“A core value in a democracy is the right of citizens to know the actions of public officials.”
This is the judgement of Superior Court Judge Ernest Goldsmith, who yesterday ordered that the Public Utility Commission must justify why emails with the Governor’s office were being kept secret in a PUC corruption scandal.
“Withholding records of allegedly ex parte secret deals resulting in shifting $3.3 billion of utility losses to ratepayers cannot possibly be a regulatory function of the PUC,” Goldsmith said.
What was the PUC’s response? It’s going to appeal.
The PUC’s attorneys say the emails did not involve the Governor personally and that the PUC is literally above the law because Superior Courts have no authority over the PUC. The defiance, in the face of a criminal probe of former PUC Chief Mike Peevey in the matter, raises the question: what does the Administration have to hide?
Capitol Watchdog’s Special Report, “Will Porter Ranch and PUC-Gate Ruin Jerry Brown’s Legacy,” chronicles the cronyism in the Administration with the utility industry.
Were former PG&E executives and top Brown aides Nancy McFadden and Dana Williamson complicit with PUC President Michael Peevey in sticking ratepayers with the bill for the nuclear plant’s shut down despite evidence Edison failed to fix the plant?
How much did the Governor know and how hands-on was his involvement?
Emails recovered from Edison CEO Ted Craver refer to Brown’s support for the utility, even after Senator Boxer released damaging documents showing Edison, not manufacturer Mitsubishi, stopped the repairs at San Onofre. Why then should ratepayers be on the hook for Edison’s bad decisions?
It's not a question that appears to have come to the mind of Brown's hand-picked Peevey replacement, Michael Picker, who said he is not in favor of reopening the San Onofre rate decision.
What will happen on appeal? The PUC’s legal position is that only the Court of Appeal can hear PUC cases. This isn’t a PUC case, however, but a Public Records Act case. Superior Courts should have jurisdiction in such matters. It just depends which Appellate panel reviews the case.
Capitol Watchdog has also made a separate Public Records Act request last week of the Governor’s office to determine whether McFadden had formerly recused herself in PUC matters following her $1 million platinum parachute from PG&E. We’ve yet to receive a response.
The refusal to disclose the emails in a corruption scandal is more than a matter of executive privilege. Governor Brown has a serious legacy-determining problem with PUC-gate. It’s best to get in front of the problem with full disclosure, rather than face a court order to disclose embarassing and potentially-scandolous emails.
Heads in the horse shoe should roll over San Onofre, San Bruno and Porter Ranch. No one likes to find a horse head in their own bed, but Brown should realize the alternative is far worse. Destiny is at his door and it's not Don Corleone calling but the wrath of ratepayers.
