Passage of Measure J would mean the water district has nine months to come up with a plan for buying the water system. (Photo: Bart/flickr/cc)
Nov 06, 2018
Residents of of Monterey Country, California, moved closer having public control of their water after apparent passage of a citizen initiative that has the potential to topple decades of private control.
Early numbers show the initiative, Measure J, winning 54.89 percent to 45.11 percent.
"A yes vote" on Measure J, as Ballotpedia explains, "was a vote in favor of directing the [Monterey Peninsula Water Management] district to create a plan for acquiring all assets of the water system from California American Water through negotiation or eminent domain." California American Water Company (Cal Am) has held private control of the water since 1966, and, according to (pdf) advocacy group Food and Water Watch, it's the most expensive water provider in the nation.
"Once the vote is certified, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District will have nine months to complete the feasibility study and come up with a plan for buying the water system from Cal Am," local public radio KAZU reports. MPWM said Wednesday that assembling the feasibility team would take about four to six weeks, and that the district would start getting public input at hearing during the beginning of December.
If the final tally shows Measure J successful, it would be despite supporters being massivley outspent. As the Monterey County Weeklyreported, Cal Am spent $3 million to defeat the measure compared to Public Water Now's mere $159,000.
\u201cPublic Water Now won a hard-fought victory to move toward public control of their water system in Monterey, California! American Water spent $3M\u201419x more than the local group\u2014with attack ads, mailers, lawsuit after lawsuit. But Public Water Now prevailed!\n\nhttps://t.co/u49Se9ivC2\u201d— Mary Grant (@Mary Grant) 1541613734
Pointing to the measure in California as well as the overwhelming passage of a measure in Baltimore that bans water privatization, Food and Water Watch organizer campaign director Mary Grant declared, "From coast to coast, public water won on the ballot!"
\u201cFrom coast to coast, public water won on the ballot! Baltimore overwhelmingly banned water privatization, and Monterey County, Calif., won a hard-fought victory to reclaim their water system from American Water, which spent $3M\u201419x more than Public Water Now\u2014fighting the measure\u201d— Mary Grant (@Mary Grant) 1541606624
A 2015 report by the Transnational Institute (TNI) documented cases of communities worldwide remunicipalizing their water services. Lead editor Satoko Kishimoto said the publication "shows that water privatization, which has been promoted so heavily in recent years, is increasingly being rejected by cities worldwide after years of failed promises, poor services, and high prices."
Join Us: News for people demanding a better world
Common Dreams is powered by optimists who believe in the power of informed and engaged citizens to ignite and enact change to make the world a better place. We're hundreds of thousands strong, but every single supporter makes the difference. Your contribution supports this bold media model—free, independent, and dedicated to reporting the facts every day. Stand with us in the fight for economic equality, social justice, human rights, and a more sustainable future. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover the issues the corporate media never will. |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Residents of of Monterey Country, California, moved closer having public control of their water after apparent passage of a citizen initiative that has the potential to topple decades of private control.
Early numbers show the initiative, Measure J, winning 54.89 percent to 45.11 percent.
"A yes vote" on Measure J, as Ballotpedia explains, "was a vote in favor of directing the [Monterey Peninsula Water Management] district to create a plan for acquiring all assets of the water system from California American Water through negotiation or eminent domain." California American Water Company (Cal Am) has held private control of the water since 1966, and, according to (pdf) advocacy group Food and Water Watch, it's the most expensive water provider in the nation.
"Once the vote is certified, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District will have nine months to complete the feasibility study and come up with a plan for buying the water system from Cal Am," local public radio KAZU reports. MPWM said Wednesday that assembling the feasibility team would take about four to six weeks, and that the district would start getting public input at hearing during the beginning of December.
If the final tally shows Measure J successful, it would be despite supporters being massivley outspent. As the Monterey County Weeklyreported, Cal Am spent $3 million to defeat the measure compared to Public Water Now's mere $159,000.
\u201cPublic Water Now won a hard-fought victory to move toward public control of their water system in Monterey, California! American Water spent $3M\u201419x more than the local group\u2014with attack ads, mailers, lawsuit after lawsuit. But Public Water Now prevailed!\n\nhttps://t.co/u49Se9ivC2\u201d— Mary Grant (@Mary Grant) 1541613734
Pointing to the measure in California as well as the overwhelming passage of a measure in Baltimore that bans water privatization, Food and Water Watch organizer campaign director Mary Grant declared, "From coast to coast, public water won on the ballot!"
\u201cFrom coast to coast, public water won on the ballot! Baltimore overwhelmingly banned water privatization, and Monterey County, Calif., won a hard-fought victory to reclaim their water system from American Water, which spent $3M\u201419x more than Public Water Now\u2014fighting the measure\u201d— Mary Grant (@Mary Grant) 1541606624
A 2015 report by the Transnational Institute (TNI) documented cases of communities worldwide remunicipalizing their water services. Lead editor Satoko Kishimoto said the publication "shows that water privatization, which has been promoted so heavily in recent years, is increasingly being rejected by cities worldwide after years of failed promises, poor services, and high prices."
Residents of of Monterey Country, California, moved closer having public control of their water after apparent passage of a citizen initiative that has the potential to topple decades of private control.
Early numbers show the initiative, Measure J, winning 54.89 percent to 45.11 percent.
"A yes vote" on Measure J, as Ballotpedia explains, "was a vote in favor of directing the [Monterey Peninsula Water Management] district to create a plan for acquiring all assets of the water system from California American Water through negotiation or eminent domain." California American Water Company (Cal Am) has held private control of the water since 1966, and, according to (pdf) advocacy group Food and Water Watch, it's the most expensive water provider in the nation.
"Once the vote is certified, the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District will have nine months to complete the feasibility study and come up with a plan for buying the water system from Cal Am," local public radio KAZU reports. MPWM said Wednesday that assembling the feasibility team would take about four to six weeks, and that the district would start getting public input at hearing during the beginning of December.
If the final tally shows Measure J successful, it would be despite supporters being massivley outspent. As the Monterey County Weeklyreported, Cal Am spent $3 million to defeat the measure compared to Public Water Now's mere $159,000.
\u201cPublic Water Now won a hard-fought victory to move toward public control of their water system in Monterey, California! American Water spent $3M\u201419x more than the local group\u2014with attack ads, mailers, lawsuit after lawsuit. But Public Water Now prevailed!\n\nhttps://t.co/u49Se9ivC2\u201d— Mary Grant (@Mary Grant) 1541613734
Pointing to the measure in California as well as the overwhelming passage of a measure in Baltimore that bans water privatization, Food and Water Watch organizer campaign director Mary Grant declared, "From coast to coast, public water won on the ballot!"
\u201cFrom coast to coast, public water won on the ballot! Baltimore overwhelmingly banned water privatization, and Monterey County, Calif., won a hard-fought victory to reclaim their water system from American Water, which spent $3M\u201419x more than Public Water Now\u2014fighting the measure\u201d— Mary Grant (@Mary Grant) 1541606624
A 2015 report by the Transnational Institute (TNI) documented cases of communities worldwide remunicipalizing their water services. Lead editor Satoko Kishimoto said the publication "shows that water privatization, which has been promoted so heavily in recent years, is increasingly being rejected by cities worldwide after years of failed promises, poor services, and high prices."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.