Talking with Steve Hilton, who’s running for governor of the state of California.
I asked Steve, how do we fix the water issue in California so farmers get water and we don’t waste so much water to the ocean?
So I’ve been getting ready for this moment of running for governor. I spent a lot of time learning about the issues, meeting every part of the ag business, farmers and the contractors and so on. On water, it’s absolutely clear that, you know, farmers just being ripped off. You’re paying for the allocations and not getting it. And there’s two things. It’s not getting what you pay for, but it’s also the randomness. Oh, this year you’ll get 10%. Next year, 40%. Next year, 50%.
No, we’re going to have to change all that. We’re going to replace all the people on the water board with good people who understand the industry. As far as I’m concerned, it is a top priority, but it’s not just here. I mean, that’s what’s insane about this. It’s going like, I was on a strawberry farm in Ventura and they have the same issue for a hundred years or more. They’ve had an off stream diversion, have ponds there, which they can fill up and then use for irrigation or whatever.
Suddenly they come in the bureaucrats and say, you can’t do that anymore because all the water has to go out to the ocean there. In Southern California, it’s another bloody fish. This time it’s not the Delta Smelt. It’s some kind of trout. And you just think like you’re destroying entire communities and industry that’s been there for like a century or more.
That was Steve Hilton running for governor of the state of California.
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