Davis Has State Headed for Power Wipeout

Back in the 1960s, my needs for energy were basic. I drove up and down the coast of California competing and looking for the best waves in a 1960 VW bus that seemed to go from San Diego to Santa Cruz on not much more than a tank of gas.

Good old Mother Nature provided the energy that produced the waves I rode, and while “she” could sometimes be a little stingy, on the whole, there were more than enough waves for the number of people brave enough or crazy enough to be surfers in those days.

It was more difficult to be a surfer in the 1960s. The wetsuits were extremely primitive and not particularly effective. The typical surfboard weighed at least 40 pounds.

Well, that was 40 years ago and a lot has changed. With the advent of the modern wetsuit and leashes and surfboards so light and maneuverable that anyone from 2 to 90 can handle them, we have an energy crisis in the water. There is too much demand for the supply. We have too many surfers chasing too few waves.

My life is very different today. I am no longer a professional athlete constantly chasing the next wave and the next title. I manage a portfolio consisting of real estate in Orange County and the Inland Empire. All the qualities of discipline and focus and vision that enabled me to reach the pinnacle of a sport have ensured my success in the “real world” of business.

Energy still plays a large role in my life, but it is a much more complex issue than it once was. While I realize that the blame for our current crisis can be spread far and wide, I believe that the highest-elected official in California has ducked his responsibility.

It is obvious that Gov. Davis made a political decision against rate increases last year when problems with the supply and demand of energy first surfaced. Our governor has shown himself to be more concerned with his own political ambitions than the long-term health of California.

The problem was allowed to go unchecked, and the ramifications of this inaction will haunt Californians for decades. Most of the properties I manage have no mechanism to pass these increases through to the users. The majority of the tenants have long-term leases wherein their monthly rent obligation includes their utility usage, and most of these leases include yearly increases of 3% to 4% in order to compensate for a modest degree of inflation. I do not know how I or other small-business owners can absorb increases of this size.

It is times like these that I feel a great deal of nostalgia for the brutal honesty and simplicity of sports. The governor and his administration have shown themselves unable or unwilling to even compete at the most basic level. Isn’t it a shame that the qualities of discipline, focus and vision are in such short supply in our leaders?