Opinion: Water bond isn’t about pork in the Sierra
By Bob Kirkwood and Jim Branham, San Jose Mercury News
As we head into the heat of summer, the politics of water will once again warm up as well.
Last year a water bond was passed by the Legislature and signed by the governor, placing it on this November’s ballot. However, due to current economic factors, the governor has proposed removing it from the ballot, indicating this is not the time for a vote on such a measure. The Legislature is considering the governor’s call, ultimately deciding the fate of the current bond proposal.
Some, including the Mercury News editorial writers, have suggested that the measure is full of pork-barrel spending. Apparently they believe huge sums of money are going to areas that have nothing to do with providing clean water for our homes, farms and environment. The Sierra Nevada region does not fit that picture.
We all have our definition of “pork,” but to suggest that the Sierra Nevada Conservancy’s share (less than 1 percent) of the bond is wasteful, inappropriate spending misses the mark.