Read to find out more about Juneteenth, upcoming events, our on-the-ground activism, and more.

1. Celebrating Juneteenth
   
2. June 2021 Meeting: Upcoming Speakers
   
3. Update: Last Call for the Franchise Agreements
   
4. Member of the Month: Susan Duerksen
   
5. Upcoming Events
   
6. Exciting Volunteer Opportunities
   
7. In the News
   

By Lorenzo Nericcio, Newsletter Editor

Juneteenth is one of the oldest celebrations of the ending of slavery in the United States. It commemorates the day, June 19th, 1865, that Union soldiers arrived in Galveston Texas to inform the city that the war had ended, and that slaves could no longer legally be held by their enslavers. Though President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation two years before, the Union could not enforce it in the South until the war was won.

In the century and a half that followed, the celebration has grown from a local tradition to a national holiday, one that is celebrated annually with feasts, parades, festivals, and prayer.

While the celebration remains an important reminder that a large portion of Americans remained unfree until very recently (and, to be sure, many still remain unfree to this day), and a joyous celebration of the end of legal enslavement, the holiday has seen renewed vitality in recent years.

The uprising of the Black Lives Matter movement especially brought attention to Juneteenth’s importance. The murders of Breonna Taylor, George Floyd, and countless others have underscored the fact that the fight for justice for the Black community is ongoing, and systemic racism continues to be an active and destructive force in the lives of millions of Americans. Juneteenth, while always a day of celebration, also serves as a call to continue the emancipatory efforts that began centuries ago.

SD350 would like to wish all celebrating members of the Black community a happy Juneteenth, and invite our non-Black members to consider the ways in which they can be better allies in the continuing fight for justice. Our commitment to a just and equitable solution to climate change is inseparable from our commitment to racial justice. To support the empowerment of Black communities, consider donating to the San Diego ACLU chapter, or one of the charities in this list.

Don’t miss the June 2021 meeting, happening June 15 at 7:00pm PT.

This month, we’ll be joined by three experts who are sharing tips on policy advocacy.

Beth Chopp of the Legislative Committee will be discussing how a bill becomes a law, and what criteria we look for when selecting bills to endorse.

Marie Chen of the Public Policy Team will be discussing the approachability of advocacy tactics.

Rita Clement of the Raise the Alarm team will be highlighting the May 14 Sempra Protest and the May 24th Franchise Agreement Protest to discuss the importance of in-person actions.

Don’t forget to register for the event here! See you soon.

By now many of you have heard that Mayor Gloria’s flawed franchise agreements with SDG&E have passed the first round of voting at the City Council. The final vote is slated for June 8th, and we urge everyone to turn out and let the mayor and council know that San Diego deserves better.

So how did we get here? And where are we going next?

The last energy franchise agreements, which give a utility company the right to use city streets and other property for their infrastructure, and give it a monopoly on providing gas and electricity, were signed in 1970 and expired in 2020. Mayor Faulconer had issued an ITB, an invitation for any qualified energy company to bid, for the new franchise agreements. When the bidding process ran up against the elections last year, then-Council President Gomez put off opening the bids until the new council could be sworn in.

The only bid was from San Diego Gas & Electric, subsidiary of fossil fuel giant Sempra Energy. As our franchisee for the last century, SDG&E has consistently fought any attempts to transition to renewable energy and deal with climate change, charged the highest rates in the state, and repeatedly broken faith with the city in pursuit of their profits.

The bid was immediately deemed non-responsive by the new mayor, due to the massive changes the corporation demanded. Mayor Gloria instead initiated his own process, which included an early public feedback effort. Many members of SanDiego350, our allies, and the community showed up and consistently demanded:

• A short term, preferably five years
• Lower rates for ratepayers and families, especially in communities of concern
• A strong Right to Purchase clause or “off-ramp”
• Stronger accountability measures, including penalties
• Strong commitments to partnering with the City to achieve 100% renewable energy
• A Climate Equity Fund to invest in communities of concern
• A serious commitment from the City to explore public power

The terms of Gloria’s new ITB, unfortunately, did not reflect the views of the community. And SDG&E submitted, not a contract with clear terms, but a memo pledging to work with the mayor’s office to negotiate one. Off into the backroom they went. They emerged with a deal broadly similar to Faulconer’s, despite Gloria’s insistence that it was vastly superior.

Of course, as in any business deal, the devil’s in the details, and these devils were particularly wicked:

A twenty year deal: ten years with an automatic ten-year extension, complete with a requirement that the City repay millions of dollars if it voted against the extension

• A supermajority required to vote down the extension
• No commitment to abide by the city’s Climate Action Plan
• A payment structure that allows SDG&E to stretch the payments for their ten-year bid over twenty years—and if we leave, they never have to pay the full amount
• No resolution to the ongoing litigation between the City and SDG&E
• No payments into the City’s Climate Equity Fund until 2037
• Climate Equity Fund payments of a mere $20 million over four years, a pittance compared to what SDG&E makes off of city residents

It came to the City Council for the first vote on May 25th. Unfortunately, despite nearly every councilmember and the mayor admitting in their comments that the deal was not a good one for San Diego, it did pass the first vote. Councilmember Elo-Rivera (D9), who had previously cast himself as a champion for both disadvantaged communities and the environment, broke with the other progressive councilmembers to vote in favor of the deal. However, we were excited and grateful to see Councilmembers LaCava, Montgomery Steppe, and Moreno stand up for their constituents and vote no.

Thanks to sustained efforts by our amazing volunteers and everyone who wrote or called in to the council meeting, we were able to move a few Councilmembers to demand some amendments:

• Climate Equity Fund payments moved up to the first years of the agreements
• A public power feasibility study in 2022
• A fund to hold the necessary penalty fees aside in case the City opts to leave
• A solar access fund, overseen by the City’s Environment Committee, revised to ‘at least’ (instead of ‘up to’) $10M

None of these provisions will happen by themselves. It will be up to us to help keep SDG&E and the City Council accountable for the promises they’ve made. Contact our franchise team to get involved: heatherhofshi@gmail.com

So what’s next? The final vote for this bad deal is slated for June 8th, 2021. Right now is our chance to stand up and let the council, the mayor, and this dirty fossil fuel corporation know exactly where we stand! 

• If you live in Districts 1, 4, or 8, contact your councilmember and thank them for doing the right thing for San Diegans, and urge them to stand strong
• If you live in Districts 5, 7, or 9, call and remind your councilmember of the promises they made when we voted for them-- all ran on environmental and justice values that they are not living out
• If you live anywhere in San Diego, make your voice heard! Write or call in to the council meeting, write a letter to the editor of your favorite newspaper, and spread the word on social media. 

Find our toolkit with call-in instructions and talking points here!

Thanks to everyone in our amazing community who have carried us this far. Let’s keep going and get San Diego the green future it deserves.

This month, we are featuring Susan Duerksen of the JEDI team, to find out what she prioritizes in her environmental advocacy.

How did you first get involved with SD350, and when was that?

I don't remember when I first became a SD350 member, but I got actively involved as a volunteer after I retired from the Center on Policy Initiatives in early 2019.

What drives your activism?

As a secular humanist, I believe we humans are responsible for taking care of each other and the planet. I believe in science, so I'm terrified of the destruction ahead if we don't change how we treat the earth. I'm also outraged at the destruction already happening to the people around the world who are least to blame for the problem and have the least resources. We have to stop letting corporate capitalism call the shots, always putting profit ahead of human life.

What do you recommend to people who want to have a larger impact through the environmental movement? What do you prioritize in your own activism?

I recommend everybody read as much as you can on the intersection of racial/economic justice with climate – and the importance of unifying efforts. And join the SD350 JEDI (Justice, Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion) team!  The climate crisis is overwhelming, obviously, so just pick one part of it to work on and dive in!  Maybe try something that stretches you beyond your usual realm, for the excitement of learning. I started out helping with SD350 communications, because that's what I know from my career, but switched to focusing on the JEDI work.  I also have deep respect for everyone working on public policy, which is essential for major change.

Is there anything else you would like people to know about you?

I love fuyu persimmons and have a ton of kumquats and lemons to trade. 

I'm a brutal editor, so please accept my apologies if I ever work with you on writing something, or have in the past. I mean well.

06/15/2021 @ 5:30 pm – 7:00 pm

San Diego is on the brink of a new transportation age. The national concern with transportation equity, the environmental impacts of our transportation choices, and SANDAG’s proposed Five Big Moves have come together to enable San Diegans to envision a new, accessible, affordable and sustainable transportation system. People of faith must be concerned about transportation–it is both a social justice and eco-justice issue.

This Tuesday, June 15 Zoom workshop from 5:30 to 7:00 PM will focus on transportation equity and encourage faith communities to get involved advocating for transportation justice and building a sustainable and equitable future. This event is sponsored by the Interfaith Coalition for Earth Justice, SanDiego350, and the Environmental Health Coalition. For more information, contact Phil Petrie at phil@icejsd.org.

06/15/2021 @ 7:00 pm – 8:30 pm

Learn about how we can push for climate justice through legislation, policy, and taking action! Join us to hear the history behind Juneteenth, recommendations on how to celebrate it, and how to be an advocate for racial justice.

06/27/2021 @ 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm

Join us for an exciting legislative training that will prepare you to meet with our state legislators in July and August to talk about climate-relevant bills.

Learn:

• How to set up meetings with legislators, including sample agendas, dos and don’ts
• The legislative process – how bills become laws in California
• Talking points for the key climate bills we're advocating on this year
• Prepare for upcoming meetings with legislators
• Receive handouts.
  

Meet great folks in our area who are concerned with climate change and advocating for better public policies.

07/28/2021 @ 6:00 pm – 7:00 pm

For our second JEDI Book Club we want to focus on books that speak to the state of Climate Justice

For this event whatever book/article/movie/show that focuses on Climate Justice is welcome! For example the Book – Farming While Black: Soul Fire Farm’s Practical Guide to Liberation on the Land by Leah Penniman – “A how-to guide for ending racism and injustice in our country’s food system, both on farms themselves and in nutrition-starved African American communities.” These techniques improve the soil, treat livestock humanely, preserve rare plant varieties, & provide benefits for the climate.

If you enjoy creating a welcoming environment for others and connecting about Climate Action—contact us to volunteer with our Member Engagement Team. You will help:

• Reach out to new members of SanDiego350 and help them feel welcomed into our community
  
• Assist with planning the content and activities of Monthly Membership Meetings
  
• Develop content that helps new members learn more about SanDiego350
  

For all volunteer opportunities, please email Nicole at Nicole@SanDiego350.org

• San Diego Water War In The North County (KPBS)
  
• Changes To California Solar Market Are Dead For Now (KPBS)
  
• Groups Want San Diego City Council to Upend Vote on Electric and Gas Franchise Agreement (Union Tribune)
  
• California is Primed for a Severe Fire Season, but Just How Bad is Anybody’s Guess (LA Times)
  
• Why the US Won’t Join the Single Most Important Treaty to Protect Nature (Vox)