Diego Union-Tribune that “all options should be on the table” to deal with California’s water shortage, including desalination, reforming state regulations and “an actual functional pricing system so that markets can properly allocate resources to those in need.”

KEVIN FAULCONER

Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer has vowed to spend $1 billion a year on fire prevention efforts, and to create a brand new state Department of Wildfire Prevention.

“Instead of having many departments handling fire prevention, we will streamline our approach with one department to coordinate and lead all state wildfire prevention efforts with federal and local governments,” Faulconer said on his campaign website.

The former mayor also has pledged to offer tax credits to home owners that they can spend to harden their homes against wildfires.

Faulconer has called for dealing with the water shortage in California by creating additional supply in the form of new reservoirs and added water recycling facilities.

He also pledged to provide state money to pay for canal repairs and other water infrastructure projects.

“It has to be an all-of-the above approach,” Faulconer said at a recent debate, adding that he is a strong proponent of desalination.

KEVIN KILEY

Assemblyman Kevin Kiley has proposed an amendment to California’s constitution that would allot a fixed amount of the state budget to projects to increase the state’s water supply “until we add 5 million acre-feet to our annual water supply.”

“We have more than enough water that comes to use by the grace of God, we just need to manage it responsibly,” Kiley said at a candidate debate.

Kiley advocates for a tax credit for people whose homes are in high wildfire risk areas to help them pay their fire insurance premiums. He has also has called for more forest management.

“We have 15 to 20 million acres of overgrown forest in this state, and we’re seeing the tragic results of it year after year,” Kiley said.

KEVIN PAFFRATH

Youtube personality Kevin Paffrath has a novel solution to California’s drought: Build a pipeline to bring in water from the Mississippi River.

“We need emergency action when it comes to our water crisis,” Paffrath said at a recent debate.

Paffrath said that as governor he would partner with President Joe Biden to get the multi-state infrastructure project done.

“There’s enough federal land between here and there, with the exception of Texas, where we’re going to rent land, and we’re going to double the flow of water to the Mississippi River,” he said.

At a candidate debate, Paffrath suggested the use of controlled burns to mitigate wildfire risk. On his campaign website, Paffrath calls for investing in wildfire prevention “with the most technologically advanced wildfire detection, response, and prevention efforts.”