Letters: Judge gubernatorial candidates by their stand on utilities

"TURN's Mark Toney and former CPUC Commissioner Loretta Lynch are right in their criticism: PG&E has failed to provide reliable service, and our state public utilities commissioners have failed to adequately regulate investor-owned utilities. I doubt this will change until we elect a governor who will eschew large donations from the utilities and actually appoint commissioners who will regulate rather than coddle and kowtow to whatever the utilities want."

"Being from the Triple Cities in New York state, it prompted me to look into the history of Endicott Johnson shoe manufacturers; we lived a block from one of their tanneries, and I remember the soot and stench. What was impressive was how well they treated their employees - a philosophy which influenced IBM. It is also a story of the support of immigrants recruited from Eastern Europe to staff the factories and how much the children of these immigrants contributed to society."

Utility bills are rising despite efforts to reduce energy use. PG&E has failed to provide reliable service, and state public utilities commissioners have failed to adequately regulate investor-owned utilities. Real change requires electing a governor who will eschew large donations from utilities and appoint commissioners who will regulate rather than coddle utilities. Voters should ask gubernatorial candidates whether they will make that commitment. Early 20th-century progressive companies such as Endicott Johnson treated employees well, supported immigrant workers, and fostered community prosperity. The rise of neoliberalism led such firms to leave, causing regional economic decline, and similar losses could threaten the Bay Area.

Read at The Mercury News