| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 16, 2025 | Contact: Tori Richards (714) 421-8319 |
California has the biggest exodus in the nation. Every year, hundreds of thousands of residents leave for better opportunities.
It’s no secret that residents are fed up with the high taxes, homelessness, crime and inability to buy homes. People are tired of the government dictating endless arcane rules on how to live their lives. It’s been this way for over a decade but recently we had a glimmer of hope. The people won.
This mostly got lost in all the relentless national news – more than 250 people spoke out against the phase-out of gas furnaces and water heaters and defeated the measure by a 7-5 vote. Staff at the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), where we sit as directors on its Board, wanted us to pass this sweeping regulation for the sake of air quality.
We want clean air like everyone else but need to make sure we don't overreach and overregulate today, which will harm families.
This sweeping mandate would touch nearly every home in our region and cost thousands – or even tens of thousands of additional dollars per household when replacing these appliances and rewiring of the home. It will affect 17 million people with a $7 billion price tag.
The mandates failed thanks to an effort to educate the public. It was the first time in over 25 years that the Board voted down a regulation against the staff’s recommendation and advocacy.
Even former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa was against this. We had mayors from tiny cities like Menifee all the way up to a laundry list of major business groups speak up about the harm this would cause. The emission reductions would be less than 1.8%, an amount that wouldn’t even fully materialize for another 25 years.
When we started discussing this measure several months ago, it seemed like such an uphill battle that we could not win. But we kept going.
As appointed Board members of AQMD, we immediately knew that our constituents were against these anti-gas mandates. So we worked hard to get the message out and galvanize concern. It worked. This gives us hope that it can now work in other areas of government.
This reminds us of the gas tax for vehicles, another excessive fee that the public has tried to delete for years without success. Last year, we learned that an additional 65 cents per gallon would be imposed against the will of the people. Some in California government think the only way to curb pollution is to impose expensive, unattainable electric mandates without the infrastructure to absorb all these electric charges across the state.
The people don’t like this. They want to be able to buy the cars and appliances of their choice. They want freedom.
At some point all of this must stop. As elected officials, we serve the people. This means mayors of cities all the way up to the governor, should be accountable to the public they represent.
California air quality has improved over the last 50 years and more will be done. This has been accomplished with new technology, creative solutions and incentives – NOT strict rules forcing costly solutions that yield little gain for better air quality.
Our residents are faced with high taxes and costs everywhere they turn and we don’t want to add to the housing affordability crisis. We are here to serve you at the AQMD, so please contact us with your suggestions.
Orange County Supervisor Janet Nguyen
Yorba Linda Mayor Pro Tem Carlos Rodriguez
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Supervisor Janet Nguyen represents the First District of Orange County Board of Supervisors, which is the cities of Cypress, Fountain Valley, Garden Grove, Huntington Beach, La Palma, Los Alamitos, Seal Beach, Westminster and the unincorporated areas of Midway City and Rossmoor. Supervisor Nguyen served in the California State Senate, California State Assembly and as Orange County Supervisor and Garden Grove City Councilmember.
