Rouda Takes Hard Stance on California’s Offshore Drilling

In a recent op ed released by Democratic Congressional Candidate Harley Rouda, the challenger to incumbent Dana Rohrabacher (R-Orange County), says “offshore oil drilling takes us in the opposite direction that we need to go.”

Though the successful businessman doesn’t necessarily have an experienced background in clean energy or climate change, he has elevated protecting the environment to a top issue within his campaign. A matter that “Rohrabacher has gone against the will of his constituents time and time again to consistently support expanding offshore oil drilling measures.”

“The risk that offshore drilling – and burning fossil fuels more broadly – poses to our planet by exacerbating climate change,” said Rouda before adding it “has been cited by the Department of Defense as one our greatest national security threats. At a time when scientists are saying a majority of all fossil fuel reserves must stay in the ground in order to keep global temperature rise under 2 degrees Celsius, expanding offshore oil drilling takes us in the opposite direction that we need to go.”

It is clear the congressional hopeful’s goal is to put an end to California’s offshore drilling while boosting the renewable energy sector. Certainly a lofty goal, but one that could resonate with Orange Country’s coastal demographic and pay off big at the polls.

Finally Rouda said “the Trump administration is ignoring the will of the people and pursuing an agenda that harms the environment and contributes to global warming. Congressman Rohrabacher is standing with Trump, Ryan Zinke, and the gas and oil industry, not Californians.”

Just last week, the California Globe published an article covering the two rivals while explaining how the long time Representative Rohrabacher has found himself in the closest race in years, leading by just 2 percentage points.

Although the op ed by Rouda will certainly attract ample publicity and media attention, the good news for Rohrabacher is that the same poll identified that the biggest policy issues constituents in the district care about are immigration, health care and taxes.