At the end of what was otherwise a glowing endorsement of Measure P, The Independent shows itself susceptible to the lie, repeated hundreds of times in Big Oil’s desperate tsunami of anti-P propaganda, that the measure is flawed and needed to be “fixed.” Referring to the implementing ordinances specifically required by Measure P to allow ongoing oil production and protect property owners from unconstitutional takings, The Independent swallowed Big Oil’s hook, line, and sinker.

Had the editors attended any of the hearings before the Board of Supervisors or Planning Commission, they would have been reminded that not a single word of an initiative may be changed after it has been qualified for the ballot and that the supervisors and county staff enthusiastically embraced the opportunity, provided by the initiative, to minimize all potential negative effects by thoughtful crafting of the implementing ordinances.

But pretend for a moment that the initiative was flawed and county staff was able to fix it. How, then, could The Independent object to strengthening a measure that they spent much of their anti-endorsement extolling as important for public health and the environment while carrying water — poisoned, fast-disappearing water — for the industry the editors wrote has “one of the most disastrous, deceitful, polluting records in modern history”?

Measure P’s only flaw is that nobody offered it to the voters years-ago. Vote “no” on Big Oil’s “multimillion-dollar fright-mongering ad campaign.” as The Independent called it — vote “yes” on P.

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