Lack of Leadership at Snohomish PUD

On July 18, 2006, the Snohomish County PUD addressed the question of whether or not to endorse Initiative 937 in the up-coming General Election. I-937 is the Clean Energy Initiative that will require utilities like the PUD to get 15 percent of their total capacity from renewable energy sources like solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal and tidal.

In making this very important decision, the PUD Commission showed a remarkable lack of leadership at best, if not a complete lack of courage and understanding, by voting to take a neutral position on the initiative. You can bet leadership of this sort would never have taken us to the moon. For that matter, how well do you think it would have worked if John Hancock and his pals had taken a neutral position on independence?

At the height of the 2001 “energy crisis,” a false crisis manufactured by energy trading companies like Enron and others, the PUD signed four ill-advised, long-term, high rate energy contracts. They recently won a judgment that allowed them to break the Enron contract, and I’m told it cost them $59 million to buy their way out of another. Clearly flawed leadership is not a new phenomenon.

For the record, I am of the opinion that I-937 is a step in the right direction, but by no means the complete package. Whether it is global warming or resource depletion that keeps you awake at night, it will be through a greater reliance on renewable energy resources and greater efforts at conservation that solutions will be found. Through an increased emphasis on research and development in renewables like solar, wind, biofuels, geothermal and tidal, we can reduce our reliance on foreign oil. (A societal paradigm shift will also be needed somewhere along the way. More on that later.)

Or we can do what the opponents of I-937 would have us do: burn more coal, and maybe restart WHPPSS.

Perhaps a few words about the PUD Commission are in order. Permit me to introduce the three Commissioners and say a few words about the vote they took on I-937. The longest serving member, and current President of the Commission, is Kathleen Vaughn. She tends to take a short-term, pragmatic view of things, in my opinion. I hold her primarily responsible for the lack of leadership on Tuesday. By the way, she is the only current Commissioner who was around when the above-mentioned bad contracts were signed.

Next we have Commissioner David Aldrich. Dave has a firm grasp of global climate change issues, as well as global resource depletion issues, and he uses this knowledge to inform policy initiatives at the PUD. Unfortunately these initiatives seldom get any traction, not only because their visionary nature conflicts with Ms Vaughn’s “pragmatism,” but because of the third Commissioner, Toni Olson.

I had only recently become politically active when Toni Olson’s request for endorsement came before the 44th LD Democrats. Being assured by long-standing members that she was a “good Democrat”, I naturally voted to endorse her candidacy. It turns out, however, she is a “good Democrat” of a fairly conservative sort. Aside from apparently still being in the learning mode, she appears more comfortable with Kathy Vaughn’s pragmatism than with David Aldrich’s long-term view. All too often, when there is a 2-1 vote, Toni votes with Kathy, leaving Dave in the lurch.

In the specific instance of the I-937 endorsement vote, it went 2-1 against endorsing the initiative, Dave voting in favor. Subsequently a motion was made to assume a neutral position (leading by standing aside) and the vote was 2-0, with Dave abstaining.

This is not a situation that can be allowed to continue. Fear of difficulty is not an acceptable justification for refusing to embrace a good idea, especially when you are in a position to provide responsible leadership.

Fortunately, there is something we can do. Kathy Vaughn is running for a third term this year and is opposed by a very knowledgeable and articulate young man named Eric Teegarden . (www.teegarden4pud.com) With a background that includes geophysics, environmental science and civil engineering, he seems tailor-made for the kinds of responsibilities placed on a PUD Commissioner. A family man with a history of activism and volunteerism, Eric is a hard worker and a reliable friend. What’s more, Eric’s views on global climate change and resource depletion and the role the PUD could be playing on those issues are very compatible with those of Dave Aldrich. The election of Eric Teegarden as PUD Commissioner for District 2 would likely bring about a sea-change in policies enacted by the commission. It won’t be easy, but very important work seldom is. I urge you all to visit Eric’s site, make a contribution and volunteer to help him get elected. It is a down-ticket, low-visibility race, so it will take a concerted effort to take out a two-term incumbent. Let’s go!

In the meantime, stay tuned. We’ll get to the paradigm shift in a later post.

Jackie