What’s Next for this Blog?

As you know, we won and we won big.

Turning Point USA was spinning harder than an errant bowling ball trying to stay out of the gutter.

They have been saying that they actually won system-wide because they won the President and VP positions. What they hope you don’t know (but you do) is that those two positions are voted on with the antiquated acre voting system. As such, the big farmers and inter-generational land owners have an outsized voice in the election.

A very small number of people get to decide those two positions.

If you want to get a better sense of where the publics’ mind is on SRP, look at the two at-large positions. These seats are voted on as one property owner, one vote.

Kathy Mohr-Almeida and Krista O’Brien almost doubled the votes of their opponents. If this election were held along those lines, SRP would be an even more clean energy friendly board now.

The voting dynamic.

Now the board is made up of 8 true clean energy supporters and 6 of the old guard. There are more than a few very delicate and long-entitled heads blowing up among the landed class right now.

However, Chris Dobson won as president. While he can set the agenda and break a tie vote, he does not have a majority. So, he will have to work with the very people that he coordinated with Turning Point to defeat.

Awkward!

Having said that, we know that Dobson has made comments in the past about supporting more renewable energy. I can’t speak on behalf of the new board members, but I know I will give him a chance to show that support now.

What does that mean for this blog?

Let’s start with the statement that SRP wants all board members to put on any of their publications or social media —a statement that I agree should be used.

Ken Clark is a Salt River Project Board member. The views expressed in this content are solely his individual views and opinions, and are not made on behalf of the SRP Board of Directors or Salt River Project Agricultural Improvement and Power District.

My goal with this blog is to educate about an area of policy which most people are intimidated by, but which is crucial to our very survival in the desert. I hope to help you understand the basics of renewable energy, how this particular utility delivers power and water, and how decisions are made at SRP.

I will avoid confidential or proprietary topics. But I won’t shy away from calling people out for bad behavior.

I strive to educate with humor and modesty without speaking down to my readers.

I may even ask special guest starts to join me from time to time.

Control your excitement.

Having seen people’s eyes glaze over 1,001 times at social events when I start to talk about clean energy, I get it.

Not everybody is as nerdy as I am.

I literally watch videos over lunch about the latest battery technology, or how regional transmission organizations can balance our state’s energy load.

But I’m only doing you a service if I can help you understand why those things are exciting and important to the life you lead.

So, I welcome your questions and your feedback.

I’m honored that you put me in this position and I feel that this is the least that I owe you.