What Are We Doing?

More Measure W misdirection (November 3, 2016)

Rick Piercy deceptively claims that Measure W is a vote by the people of Apple Valley to move ahead with taking back our water from a foreign corporation (Distract to deceive, Daily Press, November 3, 2016).

Given that Piercy is one of the leaders of a group urging the passage of Measure W, you would assume he has read and understands what he’s promoting. His letter shows the opposite. Measure W has nothing to do with water. The word water doesn’t even appear in the text of the measure. The linkage between Measure W and water was purposely created as a false narrative by those in Town Hall as part of a cynical ploy to mislead voters.

Then Piercy repeats another falsehood — which also originated at Town Hall — about Liberty Utilities’ future profits. This has been debunked so many times that only someone willfully ignorant could believe it, and only someone utterly untrustworthy could continue to promulgate it.

Not to let facts get in the way, Piercy also regurgitates the falsehood that Liberty’s expenditures on Measure V will be reflected in our water rates, even though this would never be attempted by Liberty Utilities, and would never be allowed by the CPUC.

Perhaps the biggest whopper, though, is Piercy’s claim that Proposition 218 somehow protects ratepayers in Apple Valley. If that were true, the Town wouldn’t be the defendant in a multi-million dollar lawsuit over the Town council’s multiple infractions of Proposition 218. But given the fact that his organization received tens of thousands of dollars in a pay-to-play deal involving the Town, I don’t suppose we should expect him to be forthcoming about this, should we?

— Greg Raven is Co-Chair of Apple Valley Citizens for Government Accountability, and is concerned about quality of life issues.