What we did
In April, we asked candidates who are running for a seat in the California legislature to complete a questionnaire about the candidates’ views on rooftop solar. See the questions we asked.
We asked three sets of questions:
- Stances on specific aspects of rooftop solar policy
- Stances on CPUC governance and conflicts of interest
- To disclose if they receive contributions from the utilities and/or utility-affiliated organizations that are leading the effort to kill rooftop solar.
Why we did it
Our goal is to give voters information about where candidates for office stand on the major issues facing rooftop solar consumers.
Rooftop solar is tremendously popular, but the utilities are in an all-out campaign to make rooftop solar unaffordable for most people, lobbying the government and spreading misleading propaganda designed to turn policy makers against rooftop solar consumers.
Given these attacks, voters ought to know where candidates for office stand before they go to vote. No one else is asking candidates about this, so we decided to step into the void.
How we reached out to candidates
On April 5th, 2022, we sent this email to 236 candidates for the California state Assembly and Senate. We used information provided by the candidates to the California Secretary of State. Some candidates did not provide an email address; in those cases we did not send them the questionnaire.
We sent a reminder email on April 11. Volunteers attempted to call the 170 candidates who provided a phone number to the Secretary of State and at minimum leave a reminder message.
Can candidates still submit a questionnaire?
Yes. Feel free to contact candidates who did not complete the questionnaire and ask them to do so. We will publish late responses. Perhaps a nudge from their potential voters will incentivize more candidates to be forthcoming about their rooftop solar positions.
